Construction Operations for an Early Lunar Base

by John Graf, NASA Johnson Space Cent, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space

Abstract:

Construction and excavation operations performed during the earliest stages of a manned lunar base pose a unique set of problems. This paper will describe six construction tasks that are identified as activities likely to be performed at an early lunar base. Requirements for each task are listed, and a point design capable of meeting the task requirements is described. Equipment and EVA needs are listed for each task. After the tasks are detailed, the equipment used to perform these tasks is described. All the tasks can be performed with three common vehicles (a rover, a truck, and an excavator) and some shared equipment. This analysis will give a mission planner an understanding of the magnitude of early construction tasks, and it will give a spacecraft designer an estimate of the payload required to perform these operations.

Subject Headings: Space construction | Excavation | Construction materials | Space colonies | Lunar materials | Structural design | Structural analysis

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