Mobile Continuous Lunar Excavation
The purpose of this paper is to explore the two main problems regarding current approaches to lunar mining and to recommend three candidate solutions which will be shown to have potentially...
Lunar He-3 Mining: Improvements on the Design of the UW Mark II Lunar Miner
One of the minor consituents of the solar wind which has been implanted in the lunar regolith over its several billion year history, is helium 3 (He-3), a rare isotope of helium which...
Lunar Surface Mine Feasibility Study
This paper describes a lunar surface mine, and demonstrates the economic feasibility of mining oxygen from the Moon. The mine will be at the Apollo 16 landing site. Mine design issues...
Lunar Surface Mining Equipment Study
In response to the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI), a large number of lunar base scenarios have been proposed by various members of the research community. The National Aeronautics...
Transfer of Terrestrial Technology for Lunar Mining
Terrestrial mining equipment was evaluated for development of concepts and their application to lunar-based mining operations. The major operational differences between terrestrial and...
Spiral Mining for Lunar Volatiles
Lunar spiral mining, extending outward from a periodically mobile central power and processing station represents an alternative for comparison with more traditional mining schemes. In...
Modular Robot Testbed
One approach to non-terrestrial construction involves the use of small, inexpensive, modular robots rather than expensive one-of-a-kind construction tools. The Modular Robots Testbed at...
Outpost Service and Construction Robot (OSCR)
The Outpost Service and Construction Robot (OSCR) is proposed as the prime mover of a comprehensive, synergistic approach to extraterrestrial surface construction, mining and transportation...
Robotics in SEI Terrestrial Launch Site Operations
This paper addresses work performed at Rockwell International's Space Systems Division, Downey, California. Future Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) missions will require terrestrial...
Mitigation of Dust Contamination During EVA Operations on the Moon and Mars
The Space Exploration initiative is charting a new course for human exploration of the Moon and Mars. Advances in EVA system have been identified as being critical for enabling long-duration...
Advances in Ground Operations for the Next Generation Space Launch Vehicle Programs
For over thirty years, large launch vehicles such as Saturn, Delta, Atlas, and Titan have successfully provided the world with access to space. The emphasis of each of those programs was...
Characterization of Emplacement Strategies for Lunar and Mars Missions
In planning missions to the Moon and Mars, a significant activity will be the delivery of the crew and necessary equipment to the planet surface to enable the mission objectives. Because...
A Facility for Training Space Station Astronauts
The Space Station Training Facility (SSTF) will be the primary facility for training the Space Station Freedom astronauts and the Space Station Control Center ground support personnel....
Multiple Booster Spaceports
Multiple Booster Spaceports examined launching an entire class of space boosters, both current and future, from a single spaceport. The United States presently launches four distinct classes...
Using Simulation to Evaluate On-Orbit Construction Operations
As the NASA Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) program contemplates a permanent presence on both the Lunar and Martian soil, the necessity for On-Orbit Construction of the Earth-to-Lunar/Martian...
Planning and Budgeting for FAA Facilities and Equipment
Establishing new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facilities and equipment (F&E) requires long lead-time planning and through processing in a three-year budget cycle to achieve...
Icon-Based Concept for Exploring Rover Autonomy
A model traverse in the Mare Tyrrhenum region of Mars is used as a setting to discuss autonomy and geologic decision-making for a rover mission. An icon-based language is proposed as a...
A Statistical Method for the Reliability of Mechanical Components
The usual statistical treatment of data for the reliability of components is to fit a distribution to them and then to use this theoretical distribution for predictions. But since this...
Planning/Analysis of VPA's Norfolk North Terminal
The Virginia Port Authority (VPA) is developing a new marine container terminal on the northern portion of its land at Norfolk International Terminals (NIT). The terminal is to be designed...
Pile Installation and Testing at Ningbo Port, China
As part of an ambitious development program at the Port of Ningbo, the People's Republic of China constructed a 694 m (2277 ft) long offshore pier structure to provide a container berth...
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