In-Situ Resources Utilization

9 results

pages: 571 words: 124,448

Building Habitats on the Moon: Engineering Approaches to Lunar Settlements
by Haym Benaroya
Published 12 Jan 2018

With the current revolution in 3D manufacturing technologies, we can envision sending robots to the Moon, in advance of people, to begin to build fully functional structures for habitat ion and to mine the regolith for the above-mentioned elements. Even today, such advanced manufacturing can create objects of significant complex ity using multiple materials . In-situ resource utilization (ISRU ), coupled with advanced robotic manufacturing capabilities, implies that our lunar facilities will be almost autonomous, with full self-repair capabilities. Figure 2.1.The Arabian Peninsula can be seen at the northeastern edge of Africa. The large island off the coast of Africa is Madagascar.

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Included in this bounty are the medical sciences and technologies that we depend on, as well as the rarely mentioned ability to manage super-large projects of tremendous intricacies and logistical challenges. What do we need in order to return people to the Moon with an eye toward permanence? We need to be able to send mass to the Moon, of course, but the strategic vision requires us very quickly to be able to use local lunar resources to cover most of our needs. In-situ resource utilization will allow us to use lunar materials to build structures, manufacture very large solar panels for energy, and extract valuable elements from the lunar regolith that can be used to create an industrial infrastructure. This capability, and advanced manufacturing techniques – also known as 3D printing technologies – are the keys to a viable manned exploration and settlement effort.

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In order to advance the mission outlined above, we will need the following: access to orbit; low Earth orbital operations; human-rated transportation to the Moon along with all the technologies for descent and landing; lunar habitats; solar, battery and nuclear power systems; life-support and shielding systems to safeguard against radiation , micrometeorites, and zero- and one-sixth gravity ; the ability to perform surface missions; in-situ resource utilization in conjunction with necessary logistics and technologies; and fuel to ascend into lunar orbit for a return to Earth. We will need to be able to ameliorate the adverse psychological effects of close-quarters cohabitation and isolation from Earth and family. Supporting human life requires a number of additional basic capabilities – in particular, plant growth in a closed and reduced gravity environment, waste processing and nutrient recovery, atmosphere revitalization and water management.

Interplanetary Robots
by Rod Pyle

And with a new emphasis on the moon by the Trump administration, making the moon NASA's prime target for human exploration over the next decade, it is imperative to learn more about what resources might be found there. Planetary scientists and mission planners have talked about harvesting resources from the moon for decades—a process called In-Situ Resource Utilization, or ISRU. Analysis of the Apollo moon rocks showed that there are metals in them—aluminum, titanium, and more—as well as a surprising amount of water. More recently, hints of larger deposits of pure water ice have been spotted at the lunar poles. The poles are particularly promising because craters there can be in permanent darkness, and water deposited from comets and asteroids (both bountiful sources of water ice from the early solar system) can remain in an eternally frozen state.

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An experiment that will soon land aboard the Mars 2020 rover should pave the way for producing oxygen from the Martian atmosphere. Charmingly, it's called MOXIE (“moxie” means determination or grit as a character trait, as in, “That Gil Levin sure has moxie!”). MOXIE stands for Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment. Its sole purpose will be to demonstrate the ability to generate pure oxygen electrochemically from the Martian atmosphere. Martian air has abundant carbon dioxide—it's about 96 percent of the planet's atmosphere—and from this oxygen can be created. Oxygen is, of course, valuable for human survival on the red planet, as well as for supplying fuel to returning spacecraft such as a robotic sample-return vehicle.

