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NASA NTRS2024

LuZip: Lunar Zip-line, Gondola and Cable-based Transportation for Artemis Moon Missions Mobility and Dust Avoidance

Under the Artemis program, NASA plans to return to the surface of the Moon, this time to stay. The Apollo missions identified dust as a major challenge for operations on the lunar surface. This includes traveling from point to point. There have been efforts to develop technologies that prevent dust from entering equipment, making equipment more resilient to dust and improving dust removal. However, operating effectively in the dusty environment for long durations is still an open problem. Here, we explore the use of cable-based transportation, gondolas and zip-lines to stay above the dust for equipment and material transfer as well as human excursions. The advantages and disadvantages, potential architectures, propulsion and materials are discussed. Steps towards infusion into the already ongoing Artemis program are also presented.

Artemis↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Towards Erecting Straighter Lightweight Towers on the Moon Using Deployable Guy Wires

This paper reports our static stability test findings for a simple guy wire system to correct the natural lateral deflections of an 8.5m tall, compact deployable composite tower intended to support exploration of lunar permanently shadowed regions by nearby robotic assets. Deployable composite booms with microgravity flight heritage are currently being investigated at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT)’s Space Resources Workshop for their potential to be vertically deployed in the lunar gravity field, in support of NASA’s Artemis campaign. These applications include vertical solar arrays and the provision of elevated lines-of-sight to science or engineering payloads on landers and rovers, in support of nearby or distant crewed or robotic assets exploring scientifically interesting and hard to reach areas. Useful elevated payloads include radio repeaters, remote sensing and imaging, navigation and power beaming systems. However, while these lightweight booms have an excellent height to mass ratio, they typically exhibit slight axial curvature upon deployment resulting in appreciable lateral dead-load deflection of the tip mass relative to the tower base. This static deflection increases with tower height and tip mass, not only constraining the value delivered by the tower but also endangering its integrity. To develop a competitive, lightweight deployable composite boom tower, a capability to correct static deflections during and after deployment may be required. This paper presents a pathfinder deployable guy wire stability system for the MIT / LaRC self-erecting composite boom lunar tower that provides real time measurements, maintains tension passively, and can serve as a reconfigurable platform to test new guy wire components, configurations and control algorithms. Using a validated, calibrated photogrammetry system, the natural lateral deflection of the boom tip relative to the boom base at different deployed heights in Earth’s gravity field was recorded. With real-time tension measurements it was found that guy wires can significantly reduce the tip deflection of a deployable composite boom under dead load. Specifically, we found that (1) control capability is greatest where it is needed most, i.e. for the lever arm closest to being opposite the direction of deflection, and (2) for a tower height of at least 8.5 m and arm length of at least 60 cm, a solution of differential tension in all three arms exists and, in principle, provides sufficient control capability to correct or significantly reduce boom deflections. We also found that natural deflections occur almost entirely out-of-plane of the seams of the boom cross-section, which was expected, and that the natural boom tip lateral deflection under dead load upon deployment was ~5% of boom deployed length, unexpectedly exceeding the manufacturing acceptance specification of 1%.Ongoing and future collaborative work between LaRC and MIT includes the further investigation of the unexpected lateral deflection, testing of alternative guy wire system designs at higher tensions and higher deployed heights, as well as trade studies of costs and benefits of an optimized integrated guywire system compared to other types of static stability solutions.

lunar towers↗

NASA NTRS2017

Building an Economical and Sustainable Lunar Infrastructure to Enable Lunar Industrialization

