Transferring Construction Technology to the Moon and Back
This paper examines past NASA contributions to the construction industry, analyzes the challenges ahead for space-based construction, cites examples of new technologies currently used...
Engineering Implications of Levitating Lunar Dust
In this paper an attempt is made to provide a physical understanding of these various phenomena and their long-term effects on the lunar environment. This understanding is then applied...
Lunar Base Construction Using the Reinforce Earth Method with Geotextile
This paper focuses on the construction of layered embankments using regolith and filmy materials (called geotextiles) with a robot machine before setting up of the cylindrical module on...
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...
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...
Design Criteria for Lunar Construction Equipment
It is anticipated that lunar installations will, from the beginning, require moving and assembly of components and the use of lunar regolith as a construction material. The functional...
Optical Waveguide Solar Energy System for Lunar Material Processing
This paper summarizes a study of the optical waveguide (OW) solar energy system for lunar material processing. In the OW solar energy system, solar radiation is collected by the concentrator...
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,...
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...
Future Launch Systems: The Policy Challenge
A review of the literature and discussions with military, commercial, and NASA representatives shows that all users agree we need new systems, but there is no agreement on which to pursue....
ARIANE-5 Launch Operations Construction and Operation of a New Launch Complex for Lower Cost, Higher Reliability Missions
This paper describes the main criteria driving the evolution of these facilities : launch rate, vulnerability to accidents, reliability and safety, cost optimization and adaptation to...
Puerto Rico Privatizes the Roads
The opening of Puerto Rico's Teodoro Moscoso Bridge in San Juan early in 1994 will usher in a new era of privately financed toll roads. The first product of the 1989 Private...
Effective Project Planning Techniques
Setting tabular and graphic standards for the presentation, storage and handling of project-related data from the start can make the job of managing, scheduling and documenting a project...
Design of Mat Foundation for Egg Shape Digesters
Two levels of ground motion, the Maximum Probable Earthquake and the Maximum Credible Earthquake, were considered in designing the 2.5 million gallon egg shape digesters and their combined...
Nonlinear Collapse of Offshore Jacket Structures
The Joint Industry Tubular Frames Project was established with ten oil industry sponsors to investigate the reserve and residual strength of frames typical of offshore structures. To date...
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