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Mariner 9, 129, 130 of the moon (Earth), 45–47, 47 from Luna 9, 84 from Lunar Orbiters, 55–59 from Lunokhod 1, 91 from Lunokhod 2, 92 Ranger program, 54–55, 56 from Surveyor 7, 87–88 from Surveyor program, 88 of Neptune, 207 from Pioneers, 179–80 of Saturn, 200, 201, 201, 201–202 of Venus, 154 from Voyager mission, 193, 194 See also cameras India, 62, 94, 322 India Space Research Organization, 322 Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), 242, 247 inflatable antennas, 267–68 InSight Mars mission, 79–81 In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), 61 International Space Station, 324 interstellar clouds, inflatable antennas and, 268 interstellar probe (Project Longshot), 221–23 interstellar space Breakthrough Starshot initiative, 218–20 NASA projects for, 217–18 Pioneer 10 and, 180 Project Longshot, 221–23 Voyager Interstellar Mission, 202, 208, 210, 210–12 Voyagers in, 202, 206, 211–12 “inverse umbrella,” of Mars 5, 230, 231 Io (moon of Jupiter), 194–95, 258, 260–61 Ip, Wing-Huen, 278 Italian Space Agency, 280 IUS stage, 242, 247 Jain, Naveen, 94 James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), 220, 318, 319–20 Japan, 94, 324 Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), 156, 322, 324 Jet-Assisted Takeoff (JATO), 106 Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), 17 annual budget, 27 author's assignment at, 21–22 author's badge for, 327–28 availability to the public, 21 Building 180, 24–26 “Center of the Universe,” plaque, 28 Curiosity landing event and, 21–22, 26–29, 30, 97–98, 103, 169 Curiosity rover clone at, 24, 25 Explorer 1 designed and built at, 43, 107 focusing on Mars for exploration, 108–109 founding of, 106 Galileo project and, 239, 245, 247–48, 255 Grand Tour of outer planets and, 172 guard post, 21 location, 19–21, 20 Lunar Orbiter images and, 58 “mall”/fountain at, 23–24 managed by Caltech, 23 media coverage of Surveyor landing and, 86 Microdevices Laboratory, 98 movie clips of a rotating Jupiter, 180 NASA and, 23, 27, 106, 109–10 Ranger program, 51 simplification of robotic rendezvous, 235 telescopic observations of Mars, 66 Viking program and, 124, 133, 135 Viking spacecraft design, 120 Voyager Mars project, 108–18 Voyager probes, 183 Jezero Crater (Mars), 312 John Paul II, Pope, 265 Johnson, Blind Willie, 215 Johnson, Torrence, 257, 259, 261, 265 Johnson Space Center, 28 Jones, Chris, 192 Jovian system.

pages: 352 words: 87,930

Space 2.0
by Rod Pyle
Published 2 Jan 2019

Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy: Rockets built by SpaceX that provide commercial and government launch services. Gateway: New name for the Lunar Orbiting Platform-Gateway (see entry below). GCR: Galactic Cosmic Radiation, also known as cosmic rays. This is radiation from beyond the solar system that has a negative impact on both human bodies and electronics in space. ISRU: In-Situ Resource Utilization, the use of resources found in space to support operations there. Refers primarily to atmospheric gases, water ice, and metals found on the moon, asteroids, and planets such as Mars that can be refined into useful substances. ISS: International Space Station, built by NASA and a consortium of multinational partners operating under NASA leadership.