A new concept study was initiated to examine the architecture needed to gradually develop an economical, evolvable and sustainable lunar infrastructure using a public/private partnerships approach. This approach would establish partnership agreements between NASA and industry teams to develop a lunar infrastructure system that would be mutually beneficial. This approach would also require NASA and its industry partners to share costs in the development phase and then transfer operation of these infrastructure services back to its industry owners in the execution phase. These infrastructure services may include but are not limited to the following: lunar cargo transportation, power stations, communication towers and satellites, autonomous rover operations, landing pads and resource extraction operations. The public/private partnerships approach used in this study leveraged best practices from NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program which introduced an innovative and economical approach for partnering with industry to develop commercial cargo services to the International Space Station. This program was planned together with the ISS Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contracts which was responsible for initiating commercial cargo delivery services to the ISS for the first time. The public/private partnerships approach undertaken in the COTS program proved to be very successful in dramatically reducing development costs for these ISS cargo delivery services as well as substantially reducing operational costs. To continue on this successful path towards installing economical infrastructure services for LEO and beyond, this new study, named Lunar COTS (Commercial Operations and Transport Services), was conducted to examine extending the NASA COTS model to cis-lunar space and the lunar surface. The goals of the Lunar COTS concept are to: 1) develop and demonstrate affordable and commercial cis-lunar and surface capabilities, such as lunar cargo delivery and surface power generation, in partnership with industry; 2) incentivize industry to establish economical and sustainable lunar infrastructure services to support NASA missions and initiate lunar commerce; and 3) encourage creation of new space markets for economic growth and benefit. A phased-development approach was also studied to allow for incremental development and demonstration of capabilities needed to build a lunar infrastructure. This paper will describe the Lunar COTS concept goals, objectives and approach for building an economical and sustainable lunar infrastructure. It will also describe the technical challenges and advantages of developing and operating each infrastructure element. It will also describe the potential benefits and progress that can be accomplished in the initial phase of this Lunar COTS approach. Finally, the paper will also look forward to the potential of a robust lunar industrialization environment and its potential effect on the next 50 years of space exploration.

Zuniga, Allison F.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Towers: Critical Initial Infrastructure for the Moon, Such as a Power Module Support

Towers are an efficient structure commonly used to elevate systems against a gravity field, such as above the surface of a planet or the Moon. Towers can be used to elevate antennas, transmitters and sensors for communication, navigation, and observation infrastructure in support of surface operations. Near the Lunar poles, elevation of rotating solar panels enables nearly continuous panel illumination for solar power production despite the Sun remaining near the horizon year-round. Further, once technology is developed for tower assembly, this same technology can be extended to the assembly of a variety of structures including rocket blast containment shields, bridges, shelters, and habitats from either Earth-sourced or Lunar-sourced structural members. Environmental factors on the Lunar surface are vastly different than those found on Earth and have significant impact on the design of towers. Towers designed for the Lunar surface have no heritage nor Earth analog. The designs discussed herein are therefore breaking new ground creating a fundamentally new class of structures outside of current experience and intuition. The purpose of this paper is to: a) describe the unique environmental factors affecting tower design on the Lunar surface compared to Earth-based systems, b) evaluate two structural forms for the tower; telescoping tubes and an assembled truss, as well as c)provide recommendations on when each structural form is most suitable. A major contribution presented in the current paper is to provide parametric plots and supporting equations of mass and volume versus module power level and blanket height above the Lunar surface for the solar array application, to enable system level studies of optimum power module distribution and size. A secondary contribution are plots of the mass and volume of aluminum or structural glass required for assembled truss towers formed from Lunar derived structural members. An objective of achieving 1 MW of total power has been used to enable comparison of structural forms, because the total mass of solar arrays is consistent. It will be shown that for moderate module sizes, up to ~50 kW power modules, based on a telescoping tube tower have advantages, but for power modules from 50 kW to 200 kW an assembled truss tower can be created with half to one third of the tube tower mass. More significantly, when shipped from Earth, an assembled truss tower can be packed into 1/14th to 1/25th of the tube tower volume. Truss designs in the 100 kW to 200 kW range will be shown to be a favorable when assembled from either graphite-epoxy angles shipped from Earth or aluminum angles fabricated from Lunar materials. 50 kW towers are an attractive choice for both a telescoping or assembled tower with the solar arrays elevated 10 m above the Lunar surface, while increased solar array elevation favors 100 kW to 200 kW power modules.

assembly↗

NASA NTRS1992

Unit operations for gas-liquid mass transfer in reduced gravity environments

Basic scaling rules are derived for converting Earth-based designs of mass transfer equipment into designs for a reduced gravity environment. Three types of gas-liquid mass transfer operations are considered: bubble columns, spray towers, and packed columns. Application of the scaling rules reveals that the height of a bubble column in lunar- and Mars-based operations would be lower than terrestrial designs by factors of 0.64 and 0.79 respectively. The reduced gravity columns would have greater cross-sectional areas, however, by factors of 2.4 and 1.6 for lunar and Martian settings. Similar results were obtained for spray towers. In contract, packed column height was found to be nearly independent of gravity.

