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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1976

OAST Space Theme Workshop. Volume 2: Theme summary. 2: Space industrialization (no. 8). A. Theme statement. B. 26 April 1976 presentation. C. Summary statement. D. Initiative action (form 5)

Enabling technology needs and other requirements to support space industrialization include: large space structures; fabrication and joining processes; single stage to orbit and heavy lift launch vehicles; nuclear and solar space power systems; robotics, manipulators, and teleoperators; biotechnology in space; artificial gravity; the utilization of lunar materials for construction; and the extraction of oxygen and metals from lunar resources. New initiatives (FY 1978) directly supportive or partly related to space industrialization are listed.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1979

Excavation costs for lunar materials

A lunar strip mining system is presented which is capable of excavating and transporting 3 million metric tons of ore per year to a central processing plant on the moon's surface. The mining system would grow from a single front-end loader in the first year, to a fleet of ten haulers in the 30th year. Lunar personnel requirements would consist of a single individual, whose primary function would be to perform maintenance. All of the mining equipment would either operate automatically or by remote control from earth. The projected cost for the lunar mining system is approximately $12 to $37 per ton of ore over the life of the mine, an important part of the overall economics of exploiting lunar resources.

Carrier, W. D., III↗
NASA NTRS1987

Settlement of the moon and ventures beyond

The formation of a permanent base on the moon following the establishment of the Space Station is proposed. The characteristics of the moon which make it advantageous for exploration and as a base are described. Consideration is given to lunar resources, the solar flare problem, and the cost of developing a moon base.

Keaton, Paul W.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Opening up to the future in space with nuclear power

The relationship between the exploration of space and the availability of abundant power supplies is discussed. It is proposed that nuclear power will be needed to satisfy the power demands of manufacturing facilities in LEO, and power demands for the year 2000 are projected to be 300 KW(e). The capabilities and development of the Space Station are described; the use of nuclear power for the Station and various reactor location configurations are studied. The power requirements that will be necessary for the development of lunar resource bases and the exploration of Mars and other planets are considered; the advantages of nuclear power are examined.

Buden, David↗
NASA NTRS1988

Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 18th, Houston, TX, Mar. 16-20, 1987, Proceedings

Papers on lunar and planetary science are presented, including petrogenesis and chemistry of lunar samples, geology and petrogenesis of the Apollo 15 landing site, lunar geology and applications, cratering records and cratering effects, differentiated meteorites, chondritic meteorites and asteroids, extraterrestrial grains, Venus, Mars, and icy satellites. The importance of lunar granite and KREEP in very high potassium basalt petrogenesis, indentifying parent plutonic rocks from lunar breccia and soil fragments, glasses in ancient and young Apollo 16 regolith breccias, the formation of the Imbrium basin, the chemistry and petrology of the Apennine Front, lunar mare ridges, studies of Rima Mozart, electromagnetic energy applications in lunar resource mining and construction, detecting a periodic signal in the terrestrial cratering record, and a search for water on the moon, are among the topics discussed. Other topics include the bidirectional reflectance properties of Fe-Ni meteorites, the nature and origin of C-rich ordinary chondrites and chondritic clasts, the dehydration kinetics of shocked serpentine, characteristics of Greenland Fe/Ni cosmic grains, electron microscopy of a hydrated interplanetary dust particle, trapping Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe in Si2O3 smokes, gossans on Mars, and a model of the porous structure of icy satellites.

Ryder, Graham↗
NASA NTRS1991

Experimental study of the electrolysis of silicate melts

To produce oxygen from lunar resources, it may be feasible to melt and electrolyze local silicate ores. This possibility was explored experimentally with synthesized melts of appropriate compositions. Platinum electrodes were employed at a melt temperature of 1425 C. When silicon components of the melt were reduced, the platinum cathode degraded rapidly, which prompted the substitution of a graphite cathode substrate. Discrete particles containing iron or titanium were found in the solidified electrolyte after three hours of electrolysis. Electrolyte conductivities did not decrease substantially, but the escape of gas bubbles, in some cases, appeared to be hindered by high viscosity of the melt.

Keller, R.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Mining and beneficiation: A review of possible lunar applications

Successful exploration of Mars and outer space may require base stations strategically located on the Moon. Such bases must develop a certain self-sufficiency, particularly in the critical life support materials, fuel components, and construction materials. Technology is reviewed for the first steps in lunar resource recovery-mining and beneficiation. The topic is covered in three main categories: site selection; mining; and beneficiation. It will also include (in less detail) in-situ processes. The text described mining technology ranging from simple diggings and hauling vehicles (the strawman) to more specialized technology including underground excavation methods. The section of beneficiation emphasizes dry separation techniques and methods of sorting the ore by particle size. In-situ processes, chemical and thermal, are identified to stimulate further thinking by future researchers.