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V.), 172, 173 dominance, 76–77 Double Asteroid Redirection Test mission (DART), 228, 228–229 Dove satellite, 160 Dragon 2, 11, 19, 50, 50, 55, 123, 130, 159, 210 Dragon rocket, 119, 123, 126, 130 Draper Fisher Jurvetson Venture Capital (DFJ), 155, 158 Dream Chaser, 11, 52, 52, 55 Dyson, Freeman, 36, 241 Dyson Sphere, 241 E Earth orbit, 245–246 Earth suborbital (as space destination), 59, 245–246 East India Trading Company, 125–126 Edwards Air Force Base, 95 Ehrenfreund, Pascale, 173–174 Elachi, Charles, 169–170 electrical fields, 90 Electron rocket, 103–104 elimination of waste, 70, 107 Endeavor, 3 Energia booster, 128 entrepreneurs. see space entrepreneurs Epsilon rocket, 175 ESA. see European Space Agency European Space Agency (ESA) accomplishments of, 172–174 and crewed landings, 247 defined, 289 HTV cargo, 173 and international space agencies, 181 lowering of launch costs by, 148 modules, 166 Moon Villages, 65, 242 and NASA, 170 partnerships with, 48, 167, 195 successful trips to Mars, 177 work on Huygens probe by, 169–170 EVAs. see Extra Vehicular Activities Eve airplane, 95, 96, 101 exercise, in space, 82 expeditionary model, settlement vs., 237 Explore Mars, 270 Explorer 1 satellite, 40, 40–41 extended confinement, 76, 76 Extra Vehicular Activities (EVAs), 70, 71, 107 F FAA. see Federal Aviation Administration fairings, 119, 126, 194, 259, 261. see also payloads FAITH (Final Assembly, Integration, and Test Hanger), 95, 100 Falcon 1 (shuttle), 115, 126, 156, 156, 158, 159, 160 Falcon 9 (shuttle) for commercial launches, 194 under construction, 215 cost of, 128, 130 and COTS program, 215 defined, 289 first flight of, 126 first launch of, 156 with hypersonic grid fins, 127 Merlin engine for a, 131 and reusability, 39, 119, 259 and SpaceX, 11, 112–115, 113–115, 118, 120–121 as US rocket, 55 at Vandenberg A.F.B., 133 Falcon Heavy construction of, 123 defined, 289 Delta IV Heavy and, 142, 146 first launch of, 129, 255–257, 256, 258–261, 261 for interplanetary travel, 128 New Glenn and, 136, 137, 245 reusability of, 259 and SpaceX, 11 as US rocket, 55 Farshchi, Shahin, 161 FCC (Federal Communications Commission), 131 feathering system, 98–99 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), 99, 131, 220 Federal Communications Commission (FCC), 131 femtosats, 103 Final Assembly, Integration, and Test Hanger (FAITH), 95, 100 Firefly Aerospace, 103 flight surgeons, 73, 79, 108 Forbes magazine, 151 Founders Fund, 126 France, 79, 172–173 Freedom space station, 166, 166 French postal services, 211 Friedman, Louis, 265 Friendship 7 spacecraft, 164 fuel for achieving orbit, 16 cost of, 128 for leaving Martian surface, 63 liquid methane as, 138 for radiation shielding, 88 for SpaceX rockets, 144 storage of, 148 fuel depots, 159, 204, 208, 235 fuselages, 122, 123 G Gagarin, Yuri, 42, 42 galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), 83, 90, 290 Garver, Lori, 30, 30, 209, 226, 251 Gateway, 241–242, 246, 249, 289 GCRs (galactic cosmic rays), 83, 90, 290 Gemini 4 mission, 71 Gemini spacecrafts, 44, 45, 71, 192 genetic damage, from radiation, 86 George Washington University, 186–187 geostationary Earth orbit, 59–60, 130 geosynchronous Earth orbit, 59–60, 206 German Aerospace Center, 172–173, 176 Gerstenmaier, Bill, 168, 210–211, 242 getting involved, 263–271 citizen groups, 264–265 expanded opportunities for, 263–266 indirect involvement, 264 and the internet, 264 organizations for, 266–271 Glenn, John, 42, 142, 164 Goddard Space Flight Center, 31 GOES weather satellite, 235 Google, 160 government spaceflight, 246 GPS, 28 gravity artificial, 80, 80–82 on Earth, 20, 20 effects of, on astronauts, 22 micro-, 82, 292 overcoming, 16–18 Greason, Jeff, 217, 219, 251–252 Great Britain, 177, 211 Griffin, Mark, 35, 237, 238 Gross Space Product, 207 Guardian, 98 H H3 launch vehicle, 175 Hadfield, Chris, 179 “handshake in space,” 166 Harvard University, 36 Haughton-Mars Project Research Station, 270–271 Hawking, Stephen, 35, 235 Hayabusa probe, 175, 175 Hayn Crater, 62 heat-absorbing tiles, 18–19 high-altitude aircrafts, 69–70, 70 The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space (O’Neill), 240, 241 Highway 58 (California), 94 HI-SEAS simulator, 78 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Adams), 261 Hopkins, Mark, 36, 265 Hoshide, Akihiko, 28 HTV spacecraft, 173–174, 175 Hubble Space Telescope, 2 Hudson Bay Company, 251 Human Exploration and Operations, 168, 210 humans destinations for, in space, 59–66 and need for gravity, 81 spacecrafts for transporting, 49–55 in spaceflight, 44–48, 158, 177–178, 264 survival of, 20–21, 34–36, 234–236, 238 human waste, elimination of, 70, 107 Huygens probe, 169–170 hypersonic grid fins, 127, 127 I IBM, 157 Icarus Interstellar, 270 ICBMs, 230 IKAROS spacecraft, 175 incentives, for space settlement, 250–252 Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), 148 accomplishments of, 176–178 collaboration with Russia, 177–178 lowering launch costs, 246 Mangalyaan Mars orbiter, 177 Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), 177 NASA partnership with, 177, 178 PSLV rocket, 176 space entrepreneurs in, 181 Indian Space Society, 269–270 infrastructure. see space infrastructure In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), 290 Institute