Pettit, Donald R.↗

NASA NTRS2017

Lunar COTS Mission Concept: Using the Moon's Resources to Enable an Economical and Sustainable Pathway to Mars and Beyond

To support and enable future human missions to the surface of the Moon, a new plan was formulated to gradually develop an economical, evolvable and sustainable lunar infrastructure using a public/private partnerships between NASA and industry to share cost and risk in the development phase and ultimately transfer operation of these infrastructure services to its industry owners. These infrastructure services may include but are not limited to the following: lunar cargo transportation, power stations, energy storage devices, communication towers and relay satellites, and resource extraction operations. The plan is called the Commercial Orbital Transfer Services (COTS) Program, using NASA's well-proven Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Program acquisition model.

Zuniga, A. F.↗

NASA NTRS2025

Beamed Energy and Communications Optical Node (BEACON) Demonstrator

Due to long shadow periods (2 weeks or greater) on the south pole, concepts to raise solar arrays to a sufficient height at specific locations have shown the capability to provide power to surface users for much longer periods. Such a tower can also provide a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) service for users up to 10 km away, dependent on terrain. An option to deliver power, albeit with low efficiency, using a laser beam coupled with the tower height could provide mobile and fixed users power during darkness, reducing their battery requirements. A demonstration of these technologies in the lunar environment is crucial to support future Artemis campaigns as well as potential emerging lunar infrastructures. A demonstrator design of a 15 m deployed boomon the south pole has been shown to enable both the gathering of kilowatts of power and the provision of 3GPP relay and backhaul given an appropriate lunar location. Using a laser to send power to a photovoltaic receiver has been proposed to transmit electrical power on the moon, particularly for applications such as powering a rover in near-polar permanently shadowed regions (PSR) where solar power is not available. In this work, the Compass team performed a conceptual engineering design study of a near-term laser surface-to-surface power beaming and relay station using a tower to simultaneously carry the power source (Vertical Solar Array Technologies (VSAT)[1]), the 3GPP relay antenna, and the laser telescope.

Deployable solar array tower laser beamed power 3G↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Beamed Energy and Communications Optical Node (BEACON) Demonstrator

Lunar Relay↗

NASA NTRS2017

Building an Economical and Sustainable Lunar Infrastructure to Enable Lunar Science and Space Commerce

A new concept study was initiated to examine the framework needed to gradually develop an economical and sustainable lunar infrastructure using a public private partnerships approach. This approach would establish partnership agreements between NASA and industry teams to develop cis-lunar and surface capabilities for mutual benefit while sharing cost and risk in the development phase and then allowing for transfer of operation of these infrastructure services back to its industry owners in the execution phase. These infrastructure services may include but are not limited to the following: lunar cargo transportation, power stations, energy storage devices, communication relay satellites, local communication towers, and surface mobility operations.

Zuniga, Allison↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lunar Mega Project: Processes, Work Flow and Terminology of the Terrestrial Construction Industry versus the Space Industry

Recent developments around the world show an increased interest and international activity toward developing a lunar surface human and robotic presence with a long term, sustainable vision. In Europe, the construction of a "Moon Village" has been proposed, and China has stated its intention to build a research station with a crew at the lunar South Pole. Russia stated it will land cosmonauts on the Moon in the 2030's. India has sent an orbiter, a robotic lander, and rover to the Moon. The USA intends to land the first woman and a man on the Moon by 2024 to initiate a sustained human lunar presence.A lunar research station with associated commercial activities will require infrastructure to become a permanent capability. Landing and launch pads, propellant storage and distribution farms, spacecraft access and handling structures, cranes, blast protection berms or walls, roads, graded areas, dust stabilized areas, foundations, parking lots, radiation shelters, micro-meteorite protection hangars, habitats and other human shelters, greenhouse farms, utility trenches, power plants, industrial water and oxygen extraction plants, communications antenna towers, thermal protection, mining zones, crater access and sub-surface access will be required to create a safe and sustainable lunar operations capability. This infrastructure will require significant construction activities in an extreme environment, with risky and expensive operations. On Earth, there are similar large and expensive projects (>$1 Billion) in difficult locations that attract a lot of public attention. These are known as "Mega Projects" and examples include bridges, tunnels, highways, railways, airports, seaports, power plants, dams, wastewater projects, Special Economic Zones (SEZ), oil and natural gas extraction projects, public buildings, information technology systems, aerospace projects, and weapons systems. Large consortiums consisting of public and private entities typically implement these infrastructure Mega-Projects.This paper will compare the typical design process, project management process, and work flow in the terrestrial construction industry to the space industry in order to create a better understanding between the terrestrial construction industry and the space industry, to further enable collaboration on a lunar Mega Project to build infrastructure on the Moon. In addition, a glossary of respective industry terminology with annotated linkages and definitions has been compiled. This information will enable contracts and business practices to be formulated for generating requests for proposals (RFP) by governments to consortiums consisting of construction and space industry companies that will bid on Lunar Infrastructure Projects that could lead to contracts to build the permanent capabilities.

