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...
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,...
Strength and Fracture of Glass in the Lunar Environment
Due to the lack of water on the moon, the effects of hydrolytic depolymerization - stress corrosion cracking - will be nonexistent in glasses produced and used on the moon. This would...
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...
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...
Comparison of Micromechanical Models for Elastic Properties
The effective elastic properties for unidirectional composites, as predicted by several analytical micromechanical models are compared for glass/epoxy and graphite/epoxy. A brief review...
Optimum Design of Laminated Composites
The increased demand for high strength, light weight materials that function successfully in high temperature environments has caused the effective development of laminated composites...
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....
Regolith Dynamics
Due to the differences of the gravitational accelerations of the Earth and Lunar environments, geotechnical engineering must be applied differently in the two environments. This study...
Combustion Synthesis of Advanced Materials
The combustion synthesis of ceramic-metal composites using an in-situ liquid infiltration technique is described. The effect of varying the reactants and their stoichiometry to provide...
Mars Via the Moon?A Robust Lunar Resources-Based Architecture
A space operations architecture is outlined that uses lunar materials to cost-effectively support Lunar and Mars exploration and operations. This architecture uses a chemically powered...
Utilization of On-Site Resources for Regenerative Life Support Systems at a Lunar Outpost
Regenerative Life Support Systems (RLSS) will be required to regenerate air, water, and wastes, and to produce food for human consumption during long-duration stays on the Moon. It may...
Laboratory Evaluation of Footings for Lunar Telescopes
Presented here are the results of laboratory experiments with different footing shapes for lunar telescopes. These experiments used a variety of soils including some to simulate regolith...
Roof Management Alternatives for Aging Launch Infrastructure
This paper describes a Roof Management System approach to better cope with aging and deteriorating infrastructure support facilities at our national spaceports. It describes facility conditions...
Rocket Fuel to Earth Orbits from Near-Earth Asteroids and Comets
The analysis describes an architecture to bring 10,000 tons units of rocket fuel ore, propellant and construction mass back to low Earth orbit from newly discovered near-Earth comets or...
Metallized Microballoon EMI Shielding Materials
The number of applications requiring shielding against electro-magnetic interference (EMI) is growing. Materials that are lightweight, and formable need to be developed for shielding against...
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