of Biomedical Problems, 79 International Astronautical Congress, 236, 244 international cooperation, 163–181, 164, 266–271 and international accomplishments, 172–179 and international space agencies, 180–181 ITAR, 168–170, 172 space race as example of, 163–168 International Space Development Conference, 35 International Space Station (ISS), 53, 168 air circulation in, 74 aluminum hulls in, 87 Antares rocket and, 153 Apollo mission and, xiii–xiv Atlantis mission and, 2–3, 5–6 aurora as seen from, 61 BEAM module on, 54 cargo on, 210 centrifuges on, 81 cost of, 168 decommission and privatization of, 246 defined, 290 Dragon and, 50 Dream Chaser and, 52 and European Space Agency, 172 as example of international cooperation, 48, 163, 165, 195 as Freedom station, 166, 167 hardware on, 153 HTV cargo, 173 Kelly brothers on, 75 André Kuipers on, 82 launching to, 15–16 in low Earth orbit, 59 Elon Musk and, 117 NASA and, 65 National Laboratory, 216 permanent occupation of, 53 private space companies and, 9, 210 shuttle approaching, 46 Soyuz and, 49, 185, 189 Starliner and, 50 3-D printers on, 107 Unity module, 171 window structures aboard, 77, 77 International Space University, 268 International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 168–170, 172, 195, 198–199, 290 internet, 29, 130–132, 264 investors. see space investors involvement in space, 263–271 Iran, 180 isogrids, 122, 123 ISRO. see Indian Space Research Organization ISRU (In-Situ Resource Utilization), 290 ISS. see International Space Station ITAR. see International Traffic in Arms Regulation Iwamoto, Hiro, 174–175 J Jackson, Michael, 34 James Webb Space Telescope, 31 Japanese National Space Agency (JAXA), 290 accomplishments of, 174–175 Hayabusa probe, 175 HTV cargo, 174 Mars missions of, 175, 177 modules, 166 partnerships with, 48, 167, 175 probing by, 243–244 Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), 34, 41, 169, 198, 239, 265, 290 Johnson Space Center, 30–31, 73–74, 195 JPL. see Jet Propulsion Laboratory Jupiter, 20, 177, 197 Jurvetson, Steve, 126, 131–132, 155, 158–160, 159, 212 K Kelly, Mark, 75, 75–76 Kelly, Scott, 73, 75, 75–76 Kennedy, John F., 13, 42, 164, 164–165 Kennedy Space Center, 6, 12, 30–31, 113, 255 Keravala, Jim, 250–251 Khrushchev, Nikita, 164, 164–165 kinetic impactor, 229 Kistler Aerospace, 137 Knight, Peter, 70 Kuipers, André, 82 Kymeta, 107 L L5 Society, 265 Lagrange points, 60, 64, 229, 237, 240, 248 Laser Bees, 230 LauncherOne, 100, 102 launch vehicles, 186, 187 lava tubes, 89, 243 LEO. see low Earth orbit Leonov, Alexei, 45, 166 Link Space, 194 LMO (low Mars orbit), 60 Lockheed Martin, 50, 63, 141, 142, 144 Logsdon, John, 186–187 long-duration spaceflight, 75 Long March boosters, 49, 192–193 LOP-G. see Lunar Orbiting Platform-Gateway Los Angeles International Airport, 121 Lovell, Jim, 7 low bone density, 72 low Earth orbit (LEO) aluminum hulls for shuttles in, 87 Apollo 17 in, 205 aurora in, 61 capsule design for, 55 defined, 290 exploration beyond, 10 outposts in, 61–62 and radiation, 21, 82–85 satellites in, 107 as travel destination, xiv, 7, 59 low Mars orbit (LMO), 60 Luna 2 spacecraft, 183 Lunar and Planetary Institute, 233 Lunar Module, 141 Lunar Orbiting Platform-Gateway (LOP-G), 187, 241, 241–242, 247, 290 lunar rovers, 248 Lunar Roving Vehicle, 205 lunar space stations, 246–247 Luxembourg, 161, 180, 219 Luxembourg Space Cluster, 180 M Made In Space, Inc., 106–107 Maezawa, Yusaku, 129 magnetic field, on Earth, 22, 83, 84, 90 Manber, Jeffrey, 106 Mangalyaan Mars orbiter, 177, 177, 178 Mao Zedong, 192 Marius Hills, 243, 243–244 Mars Aldrin Cyclers on, 213 as candidate for human spaceflights, 62–63, 63 capsules orbiting near, 55 Chinese intentions of reaching, 197 collecting resources on, 218 colonies on, 34–35, 89, 238, 244 cost of sending humans to, 27 as destination, 60 and Earth’s gravity, 16 European probes on, 173 galactic radiation on, 84–85 and Gateway, 242 Indian orbiter, 177, 177, 178 JAXA plans to reach, 175 journeys to, 66 landings on, 46, 249, 250 as long-term goal for space travel, xiv, 161, 172 moons of, 60 orbiting of, 60, 249 and Orion capsules, 52 robotic rocket, 249 rovers on, 196, 239, 239 settlements on, 249–250, 253 simulation of bases on, 78–79 SpaceX plans for, 125–126, 129 successful trips to, 177 survival on, 20, 21 timeline to get to, 240–250 and United Arab Emirates Space Agency, 180 water-ice shields for living on, 91 water on, 206, 219 Mars-500 simulator, 79, 79 Mars Base Camp, 63 Mars Exploration Rover, 196 Mars First advocates, 62–63 The Mars Institute, 270–271 Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), 177, 177, 178 Mars OXygen In-situ utilization Experiment (MOXIE), 239, 239 Mars Sample Return, 249 Mars Science Laboratory, 84 The Mars Society, 265, 266 mass, of spacecrafts, 77, 87–88 mass reduction, 122, 123, 123 Maxar Technologies Ltd., 179 medical research, 27–28, 72–76 Mercury program, 2, 18, 19, 43, 44, 53, 59, 137, 178 Mercury Redstone 3 (MR-3), 43, 44 Merlin engine, 126, 128, 131 metamaterials, 107 Meyerson, Rob, 137–141, 139 microgravity, 82, 292 Microsoft, 102, 107 militarization of space, 170, 170–171 Mir space station, 2, 44, 46–47, 48, 54, 73, 166, 166–167, 184–185 Mitchell, Edgar, 32, 33 Mojave, California, 94 Mojave Airport, 94 Mojave Desert, 98, 111 Mojave Spaceport, 94–95 MOM (Mars Orbiter