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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 73 records · Page 4
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NASA NTRS2008

Comparison of Ejecta Distributions from Normal Incident Hypervelocity Impact on Lunar Regolith Simulant

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is progressing toward long-term lunar habitation. Critical to the design of a lunar habitat is an understanding of the lunar surface environment; of specific importance is the primary meteoroid and subsequent ejecta environment. The document, NASA SP-8013, was developed for the Apollo program and is the latest definition of the ejecta environment. There is concern that NASA SP-8013 may over-estimate the lunar ejecta environment. NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) has initiated several tasks to improve the accuracy of our understanding of the lunar surface ejecta environment. This paper reports the results of experiments on projectile impact into powered pumice and unconsolidated JSC-1A Lunar Mare Regolith stimulant (JSC-1A) targets. The Ames Vertical Gun Range (AVGR) was used to accelerate projectiles to velocities in excess of 5 km/s and impact the targets at normal incidence. The ejected particles were detected by thin aluminum foil targets placed around the impact site and angular distributions were determined for ejecta. Comparison of ejecta angular distribution with previous works will be presented. A simplistic technique to characterize the ejected particles was formulated and improvements to this technique will be discussed for implementation in future tests.

Edwards, David L.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Lunar Regolith Simulant Feed System for a Hydrogen Reduction Reactor System

One of the goals of In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) on the moon is to produce oxygen from the lunar regolith which is present in the form of Ilmenite (FeTi03) and other compounds. A reliable and attainable method of extracting some of the oxygen from the lunar regolith is to use the hydrogen reduction process in a hot reactor to create water vapor which is then condensed and electrolyzed to obtain oxygen for use as a consumable. One challenge for a production system is to reliably acquire the regolith with an excavator hauler mobility platform and then introduce it into the reactor inlet tube which is raised from the surface and above the reactor itself. After the reaction, the hot regolith (-1000 C) must be expelled from the reactor for disposal by the excavator hauler mobility system. In addition, the reactor regolith inlet and outlet tubes must be sealed by valves during the reaction in order to allow collection of the water vapor by the chemical processing sub-system. These valves must be able to handle abrasive regolith passing through them as well as the heat conduction from the hot reactor. In 2008, NASA has designed and field tested a hydrogen reduction system called ROxygen in order to demonstrate the feasibility of extracting oxygen from lunar regolith. The field test was performed with volcanic ash known as Tephra on Mauna Kea volcano on the Big Island of Hawai'i. The tephra has similar properties to lunar regolith, so that it is regarded as a good simulant for the hydrogen reduction process. This paper will discuss the design, fabrication, operation, test results and lessons learned with the ROxygen regolith feed system as tested on Mauna Kea in November 2008.

Mueller, R. P.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Percentage of Water Retained in Icy Lunar Regolith Simulant During Transfer into a Sample Container

We now know that water ice exists on the lunar surface thanks to the findings of multiple lunar missions such as LRO and LCROSS. However, before we develop systems that can utilize this precious resource at a useful scale, we need to acquire more data about the concentration of water in the lunar regolith and how it may vary by depth and location. The OVEN (Optimized Volatile Extraction Node) system is designed to determine the concentration of water as part of an instrument called WAVE (Water Analysis & Volatile Extraction) which can be deployed during a lunar resource prospecting mission. Experiments were carried out at the Johnson Space Center in order to better understand the potential losses of water that may occur during a prospecting mission when a sample is transferred from a drill to the OVEN. A description of the experiment as well as the results will be presented here.

ISRU↗
NASA NTRS2011

Preparation and Testing of Ice-Enriched Lunar Regolith Simulant for RESOLVE OVEN

The RESOLVE (Regolith and Environment Science and Oxygen and Lunar Volatile Extraction) project seeks to deploy a robotic ISRU lander at the lunar south pole to determine the accessibility of frozen ice and the resource potential at various locations. The OVEN (Oxygen and Volatiles Extraction Node) component will be used to heat samples to 150 C or higher in order to drive off ice and other volatiles, which will then be identified and measured. An ice volatilization system has been developed to specifically collect data on the extraction of water vapor from a sample. Testing of the system was begun in April of this year. This report addresses our current work to test the system in a relevant environment in this case, using simulants with up to 10wt% water ice at 76K, in reduced atmosphere.

