Use of Non-Terrestrial Materials for Large-Scale Space Activities
As the space program matures, space construction will evolve from assembly and deployment of systems fabricated on the Earth to projects constructed from locally available resources. The...

Intelligent Construction Machines for Initial Planetary Shelter Fabrication
There have been any number of artists panoramas of initial base and habitat construction on other planetary bodies, notably recently the moon. Most of these conceptual drawings assume...

Explosives Research for Lunar Applications: A Review
Experimental explosives research for lunar operations is reviewed. Each research project had a different objective and together their findings showed that using explosives on the moon...

Extraterrestrials Excavation and Mining with Explosives
Explosion excavation technology may become a valuable tool for economic and efficient base station construction on extraterrestrial bodies. Criteria for explosives which can safely be...

Structures for a Lunar Base
Constructed facilities will play the key role in the establishment of a lunar base. Such a base is essential in the development of the space frontier and the expansion of humans into space....

Structures for the Moon
Lunar structures present new challenges for structural engineers. By articulating lunar conditions in terms of various 'causes,' e.g. high transportation costs...

The Expandable Platform as a Structure on the Moon
This discussion will show how the expandable platform, initially designed for earth, is translated for use on the moon, and how it answers a multitude of problems while it is used for...

Design of a Second Generation Lunar Base
We discuss the design of a permanent lunar base of 100 person size which may be able to expand to a base of about 500 person size. We present a preliminary design for a base concept which...

Basing Options for Lunar Oxygen for Manned Mars Missions
The use of lunar oxygen to support lunar space transportation reduces Earth launch mass requirements by a factor of 2. In this paper, the authors show that lunar oxygen can also reduce...

Candor Chasma Camp
This paper proposes a camp at Mars, in the Coprates region of the Valles Marineris rift, just below the equator on Candor Mensa 6�-12'S, 73�-30'W. Beginning at...

Homesteading Mars
The author gives serious study to setting up a permanent Martian base during the first or second manned Mars mission. The savings of fuel and equipment for the return trips might pay for...

Planetary Base Inflatable Form Construction
The use of the inflatable form (IF) structure has been practiced in the concrete industry for more than a decade. This article proposes the use of a double-walled IF for the Phase I construction...

Radiation Hazards to Space Construction - The Energetic Particle Environments
Many aspects of the space environment are recognized hazards for activities above the Earth's atmosphere. One of the most dramatic hazards is that posed by the diverse energetic...

Telerobotics Design Issues for Space Construction
The efforts of a recent study aimed at identifying key issues and trade-offs associated with using a Flight Telerobotic Servicer (FTS) to aid in Space Station construction phase tasks...

Robotic Space Construction
This paper touches briefly on some of the highlights of Langley's work in automated space construction. It shows that space trusses similar to those likely to be used on the...

Animation/Simulation for Construction Planning
The importance of a highly efficient schedule for space construction cannot be overestimated. A detailed scheduling process working closely with design data could reduce costs, minimize...

Robotics Research for Construction in Space
Research in construction robotics, terrestrial or otherwise, has focused on issues which are broadly pertinent to space applications. Construction robotics, as addressed by this writer,...

Robotic Influence in the Conceptual Design of Mechanical Systems in Space and Vice Versa: A Survey
A survey is presented of the methods of constructing structural elements in space by the application of robotic devices. Two fundamentally different approaches to the solution of robotic...

An Overview of the Ease/Access Space Construction Demonstration
With the successful completion of the EASE/ACCESS demonstration, NASA took a significant step toward understanding construction in space. These experiments were performed on November 29...

Adaptable Crew Facilities for Future Space Modules
This paper discusses life-size studies recently carried out on advanced crew accommodation features for future space module utilization. The studies are based on exploratory designs for...

 

 

 

 

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