Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Haym Benaroya
M E C H A N I C A L & A E R O S P A C E
The Chinese Change program plans human missions to the Moon after 2020.
The European Space Agencys Aurora program intends to send humans to the Moon by 2024.
Moon First !
attract young people to engineering & science
benefit from dual-use technologies reasonable accessibility from Earth
astronomy
resources geology
Energy production
areas of permanent sunlight
solar cells can be made from local materials no atmosphere power beaming back to Earth
Mining
fuel cells need platinum as a catalyst
not enough platinum resources on Earth to replace all engines in the US with fuel cells Apollo data show that the Moon is rich in platinum
Tourism Hilton
Tourism - Marriott
Structural Concepts
first generation:
pre-fabricated and pre-outfitted modules like the ones for the ISS
Structural Concepts
second generation:
locally assembled structures after a certain presence on the Moon has been established
third generation: structures exclusively made from local materials
Structural Concepts
Focusing on second generation habitats, most proposed concepts can be divided into:
inflatable structures
A Spherical Inflatable
A Modular Approach
A Self-Erecting Structure
Gravity
gMoon = 1.62 m / s gEarth = 9.81 m / s
Shielding
protection from radiation and micrometeoroids insulation (temperature differentials of 250C) regolith cover is most feasible at least 2.5 m 3.0 m of regolith cover needed average regolith mass is 1.7 g / cm
Other Loads
dynamic loads from operating machinery accidental loads like vehicle impacts extreme temperatures/gradients planned or accidental decompression hard vacuum
Satellites can be manufactured on the Moon and placed into LEO. The cost savings here may drive a number of industries related to satellite manufacturing to the Moon.
Robotics Mobility Enhancement Devices and Manipulators Dust Protection, Seals, Abrasive Resistant Materials Lightweight Hi-Reliability Life Support Portable Biomedical Sensors and Health Evaluation Systems Small, Efficient, Portable, Cooling and Heating Systems
Portable Life Support for Surface Suits Backup Life Support Systems Surface EVA Crew Member Health Monitoring Surface Suits/Rovers: Thermal Control Systems
Hypo-Hyper Thermal Treatments Fire Fighting Protection / Underwater Equipment Arctic/Antarctic Undergarments
Robotics and Vision Systems Super-Pressure Balloons (110,000 ft - Earth Equivalent) Tribology
Surface Vehicles: Drive Mechanisms, Robotic Arms, Mechanisms Surface Vehicles Robotic Construction and Set-up Equipment
Health Care for Long-Duration Space Missions Environmental Control for Spacecraft Cabins, Planetary Habitats, Pressurized Rovers
Closed Water Cycles for Spacecraft Cabins, Planetary Habitats, Pressurized Rovers
Reduced Logistics Through Long-Life, Easy-Care Clothes Fire-Proof / Low-Outgassing Clothes Building Material for Inflatable Structures
Reduced Logistics Through Local Food Production for Spacecraft Cabins, Planetary Habitats
Remote Operations for: - DOD, NSF Polar Programs High Efficiency Auto Engines
Space/Lunar/Mars Applications
Ka Band or Higher
Machine-Human Interface
Interferometers: Raw Data Transmission Information Processing System Management, Expert Data Archiving/Neural Nets
Vehicles Fuel-Efficient Aircraft Modular Construction, Homes Aircraft Fuel Tanks Home Insulation
Cryogenic Tanks Habitat Enclosures Pressurized Rover Enclosures Space Transit Vehicle Structures Cryogenic Tanks Habitable Volumes
Space Transit Vehicle Structures Planetary Habitat Enclosures Surface Power Systems Rover Suspensions
Large Structures, High Rise Buildings, Bridges Commercial Aircraft: Improved Safety, - Lower Maintenance
Telescience
Image Processing: Compression Technique, Storage, - Transmission, Image Enhancements Physiological Understanding of Humans Instrumentation Miniaturization
Improved Health Care Sports Medicine Cardiovascular Osteoporosis - Immune Systems Isolated Confined Environments / Polar Operations Noninvasive Health Assessments
Countermeasures for LongDuration and / or Micro-g Space Missions Health Management and Care
Dual-Use Technologies: Operations and Maintenance Terrestrial Application Technology Space/Lunar/Mars Applications
Task Partitioning Reliability & Quality Assurance in LongTerm, Hazardous Environments System Health Management and Failure Prevention Through AI and Expert Systems, Neural Nets
Systems and Structures Health Monitoring Inventory Management Self-Repairing Technologies Logistics Improvement