Cooper, Bonnie↗
NASA NTRS2009

Progress of the NASAUSGS Lunar Regolith Simulant Project

Beginning in 2004 personnel at MSFC began serious efforts to develop a new generation of lunar simulants. The first two products were a replication of the previous JSC-1 simulant under a contract to Orbitec and a major workshop in 2005 on future simulant development. It was recognized in early 2006 there were serious limitations with the standard approach of simply taking a single terrestrial rock and grinding it. To a geologist, even a cursory examination of the Lunar Sourcebook shows that matching lunar heterogeneity, crystal size, relative mineral abundances, lack of H2O, plagioclase chemistry and glass abundance simply can not be done with any simple combination of terrestrial rocks. Thus the project refocused its efforts and approached simulant development in a new and more comprehensive manner, examining new approaches in simulant development and ways to more accurately compare simulants to actual lunar materials. This led to a multi-year effort with five major tasks running in parallel. The five tasks are Requirements, Lunar Analysis, Process Development, Feed Stocks, and Standards.

Rickman, Douglas↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Characterization of NU-LHT-4M Lunar Regolith Simulant Using Different Raman Configurations

As much as possible, structures to help sustain a long-term human presence on the moon will be constructed via in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) from lunar regolith. Various processes have been proposed to make lunar regolith-based construction materials, but one complication is that the lunar regolith is relatively complex in terms of composition and can vary quite significantly from one site to another. Some of these methods to make lunar regolith-based construction materials are quite sensitive to the composition and so in-situ methods for evaluating the composition of the lunar regolith could be critical. Various analytical instrumentation has been proposed for in-situ characterization of the composition of regolith on planetary bodies. Raman spectroscopy has been suggested and has some advantages over other in-situ techniques, such as potential for relatively high spatial resolution, direct determination of the mineralogy (while other methods may only infer the mineralogy), nondestructive analysis, relatively simple instrument configurations, and minimal sample preparation/handling. For example, Raman instrumentation has already been deployed in rover-based missions to Mars. Previously, we developed the Standoff Ultracompact Micro-Raman Sensor (SUCR), which is a portable Raman spectroscopy instrument capable to be integrated into a rover or onto a lander. Here, we present work on Raman spectroscopy measurements of NU-LHT-4M lunar simulant using three different Raman instruments with different configurations for collecting Raman data with the goal to explore the effect of these different configurations on the results, especially for use in a lunar environment.

Raman Spectroscopy↗
NASA NTRS2021

Preliminary Considerations for Microwave Consolidation/Sintering of Lunar Regolith Simulant

As NASA prepares to establish permanent habitats on the Moon, a significant first stepis to be able to land multiple times in the same area. As was consistently shown during the Apolloprogram, the very fine granular structure of the lunar regolith (the Moon’s “soil”) poses significantphysical and health challenges [1]. One of the most concerning is the hyper-velocity lunarsurface ejecta that results from the engine exhaust that exits the rocket as it lands and takes off[2]. It has been determined that to mitigate this, the regolith must be consolidated.