Mission), 177, 177, 178 moon (Earth’s), 20, 158, 161 bases on, 247 as candidate for human spaceflight, 62 capsules orbiting near, 55 collecting resources from, 205, 206, 218 as destination, 60 exposure to radiation on, 83 first humans on the, xiii–xiv galactic radiation on, 84 and Gateway, 242 landing on, 247 manufacturing on, 247 mining on, 88, 89, 247 north pole of, 62 as objective for SpaceX, 125 orbiting of, 59, 59, 60 orbit of, during SELENE mission, 175 and Orion capsules, 52 outpost on, 237 as short-term goal for space travel, 172 space settlements on, 242–245 storage depots on, 221 surface of, 60 travel to, 66 water ice on, 206 Moon Express, 211, 218, 220 Moon First advocates, 62 moons (in general) of Mars, 60, 175 Saturn’s moon Titan, 170 “Moon Village,” 65, 173, 242, 243 Moscow, Russia, 28, 79 MOXIE (Mars OXygen In-situ utilization Experiment), 239, 239 Mueller, Rob, 251 Multi-Purpose Logistics Module, 2 Murray, Bruce, 265 muscle mass, reduction in, 73 Musk, Elon “billionaires’ club” and, 151, 154 Charles Bolden and, 116 on colonizing Mars, 34–35 and creation of SpaceX, 115–119 on doing something that is important, 1 Falcon rockets and, 255–257, 259–261 and international space agencies, 181 Steve Jurvetson and, 158, 159 lunar base supported by, 244 on moving humans to space, 236 prediction of launch prices by, 148 and reusability, 39 and SpaceX, 7, 118, 123–126 Tesla roadster, 260–261 mutual funds, for private investors, 154 Myhrvold, Nathan, 107 N N1 booster, 43 N1 moon rocket, 185 NAFCOM (NASA Air Force Costing Methodology), 215 NanoRacks, 105, 105–106, 154, 157, 198 nanosats, 103 NASA. see National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA Air Force Costing Methodology (NAFCOM), 215 NASA Ames Research Park, 106 NASDA (National Space Development Agency), 174 National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 290. see also Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) asteroid detection systems, 224 and Bigelow Aerospace, 54 budget of, 26–27, 178 Bill Clinton’s changes to, 167 Commercial Crew Program, 135 and cost of launching water into orbit, 88, 89 and crewed landings, 247 and Dream Chaser, 52, 52 and European Space Agency, 170 and Falcon Heavy launch, 257 history of, 1–13 and human spaceflight missions, 61, 65 legal constraints around, 168–170 Lunar Orbiting Platform-Gateway, 60 mapping of asteroids by, 224, 226, 227 medical professionals from, 73–74 MR-3 flight timeline from, 44 National Space Council and, 213, 214 partnerships with, 9, 129–130, 140–141, 153, 158, 174, 175, 177, 178, 179, 247 and permanent space settlement, 237–239 psychologists/psychiatrists working at, 77–78 and public-private partnerships, 209–211 safety regulations at, 99–100, 107 simulations created by, 78 and SLS/Orion, 52, 53, 55 and spaceflight-capable nuclear reactors, 90 space infrastructure and, 209–217 Space Portal, 199 and space race, 42–44 and space settlements, 237–239, 241–244 and SpaceX Dragon, 50, 50 sponsored events for start-ups, 156 study of space colonies by, 236 study of space radiation by, 84 use of robotics by, 239 US workforce and spending by, 29–30 National Aeronautics and Space Council, 213, 214 National Defense Authorization Act (2016), 119 nationalism, 163–164 National Laboratory, 216 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 235 National Space Council defined, 290 NASA and, 65, 213, 214 Scott Pace and, 171, 198, 237 reactivation of, 10, 10 rules of the new, 218, 220 National Space Development Agency (NASDA), 174 National Space Society, 266 defined, 291 founding of, 264–265 International Space Development Conference, 35, 36 Bruce Pittman and, 199 Space Settlement Summit, 204 George Whitesides and, 97 National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), 99 Navy, 76, 77 near Earth objects (NEO), 290 New Armstrong, 51 New Glenn, 51, 136, 136–139, 244, 245, 290–291 New Horizons Pluto mission, 132 New Line 1 vehicle, 194 New Shepard, 51, 51, 136–139, 137, 139, 290–291 NewSpace, 137, 152, 291 new space race, 135–148 Blue Origin and, 135–141 United Launch Alliance and, 141–148 New Zealand, 104 normal bone density, 72 North Korea, 180 Northrop Grumman Corporation, 102, 121, 152, 154 Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, 12, 102, 152, 174 Northwestern University, 125 Norway, 153 NSS (National Space Society), 291 NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board), 99 nuclear reactors, for spaceflight, 90 O Obama, Barack, 6, 9, 56–57, 219, 226 “offshoring,” 178 OffWorld, 250 O’Neill, Gerard, 240–241, 250, 265, 269 O’Neill space cylinders, 240–241, 241 One Space, 194 OneWeb, 131 Orbital ATK, 12, 102, 103, 152, 153, 154 orbital refueling depot, 205 Orbital Sciences, 152, 158 orbiting stations, 63–64, 71–72 ore, from asteroids, 64 organizations, space-related, 266–271 Orion, 291 Altair and, 8 capsule, 78 for deep-space exploration, 53 as government spaceflight, 246 rendezvous with asteroid, 56–57 Soyuz and, 186 and Space Launch System, 9, 10, 52, 55, 246, 249 Outer Space Treaty (1967), 165, 165, 218, 219 outposts, 237–238 overview effect, 32, 32 Oxford University, 235 ozone layer, 228 P Pace, Scott, 171–172, 196, 198, 214, 237 Paleogene era, 223 partial-gravity environments, 22, 81 Passengers (movie), 81 passive radiation shielding, 90 payloads, 119, 126, 194, 259, 261, 291.

