A Discussion of Nuclear Propulsion in Space Travel
Nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) is gaining popularity as a safe alternative to conventional propulsion. Such alternatives are desirable to meet the goals of lunar colonization and manned...
JSC-1: A New Lunar Soil Simulant
A new lunar soil simulant, JSC-1, has been developed and characterized under the auspices of the NASA Johnson Space Center. This simulant was produced in large quantities to satisfy the...
A Simple Method of Producing Lunar Soil Simulants for Engineering Studies
This paper suggests that it is possible to obtain large quantities of simulated lunar regolith that can be used for feasibility studies of lunar base construction and excavation machinery...
Reservoir Estimates for the Sulpicius Gallus Region
Estimates presented here show that 1.1?109 metric tons of oxygen could of produced from one of the enriched areas that have been detected by spectrographic...
Effects of Dust and Thermal Cycling on Telescope Mirror Performance
In this study, 1 cm ? 1 cm square optical-grade aluminized glass mirrors were measured for maximum light reflectance and then the loss of reflectance due to the presence of different specific...
Thermal Regeneration of Spent Lithium Hydroxide
Exploration of planetary surfaces will require portable life-support systems to provide a continuous supply of breathable air. These systems will need to be regenerable in order to support...
Utilization of Liquid Carbon Dioxide for Planetary Exploration
The major component of the atmosphere of Venus and Mars is carbon dioxide CO2. This proposal is to use this carbon dioxide for planetary exploration...
Construction of Large Lunar Structures by Fusion Welding of Sintered Regolith
Regardless of material used, construction of large lunar structures using indigenous resources is likely to requires joining of simple blocks or pieces. Fusion welding using an optical...
Terrestrial Analogs: Implications for Lunar Lava Tubes
Earlier work has demonstrated that lava tubes did form on the Moon. Comparison of terrestrial lava tubes to their lunar counterparts suggest that they are very similar despite the order...
Lunar Oxygen Production - A Maturing Technology
Research on oxygen production from lunar rock and soil has made significant progress in the past two years. An extensive series of experiments on natural and synthetic analogs has concentrated...
Oxygen Generation from Synthetic Moon Soil Using a Plasma Reactor
A series of experiments were performed to evaluate the potential for generating oxygen from silica powder, alumina powder and a synthetic moon soil powder. A non-transferred arc plasma...
Lunar Oxygen Production in a Hydrogen Cold Plasma
This paper examines the concept of oxygen production from unbeneficiated lunar regolith using a non-equilibrium or 'cold' hydrogen plasma. An experimental investigation has indicated that...
Carbon Formation Theory for Space Oxygen Processes
Production of oxygen from the Martian atmosphere or lunar soil and the recovery of oxygen in manned space environments may include carbon formation from CO as a unit process. Thermodynamic...
Oxygen from Lunar Soil via Fluorination
This paper considers oxygen extraction from lunar soil via fluorination, for reasons of its high effectivity of oxygen release from most silicates. In addition to theoretical investigations,...
Sintering Bricks on the Moon
Sintering of full-scale 'bricks' from lunar soil simulant materials can be accomplished by radiant heating to 1100?C for approximately 2 hours, followed by slow cooling. Small-scale precompaction...
Analysis of Glass-Ceramic Production from Lunar Resources
Two simulated regoliths were used to investigate the effects of processing and composition on the properties of lunar-derived glass-ceramics. For the simulant with moderate iron concentration,...
Fiber Optic Chemical Sensors on Mars
A fiber optic chemical sensing instrument is described that will measure the reactivity of the martian soil and atmosphere. The self-contained instrument monitors reflectivity changes...
Transfer Vehicle Sizing for Missions to Mars
The purpose of this study is to analyze the interactions between mission and vehicle design parameters, and determine how the selection of a particular trajectory and transit time affects...
An Ultra-Lightweight Advanced Technology Telescope for Space Applications
We propose a new type of telescope designed specifically for space and lunar applications. The optical reflecting surfaces of the telescope are made by replication onto thin ultra-lightweight...
A Study of Jointless Bridge Behavior
The pressing need for maintenance free and low construction cost bridges, has increased the interest and activity in building integral or jointless bridges. The investigation of the behavior...
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