Shulman, Holly↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Preliminary Considerations for Microwave Consolidation/Sintering of Lunar Regolith Simulant

As NASA prepares to establish permanent habitats on the Moon, a significant first step is to be able to land multiple times in the same area. As was consistently shown during the Apollo program, the very fine granular structure of the lunar regolith (the Moon’s “soil”)poses significant physical and health challenges [1]. One of the most concerning is the hyper-velocity lunar surface ejecta that results from the engine exhaust that exits the rocket as it lands and takes off [2]. It has been determined that to mitigate this, the regolith must be consolidated.

microwave↗
NASA NTRS2014

Leak Rate Performance of Silicone Elastomer O-Rings Contaminated with JSC-1A Lunar Regolith Simulant

Contamination of spacecraft components with planetary and foreign object debris is a growing concern. Face seals separating the spacecraft cabin from the debris filled environment are particularly susceptible; if the seal becomes contaminated there is potential for decreased performance, mission failure, or catastrophe. In this study, silicone elastomer O-rings were contaminated with JSC- 1A lunar regolith and their leak rate performance was evaluated. The leak rate values of contaminated O-rings at four levels of seal compression were compared to those of as-received, uncontaminated, O-rings. The results showed a drastic increase in leak rate after contamination. JSC-1A contaminated O-rings lead to immeasurably high leak rate values for all levels of compression except complete closure. Additionally, a mechanical method of simulant removal was examined. In general, this method returned the leak rate to as-received values.

leak rate↗
NASA NTRS2010

Electrostatic Power Generation from Negatively Charged, Simulated Lunar Regolith

Research was conducted to develop an electrostatic power generator for future lunar missions that facilitate the utilization of lunar resources. The lunar surface is known to be negatively charged from the constant bombardment of electrons and protons from the solar wind. The resulting negative electrostatic charge on the dust particles, in the lunar vacuum, causes them to repel each other minimizing the potential. The result is a layer of suspended dust about one meter above the lunar surface. This phenomenon was observed by both Clementine and Surveyor spacecrafts. During the Apollo 17 lunar landing, the charged dust was a major hindrance, as it was attracted to the astronauts' spacesuits, equipment, and the lunar buggies. The dust accumulated on the spacesuits caused reduced visibility for the astronauts, and was unavoidably transported inside the spacecraft where it caused breathing irritation [1]. In the lunar vacuum, the maximum charge on the particles can be extremely high. An article in the journal "Nature", titled "Moon too static for astronauts?" (Feb 2, 2007) estimates that the lunar surface is charged with up to several thousand volts [2]. The electrostatic power generator was devised to alleviate the hazardous effects of negatively charged lunar soil by neutralizing the charged particles through capacitive coupling and thereby simultaneously harnessing power through electric charging [3]. The amount of power generated or collected is dependent on the areal coverage of the device and hovering speed over the lunar soil surface. A thin-film array of capacitors can be continuously charged and sequentially discharged using a time-differentiated trigger discharge process to produce a pulse train of discharge for DC mode output. By controlling the pulse interval, the DC mode power can be modulated for powering devices and equipment. In conjunction with a power storage system, the electrostatic power generator can be a power source for a lunar rover or other systems. The negatively charged lunar soil would also be neutralized mitigating some of the adverse effects resulting from lunar dust.

Choi, Sang H.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Gas Phase Pressure Effects on the Apparent Thermal Conductivity of JSC-1A Lunar Regolith Simulant

Gas phase pressure effects on the apparent thermal conductivity of a JSC-1A/air mixture have been experimentally investigated under steady state thermal conditions from 10 kPa to 100 kPa. The result showed that apparent thermal conductivity of the JSC-1A/air mixture decreased when pressure was lowered to 80 kPa. At 10 kPa, the conductivity decreased to 0.145 W/m/degree C, which is significantly lower than 0.196 W/m/degree C at 100 kPa. This finding is consistent with the results of previous researchers. The reduction of the apparent thermal conductivity at low pressures is ascribed to the Knudsen effect. Since the characteristic length of the void space in bulk JSC-1A varies over a wide range, both the Knudsen regime and continuum regime can coexist in the pore space. The volume ratio of the two regimes varies with pressure. Thus, as gas pressure decreases, the gas volume controlled by Knudsen regime increases. Under Knudsen regime the resistance to the heat flow is higher than that in the continuum regime, resulting in the observed pressure dependency of the apparent thermal conductivity.

Yuan, Zeng-Guang↗