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pages: 70 words: 22,172

How We'll Live on Mars (TED Books)
by Stephen Petranek
Published 6 Jul 2015

The only problem with electrolysis is one that will frustrate early Mars colonists: it requires a lot of electricity. NASA, fortunately, has already tackled the oxygen problem. When it launches the successor to the Curiosity rover in 2020, it will carry a type of fuel cell that will turn Mars’s atmospheric CO2 into oxygen and carbon monoxide. The device is called MOXIE, for Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resources Utilization Experiment. It uses a process similar to electrolysis in water, only with high-temperature ceramics in air. “A voltage across the ceramic selectively separates the oxygen ions that have been catalytically produced at the surface,” says Dr. Michael Hecht, principal investigator for the MOXIE instrument project and assistant director for research management at MIT’s Haystack Observatory.

pages: 309 words: 97,320

Fire and Ice: The Volcanoes of the Solar System
by Natalie Starkey
Published 29 Sep 2021

This same water could even be used as rocket fuel, if broken down into its constituent elements of hydrogen and oxygen, meaning we don’t need to transport fuel from the Earth to the Moon, making it easier for us to explore well beyond the Moon. This may all sound like science fiction, but scientists working in the field of In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) have been investigating at how to extract water from Moon rocks for several years and it is proving to be a viable technique. We might wonder if Moon water will taste any different from Earth water. Hopefully one day soon some of us will get the opportunity to find out. The lack of recent volcanism on the Moon might lead you to expect its insides today are cold and solid, just like the surface.

