Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Duke, M..
An integrated engineering and financial modeling approach has been developed and used to evaluate the potential for private sector investment in space resource development, and to assess possible roles of the public sector in fostering private interest. This paper presents the modeling approach and its results for a transportation service using propellant extracted from lunar regolith.
The Mars Organic Detector (MOD) was recently selected for the definition phase of the HEDS '05 (originally scheduled for '03) lander instrument package for fundamental biology and in situ resource utilization. MOD is designed to detect organic compounds in rock and soil samples directly on the surface of Mars in order to assess the biological potential of the planet. In addition, a MOD Tunable Diode Laser Spectrometer (TDLS) will provide information on desorption and decomposition temperatures, as well as the release rates and quantities of water and carbon dioxide that can be liberated from regolith samples, thereby providing the parameters needed for the design of systems for the future large-scale in situ extraction of valuable consumable resources. A MOD TDLS will also measure the atmospheric water and carbon dioxide content, as well as the atmospheric carbon dioxide isotopic composition, in order to determine whether there is an isotopic offset between atmospheric and surface carbon.
It is thought likely that extension of civilization beyond earth may include a permanent settlement on the moon. An analysis of the American civilian space program shows that the required technology for establishing a base on the moon will exist before the end of this century. A manned lunar base is discussed in terms of three distinct functions. The first is related to the scientific investigation of the moon and the application of special properties of the moon to research problems. In connection with the second, attention is given to the development of the capability to utilize the materials of the moon for beneficial purposes throughout the earth-moon system. The last involves research and development leading to a self-sufficient and self-supporting lunar base.
The crew of Apollo 15 collected a 242-cm-long core of the regolith developed on the surface of Palus Putredinus (3 deg 39 min 20 sec E, 26 deg 26 min 00 sec N). This core consists of 42 major textural units, which range from a few millimeters to 13 cm thick. The regolith at this site was deposited layer by layer, each layer having been reworked, to some degree, by micrometeorite bombardment. The particle composition of six layers for which samples were obtained varies in a random fashion, thus supporting the heterogeneous, layered model of the regolith. The ratio of lithic fragments derived from the Apennine Front to that derived from the mare surface is about 1:1. This lithic ratio, in a regolith section 3.75 km from the base of the front, is an indication of the efficiency of lateral transport of soil by impact processes and mass wasting.
The crew of Apollo 15 collected at 242-centimeter-long core of the regolith of the moon developed on the surface of Palus Putredinis 3 deg 39 min 20 sec E, 26 deg 26 min 00 sec N. The 2.04-centimeter-diameter core, which has a mass of 1333.2 grams, consists of 42 major textural units, with thicknesses ranging from a few milliliters to 13 centimeters thick. The regolith is not homogeneous and is composed of many layers that are mostly ejecta from impact events.