Chamberlain, Peter G.↗
NASA NTRS1991

A geochemical assessment of possible lunar ore formation

The Moon apparently formed without appreciable water or other relatively volatile materials. Interior concentrations of water or other volatile substances appear to be extremely low. On Earth, water is important to the genesis of nearly all types of ores. Thus, some have reasoned that only abundant elements would occur in ore concentrations. The definition and recognition of ores on the Moon challenge the imaginations and the terrestrial perceptions of ore bodies. Lunar ores included solar-wind soaked soils, which contain abundant but dilute H, C, N, and noble gases (including He-3). Oxygen must be mined; soils contain approximately 45 percent (wt). Mainstream processes of rock formation concentrated Si, Mg, Al, Fe, and Ca, and possibly Ti and Cr. The highland surface contains approximately 70 percent (wt) feldspar (mainly CaAl2Si2O8), which can be separated from some highland soils. Small fragments of dunite were collected; dunite may occur in walls and central peaks of some craters. Theoretical extensions of observations of lunar samples suggest that the Moon may have produced ores of trace elements. Some small fragments have trace-element concentrations 10(exp 4) times higher than the lunar average, indicating that effective geochemical separations occurred; processes included fractional crystallization, silicate immiscibility, vaporization and condensation, and sulfide metamorphism. Operations of these processes acting on indigenous materials and on meteoritic material in the regolith could have produced ores. Infalling carbonaceous meteorites and comets have added water and hydrocarbons that may have been cold-trapped. Vesicles in basalts, pyroclastic beads, and reported transient events suggest gag emission from the lunar interior; such gas might concentrate and transport rare elements. Large impacts may disperse ores or produce them through deposition of heat at depth and by vaporization and subsequent condensation. The main problem in assessing lunar resources is the ignorance about the largely unexplored Moon.

Haskin, Larry A.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Workshop on Production and Uses of Simulated Lunar Materials

A workshop entitled, Production and Uses of Simulated Lunar Materials, was convened to define the need for simulated lunar materials and examine related issues in support of extended space exploration and development. Lunar samples are a national treasure and cannot be sacrificed in sufficient quantity to test lunar resource utilization process adequately. Hence, the workshop focused on a detailed examination of the variety of potential simulants and the methods for their production.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1991

A Common Lunar Lander (CLL) for the Space Exploration Initiative

Information is given in viewgraph form on the Artemis project, a plan to establish a permanent base on the Moon. Information includes a summary of past and future events, the program rationale, a summary of potential payloads, the physical characteristics of experiments, sketches of equipment, design study objectives, and details of such payloads as the Geophysical Station Network, teleoperated rovers, astronomical telescopes, a Moon-Earth radio interferometer, very low frequency radio antennas, the Lunar Polar Crater Telescope, Lunar Resource Utilization Experiments, and biological experiments.

Bailey, Stephen↗
NASA NTRS1992

Proposed lunar missions

Three lunar missions are proposed: a 65 kg Artemis payload with an in-situ materials utilization (ISMU) pilot plant; a 65 kg Artemis payload with a lunar resource prospector; and a 200 kg Artemis payload with an integrated oxygen production plant. All material is presented in viewgraph format.

Schooley, Larry↗
NASA NTRS1991

Lunar production of oxygen by electrolysis

Two approaches to prepare oxygen from lunar resources by direct electrolysis are discussed. Silicates can be melted or dissolved in a fused salt and electrolyzed with oxygen evolved at the anode. Direct melting and electrolysis is potentially a very simple process, but high temperatures of 1400-1500 C are required, which aggravates materials problems. Operating temperatures can be lowered to about 1000 C by employing a molten salt flux. In this case, however, losses of electrolyte components must be avoided. Experimentation on both approaches is progressing.

Keller, Rudolf↗
NASA NTRS1992

Space transfer vehicles for an affordable lunar exploration program

The paper describes a lunar transportation system (LTS) based on a minimum cost approach to the lunar exploration scenario. A three-part exercise was conducted to minimize the cost and risk of lunar exploration, and the results of these optimization studies are presented. Particular consideration is given to the proposed concepts for the translunar injection stages, the common crew module of the LTS, the lander configuration, the LTS performance, and a concept of a long-range rover ('Rover First ') for discovering and mapping lunar resources for future utilization.

Andrews, Dana G.↗
NASA NTRS1992

The Second Conference on Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century, volume 2

These 92 papers comprise a peer-reviewed selection of presentations by authors from NASA, the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI), industry, and academia at the Second Conference on Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century. These papers go into more technical depth than did those published from the first NASA-sponsored symposium on the topic, held in 1984. Session topics included the following: (1) design and operation of transportation systems to, in orbit around, and on the Moon; (2) lunar base site selection; (3) design, architecture, construction, and operation of lunar bases and human habitats; (4) lunar-based scientific research and experimentation in astronomy, exobiology, and lunar geology; (5) recovery and use of lunar resources; (6) environmental and human factors of and life support technology for human presence on the Moon; and (7) program management of human exploration of the Moon and space.

Mendell, Wendell W.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Uses of lunar sulfur

Sulfur and sulfur compounds have a wide range of applications for their fluid, electrical, chemical, and biochemical properties. Although known abundances on the Moon are limited (approximately 0.1 percent in mare soils), sulfur is relatively extractable by heating. Coproduction of sulfur during oxygen extraction from ilmenite-rich mare soils could yield sulfur in masses up to 10 percent of the mass of oxygen produced. Sulfur deserves serious consideration as a lunar resource.

Vaniman, D.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Lunar base CELSS: A bioregenerative approach

During the twenty-first century, human habitation of a self-sustaining lunar base could become a reality. To achieve this goal, the occupants will have to have food, water, and an adequate atmosphere within a carefully designed environment. Advanced technology will be employed to support terrestrial life-sustaining processes on the Moon. One approach to a life support system based on food production, waste management and utilization, and product synthesis is outlined. Inputs include an atmosphere, water, plants, biodegradable substrates, and manufacutured materials such as fiberglass containment vessels from lunar resources. Outputs include purification of air and water, food, and hydrogen (H2) generated from methane (CH4). Important criteria are as follows: (1) minimize resupply from Earth; and (2) recycle as efficiently as possible.

Easterwood, G. W.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Issues for further study

The topics covered include the following: a lunar outpost map, lunar resource utilization, asteroid resource utilization, space energy utilization, and space 'real estate' utilization.

Davis, Hubert P.↗