Robert P Mueller↗

NASA NTRS2010

COMPASS Final Report: Lunar Communications Terminal (LCT)

The Lunar Communications Terminal (LCT) COllaborative Modeling and Parametric Assessment of Space Systems (COMPASS) session designed a terminal to provide communications between lunar South Pole assets, communications relay to/from these assets through an orbiting Lunar Relay Satellite (LRS) and navigation support. The design included a complete master equipment list, power requirement list, configuration design, and brief risk assessment and cost analysis. The Terminal consists of a pallet containing the communications and avionics equipment, surrounded by the thermal control system (radiator), an attached, deployable 10-m tower, upon which were mounted locally broadcasting and receiving modems and a deployable 1 m diameter Ka/S band dish which provides relay communications with the lunar relay satellites and, as a backup, Earth when it is in view. All power was assumed to come from the lunar outpost Habitat. Three LCT design options were explored: a stand-alone LCT servicing the manned outpost, an integrated LCT (into the Habitat or Lunar Lander), and a mini-LCT which provides a reduced level of communication for primarily robotic areas dealing as in situ resource utilization (ISRU) and remote science. Where possible all the designs assumed single fault tolerance. Significant mass savings were found when integrating the LCT into the Habitat or Lander but increases in costs occurred depending upon the level of man rating required for such designs.

Oleson, Steven R.↗

NASA NTRS2007

NASA Lunar Base Wireless System Propagation Analysis

There have been many radio wave propagation studies using both experimental and theoretical techniques over the recent years. However, most of studies have been in support of commercial cellular phone wireless applications. The signal frequencies are mostly at the commercial cellular and Personal Communications Service bands. The antenna configurations are mostly one on a high tower and one near the ground to simulate communications between a cellular base station and a mobile unit. There are great interests in wireless communication and sensor systems for NASA lunar missions because of the emerging importance of establishing permanent lunar human exploration bases. Because of the specific lunar terrain geometries and RF frequencies of interest to the NASA missions, much of the published literature for the commercial cellular and PCS bands of 900 and 1800 MHz may not be directly applicable to the lunar base wireless system and environment. There are various communication and sensor configurations required to support all elements of a lunar base. For example, the communications between astronauts, between astronauts and the lunar vehicles, between lunar vehicles and satellites on the lunar orbits. There are also various wireless sensor systems among scientific, experimental sensors and data collection ground stations. This presentation illustrates the propagation analysis of the lunar wireless communication and sensor systems taking into account the three dimensional terrain multipath effects. It is observed that the propagation characteristics are significantly affected by the presence of the lunar terrain. The obtained results indicate the lunar surface material, terrain geometry and antenna location are the important factors affecting the propagation characteristics of the lunar wireless systems. The path loss can be much more severe than the free space propagation and is greatly affected by the antenna height, surface material and operating frequency. The results from this paper are important for the lunar wireless system link margin analysis in order to determine the limits on the reliable communication range, achievable data rate and RF coverage performance at planned lunar base work sites.

