On the Beneficiation and Comminution of Lunar Regolith
A major concern in the area of planning for future lunar missions and for establishing a lunar base is the selection of a chemical process for liberation of oxygen from lunar regolith...
Beneficiation and Comminution Circuit for the Production of Lunar Liquid Oxygen (LLOX)
A complete lunar beneficiation and comminution circuit has been designed that requires no air or fluid locks for feed introduction or egress, with the exception of a vapor pyrolysis station....
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...
Preliminary Design of an Underground Lunar Mine
This paper presents a mining engineering viewpoint on the design and construction of an underground lunar mine. Upon completion, the facility will serve as a lunar habitat. Ore removed...
Design Criteria for an Underground Lunar Mine
Underground excavation and construction techniques have been well developed terrestrially and provide an attractive option for lunar mining and habitat construction. The lunar mine, processing...
Lunar Mining?Surface vs. in Situ?A Comparative Study
Surface mining and in situ mining are briefly reviewed and compared. It is verified that the inherent advantages of in situ mining over surface ruining point out that in situ mining should...
Sintering of Lunar Glass and Basalt
Sintering of the regolith has been proposed as a method for producing construction materials from local resources at a lunar base. Applications for lunar 'bricks' include road beds, foundations,...
Mechanical Properties of Compacted Lunar Simulant Using New Vacuum Triaxial Equipment
Mechanical stress-strain-strength properties of Arizona Lunar Simulant (ALS) are investigated by using a newly developed vacuum triaxial device that allows compaction under different initial...
Explosive Forming of Aluminum-Lithium Alloys
This paper proposes the use of explosive forming to form large, near net shape components for HLLV propellant tanks and structures in meeting this need. Combining with high strength to...
The Effect of Multiple Compliant Layers at the Fiber-Matrix Interface on Residual Thermal Stresses in Metal Matrix Composites
The large mismatch in thermoelastic properties of the fiber and matrix phases in advanced metal matrix composites, coupled with high consolidation temperatures, produces severe residual...
The Analysis Related to the Impact of Composite Panels
In analyzing experiments under impact loading, a dynamic model is needed to solve for the deflections and strains as functions of time. For composites, where shear deformation can be very...
Composite Materials for Structures on Planetary Surfaces
Development of structures for planetary surface environments depends upon the use of the most appropriate materials. Advanced composite materials are apparently the best candidates for...
Simple and Efficient Methods to Produce Construction Materials for Lunar and Mars Bases
A microwave heating method and a cold press method are proposed as simple ways to produce construction materials on the Moon and Mars. The present experiment on the microwave heating method...
Steam Injection System for Lunar Concrete
Since January 1989, the Department of Civil Engineering at the United States Air Force Academy has been conducting research on the use of concrete for constructing permanent facilities...
Concrete Construction on the Moon
Building bases on the Moon, according to Space Exploration Initiative, may start in the early 21st century. Concrete, as versatile as it has been, might become the prime material for construction....
On-Orbit Robotics Assembly and Operations of a Nuclear Mars Transfer System
This paper presents an operations concept and associated scenarios for assembly in Earth orbit of a manned Mars vehicle. The assembly of a Rockwell-Spar reference spacecraft configuration...
Robotic On-Orbit Fueling of SEI Vehicles
Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) missions may involve the assembly and then fueling of vehicles in locations other than on the surface of the Earth. For example, fueling of the Mars...
Telerobotic Field Geologist: Preliminary Results of a Feasibility Study
We conducted three laboratory studies to explore the feasibility of developing a telerobot to perform planetary field geology. In all, 72 college students attempted to match each of 15...
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...
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