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Index Acapulco conference (2010) here, here accretion, planetary here acid rain here, here Ahuna Mons, Ceres here aluminium here, here Alvin, DSV (WHOI) here, here ammonia here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here andesite here, here Apollo missions (NASA) here, here, here, here, here, here arc volcanoes here Arsia Mons, Mars here, here, here, here ash aircraft risk here benefits here, here Mars here, here pyroclastic surges/flows here, here, here ‘raining’ here, here, here scattering light here supervolcanoes here tephra fall here Asosan volcano, Japan here asteroids here, here, here, here, here, here, here asthenosphere here atmospheres Earth here, here, here Mars here, here, here, here, here Moon here Titan here, here, here, here, here, here, here Triton here Uranus here Venus here, here, here, here bacteria here, here basaltic maria here, here benefits of volcanic activity here, here BepiColombo mission (ESA/JAXA) here Black Beauty here black smokers here body waves here Borealis Planitia, Mercury here boron here Bowen, Norman L. here Bowen’s reaction series here ‘Boxing Day’ tsunami, Indian Ocean here calcium here, here calcium silicate perovskite (CaSiO3) here carbon here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here; see also hydrocarbons carbon dioxide here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here carbon monoxide here, here, here, here carbonatite lavas here Cassini mission (NASA) here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here Ceres here Challenger, HMS here Chang’e mission (CNSA) here Charon here, here, here, here, here, here chemosynthesis here, here, here, here chlorine here, here, here, here clathrate hydrate here climate regulation here climatic impacts of eruptions here, here colour-temperature scale here Columbia River Flood Basalt Group, United States here comparative planetology here, here, here, here, here composite volcanoes here, here conduction here, here, here, here, here convection here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here cooling, planetary/lunar conduction and convection here crust formation here major factors here mantle’s influence here size and location influences here and volcanic activity here, here, here, here, here, here craters here crater-size frequency distribution investigations here crusts/surfaces here, here; see also Earth, crusts cryovolcanoes here, here asteroids here Ceres here Enceladus here, here, here Europa here, here, here Pluto here, here Titan here, here Triton here, here, here crystallisation here Curiosity mission (NASA) here, here cyanobacteria here Dawn mission (NASA) here, here diamonds here diapirs here diatremes here Dione here Doom Mons, Titan here Dragonfly mission (NASA) here dwarf planets here, here; see also Pluto Earth asthenosphere here atmosphere here, here, here composition here core here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here crusts here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here; see also plate tectonics geothermal gradient here geysers here Goldilocks Zone of solar system here, here heat here, here, here, here hydrothermal vents here, here, here interior water here lavas see lavas and magmas life here, here, here, here lithosphere here, here magmas see lavas and magmas magnetic field here, here, here, here mantle see mantle number of ‘active’ volcanoes here plate tectonics see plate tectonics submarine volcanoes here, here volcano types here, here water here, here earthquakes here, here, here, here, here, here, here East African Rift here, here Enceladus here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here Europa here, here, here, here, here, here, here Europa Clipper mission (NASA) here, here, here exoplanets here extremophiles here, here, here, here Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland here, here feldspar here, here ferro-volcanoes here fire fountains here, here, here, here fluorine here, here forecasting eruptions here, here, here, here, here formation of planets here frequency of eruptions here future missions here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here Galapagos volcanoes, Ecuador here, here Galileo Galilei here, here Galileo mission (NASA) here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here geophysics here geysers here, here, here, here, here, here, here glaciers here glass here, here, here, here, here, here, here Glicken, Harry here global effects of eruptions here, here Goldilocks Zone of solar system here, here, here granite here, here Great Valley, Mercury here greenhouse gases/effect here, here, here, here, here; see also specific gas Gutenberg, Beno here habitability factors here, here Hadley Rille, Moon here Hawaiian volcanoes, United States here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here; see also Kilauea, United States heat, planetary/lunar; see also temperatures adiabatic heating here causing volcanic activity here, here clathrate hydrate here collisions here, here cooling methods/histories here and core formation here gas and ice giants here gravitational loading here ice moons here kinetic energy here, here, here Mercury here nuclear heat here, here, here Pluto here primordial heat here, here, here tidal flexing here, here, here, here, here, here, here helium here, here, here Herculaneum, Italy here, here Hubble Space Telescope ( NASA/ESA/STScI) here, here human deaths here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, Tonga here Huygens lander (ESA) here hydrocarbons here, here, here, here, here, here, here; see also methane hydrogen here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here; see also hydrocarbons hydrogen sulphide here, here hydrogeochemical processes here hydrothermal vents here, here, here, here Iceland here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here ICE-VII here, here In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) here InSight mission (NASA) here, here, here, here, here interiors asteroids here compositional evidence here depths here diamonds and inclusions here geysers here imaging studies here indirect evidence here rocks brought to surface in eruptions here, here, here seismic evidence here xenoliths here Io here, here, here, here, here iron here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here iron meteorites here, here iron oxides here jökulhlaups here, here, here JUICE mission (ESA) here, here Juno mission (NASA) here, here, here Jupiter here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here Kavachi volcano, Solomon Islands here, here Kawah Ijen volcano, Indonesia here Kilauea, United States here, here, here, here, here, here kinetic energy here, here, here Kola Superdeep Borehole, Russia here Krafft, Katia and Maurice here, here Krakatoa, Indonesia here, here, here, here Kuiper Belt here, here, here, here, here; see also Pluto lahars here, here Laki, Iceland here, here, here land formation/transformation flood basalts here islands here, here, here, here mantle plumes here spreading ridges here at subduction zones here Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) here, here, here lavas and magmas andesitic and rhyolitic here, here asteroids here basaltic here, here, here, here, here carbonatite here Ceres here colour here, here cryomagmas here, here, here, here crystallisation here defining here, here difference between here Enceladus here evolution here, here explosivity here, here, here, here, here flood basalts (LIPs) here, here, here, here, here forming crusts here, here, here Io here, here lava lakes here, here, here lava tubes here mafic here, here magma chambers here magma lenses here magmatic plumbing system here Mars here, here, here, here, here Mercury here, here Moon here, here, here, here, here, here pillows here, here scoria here seismic activity here silica content here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here speed of flow here submarine volcanoes here, here sulphurous here temperatures here, here, here, here, here, here ultramafic here, here, here Venus here, here, here viscosity factors here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here life, factors needed for here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here life, potential for Ceres here Enceladus here, here, here, here Europa here, here, here Goldilocks Zone here Mars here, here, here, here, here Pluto here Titan here, here, here Triton here Venus here, here life on hydrothermal vents here linear chains here liquid oceans, extraterrestrial Enceladus here, here, here, here Europa here, here, here, here, here Pluto here, here Titan here, here Triton here, here lithosphere here, here, here Loki Patera, Io here Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (NASA) here Maat Mons, Venus here Magellan mission (NASA) here magmas see lavas and magmas magnesium here, here, here, here, here magnetic fields here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here magnetic stripes here, here, here, here magnetite here mantle composition here, here constant change here defining here gases here insulation property here, here magmas see lavas and magmas melting methods here, here movement here; see also plate tectonics solid and liquid here temperatures here volume and depth here mantle plumes here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here Mare Imbrium, Moon here Mariner missions (NASA) here, here, here, here Mars Arsia Mons here, here, here, here ash here, here atmosphere here, here, here, here, here Black Beauty here Cerberus Fossae fracture system here cooling here, here core here crusts here, here, here, here fire fountains here heat here lavas here, here, here, here, here life here, here, here, here, here magnetic field here, here, here, here magnetic stripes here, here, here mantle plumes here mass here meteorites on Earth here Olympus Mons here, here, here, here, here, here, here paterae here pyroclastic cones here seismic activity here, here tectonic activity here, here, here temperatures here, here Tharsis Montes here, here, here Tharsis region here, here Valles Marineris here volcanic activity here, here, here, here, here, here volcanic rocks here water here, here, here, here, here, here Mars Exploration Rovers (NASA) here Mars Express (ESA) here Mars Global Surveyor (NASA) here Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (NASA) here Martin, Sir George here Matthews, Drummond here Mauna Loa, United States here, here, here Maury, Matthew here Mercury here, here, here, here, here MESSENGER spacecraft (NASA) here, here, here, here, here meteoric waters here meteorites here, here, here, here, here, here methane Earth here, here, here Io here Mars here Pluto here, here, here, here Titan here, here, here, here, here, here Triton here Uranus here microbes here, here, here, here, here, here, here mid-ocean ridges here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here Mohorovičič, Andrija here Moon here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here moons here, here, here, here, here, here, here; see also specific moon Morley, Lawrence here Mount St.