Hwu, Shian U.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Design of a Versatile, Teleoperable, Towable Lifting Machine with Robotic Capabilities for Use in Nasa's Lunar Base Operations

The lifting machine will assist in lifting cargo off of landers sent to the Moon and in the construction of a lunar base. Three possible designs were considered for the overall configuration of the lifting machine: the variable angle crane, the tower crane, and the gantry crane. Alternate designs were developed for the major components of the lifting machine. A teleoperable, variable angle crane was chosen as its final design. The design consists of a telescoping boom mounted to a chassis that is supported by two conical wheels for towing and four outriggers for stability. Attached to the end of the boom is a seven degree of freedom robot arm for light, dexterous, lifting operations. A cable and hook suspends from the end of the boom for heavy, gross, lifting operations. Approximate structural sizes were determined for the lifter and its components. However, further analysis is needed to determine the optimum design dimensions. The design team also constructed a model of the design which demonstrates its features and operating principals.

Harris, Elizabeth↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Fire on the Moon: Solid Fuel Combustion Experiments

As NASA plans to return people to the Moon for extended durations, we present an experiment concept to understand fire and material flammability there. A small combustion chamber would be used to conduct the first-ever combustion tests on another world. Multiple fuel samples are to be individually burned in Lunar gravity, with cameras and other sensors recording flame characteristics. The main hypothesis is that some materials burning in Lunar-g are more flammable than on Earth. The reason is that buoyant flow has two counteracting effects on material flammability. Increasing gravity level permits more fresh oxygen to be supplied to the flame, but if the buoyant speed is too high, combustion chemistry and increased cooling hinder combustion. This has important implications for the current 1-g material screening method used by NASA. Oxygen limits for upward and downward spread on the Moon will be compared to 1-g values. Earth-based partial gravity facilities (drop towers, aircraft, and sounding rockets) will be used to refine the experiment and provide some limited-duration data. Measured flame characteristics in 1-g and Lunar-g will be compared to a detailed model. These will refine pressure-gravity scaling relations that will then be applied to other g-levels. The work directly addresses knowledge gaps in flammability and crew safety as defined in several NASA strategic documents.

Fire↗

NASA NTRS1999

In-Situ Production of Solar Power Systems for Exploration

Current proposals for developing an extended human presence, beyond space stations, on the Moon and Mars increasingly consider the processing of non-terrestrial materials essential for keeping the Earth launch burden reasonable. Utilization of in-situ resources for construction of lunar and Mars bases will initially require assessment of resource availability followed by the development of economically acceptable and technically feasible extractive processes. In regard to materials processing and fabrication the lower gravity level on the Moon (0.125 g) and Mars (0.367 g) will dramatically change the presently accepted hierarchy of materials in terms of specific properties, a factor which must be understood and exploited. Furthermore, significant changes are expected in the behavior of liquid materials during processing. In casting, for example, mold filling and associated solidification processes have to be reevaluated. Finally microstructural development and therefore material properties, presently being documented through on-going research in microgravity science and applications, needs to be understood and scaled to the reduced gravity environments. One of the most important elements of a human planetary base is power production. Lunar samples and geophysical measurements returned by the Apollo missions provide detailed data on the composition and physical characteristics of the lunar materials and environment. Based on this knowledge and extrapolations of terrestrial industrial experience it is clear that several types of solar-to-electric converters can be manufactured on the Moon. It is conceivable that well over 90% of a solar-to- electric power system could be made from lunar materials. Production and utilization of photovoltaic devices for solar energy production on Earth is primarily driven by the market economy. On Earth a production plant for photovoltaic devices is intimately linked to the planets massive industrial base. A selection of off the shelf refined materials are available as well as cheap fast transportation on demand. The processes takes place (except for the few seconds reprieve in shot towers etc.) under one gravity, with solar radiation significantly modulated by weather, and under conditions where one atmosphere is free and high vacuum is cumbersome and expensive. Off Earth, on lunar or Mars bases, the cost of photovoltaic power is driven by transport costs - Earth launch, deep space transport, landing on the planetary surface. Thus there is a premium for processes that are materials self-sufficient or for closed loop in-situ processes. The lack of differentiated ores on the Moon, and lack of explored minerals on Mars and interplanetary space give a premium to universal/non-ore-specific mineral extractive processes. Initially a semiconductor/photovoltaic production facility will build on no conveniently located industrial base, further increasing the premium on closed loop self sufficient processes.

Curreri, Peter A.↗

NASA NTRS2007

Lunar South Pole Illumination: Review, Reassessment, and Power System Implications

This paper reviews past analyses and research related to lunar south pole illumination and presents results of independent illumination analyses using an analytical tool and a radar digital elevation model. The analysis tool enables assessment at most locations near the lunar poles for any time and any year. Average illumination fraction, energy storage duration, solar/horizon terrain elevation profiles and illumination fraction profiles are presented for various highly illuminated sites which have been identified for manned or unmanned operations. The format of the data can be used by power system designers to develop mass optimized solar and energy storage systems. Data are presented for the worse case lunar day (a critical power planning bottleneck) as well as three lunar days during lunar south pole winter. The main site under consideration by present lunar mission planners (on the Crater Shackleton rim) is shown to have, for the worse case lunar day, a 0.71 average illumination fraction and 73 to 117 hours required for energy storage (depending on power system type). Linking other sites and including towers at either site are shown to not completely eliminate the need for energy storage.

Fincannon, James↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Selection, Production, and Properties of Regolith Polymer Composites for Lunar Construction

NASA’s Artemis Program seeks to establish a long-term presence on the moon to enable scientific discoveries and utilization of lunar resources through public-private partnerships. Over the next decades, a lunar spaceport enabling regular transportation from and to Earth will need to be established to provide the services and facilities that are necessary to achieve this goal. Robotic construction technologies using in-situ materials must be developed to build up enabling infrastructure such as launch/landing pads, blast protection, power/communications towers, improved trafficability pathways and radiation protection shelters. Kennedy Space Center’s Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations laboratory at Swamp Works has partnered with AI SpaceFactory to develop the architectural and structural design of an unpressurized shelter. The shelter, called Lina, is designed to protect astronauts and surface assets from radiation, meteoroid impact, moon quakes and thermal gradients. Lina’s structural design criteria and the resulting structure design are detailed in separate papers. A Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF) construction process using regolith polymer composites has been developed. This paper presents the material formulations and selection rationale for each of the composite components. Formulations include 70:30, 80:20, and 85:15 wt.% mixture ratios of lunar mare simulant Black Point-1 (BP-1): Polylactic Acid (PLA), 80:20 Lunar Highlands Simulant (LHS-1): PLA and an 80:20 BP-1:PLA formulation with a processing aid/compatibilizer additive. Test samples were printed in simulated lunar dirty thermal vacuum conditions (~-180 °C, ~10 -3 torr). The test environment evolved throughout the duration of the print process. A series of tests were performed to characterize the mixture ratios achieved for each formulation, the off-gassing products during vacuum printing, the strength properties, and porosity of printed products. The LHS-1: PLA formulation yielded an advantageous combination of properties and was used in a final test that additively constructed a sub-scaled Lina on regolith simulant in dirty vacuum conditions.

lunar infrastructure↗

NASA NTRS2017

Transformers for Lunar Extreme Environments: Ensuring Long-Term Operations in Regions of Darkness and Low Temperatures: II - Phase

This report shows how solar power could enable robotic operations in permanently shaded regions at lunar poles, to extract water ice and further produce liquid hydrogen and oxygen (LH2/LO2) propellant. The power needs are derived from an Architecture for Human Exploration of Mars based entirely on lunar propellant. The extraction of 10 metric tons of water per day (at 10% water in regolith) requires approx. 0.6 MW thermal power. Additional approx. 2 MW electric power are required to produce 7.5 metric tons of LH2/LO2 propellant per day, as needed by the architecture. To provide power to processing equipment inside Shackleton Crater, optimal locations are determined on the crater rim, from which several reflecting TransFormers (TFs) would redirect sunlight, achieving a combined period of illumination of approx. 99% of the year. A single 40-m diameter reflector could provide up to 1 MW solar power. Inflatable rigidizable tower support structures raise reflectors above ground for better solar exposure. There are trade-offs: e.g., two reflectors at ground level would provide the same combined total illumination as a single tower approx. 100-m tall. Such a TF based on a 100-m tower made with inflatable 2-m beams and 40-m diameter reflectors would be of similar dimensions as an MSL-class rover (approx. 1000 kg, 10 m(exp 3)). A TF-prospector rover combo could be designed and deployed in a Discovery-class mission searching for water. The TransFormers would be nodes of a Lunar Utilities Infrastructure that provides solar power year-round in the proximity of the pole, as well as local data transmission andintermittent direct to earth communications. This infrastructure would be instrumental infacilitating the development of a lunar economy.

fuel↗