pages: 183 words: 51,514

Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration
by Buzz Aldrin and Leonard David
Published 1 Apr 2013

This includes looking at a variety of Mars orbits and possible rendezvous with or landing on Phobos or Deimos, and scrutinizing trajectories of Earth-moon L2 to the Mars system, and return. Mars surface system capability is another challenge, whether lighter rover systems able to speed across the planet or equipment that demonstrates in situ resource utilization (ISRU). ISRU demos can shake out equipment to support human surface exploration and settlement—projects for extraction and long-term storage of oxygen and/or hydrogen from available Martian resources in the atmosphere, hydrated minerals on the surface, and digging into Mars to utilize subsurface ice.

pages: 237 words: 76,486

Mars Rover Curiosity: An Inside Account From Curiosity's Chief Engineer
by Rob Manning and William L. Simon
Published 20 Oct 2014

From Kent, we heard the description of a whole stocked-up camp that would be placed robotically prior to the astronauts’ arrival. To save weight, water would be extracted from the Martian air—though we would later learn of an easier way—and the oxidizer for the fuel needed to take off for the journey back to Earth would be manufactured on Mars using what he called “in-situ resource utilization”: Radioactive power plants and solar arrays would be brought in by spacecraft, ready to be set up. Even the crew’s Mars ascent vehicle for the return home would be positioned in advance, fueled and ready to go. Jack Schmitt next took the floor and explained what a Mars mission would look like from an astronaut’s point of view.

pages: 437 words: 126,860

Case for Mars
by Robert Zubrin
Published 27 Jun 2011

McKay, “The Atmosphere of Mars—Resources for the Exploration and Settlement of Mars,” AAS 81-244, in p. Boston, ed., The Case for Mars, Volume 57, Science and Technology Series of the American Astronautical Society, Univelt, San Diego, CA, 1984. 27. J. Williams, S. Coons, and A. Bruckner, “Design of a Water Vapor Adsorption Reactor for Martian In situ Resource Utilization,” Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, August 1995. 28. G. O’Neill, The High Frontier, William Morrow, New York, 1977. 29. J Lewis and R. Lewis, Space Resources: Breaking the Bonds of Earth, Chapter 9, Columbia University Press, New York, 1987. 30. R. Zubrin, “Diborane/CO2 Engines for Mars Ascent Vehicles,” AIAA 95-2640, 31st AIAA Joint Propulsion Conference, San Diego, CA, July 10, 1995.

pages: 490 words: 132,502

A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?
by Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith
Published 6 Nov 2023

Morgan Stanley, July 24, 2020. https://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/investing-in-space. Morozov, Sergei. “Asgardia’s Calendar and Its Role in Space Industrialisation Strategy,” Room: The Space Journal of Asgardia, 2019. https://room.eu.com/article/asgardias-calendar-and-its-role-in-space-industrialisation-strategy. Moses, Robert, and Dennis M. Bushnell. “Frontier In-Situ Resource Utilization for Enabling Sustained Human Presence on Mars.” NASA, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, April 1, 2016. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20160005963. Mountfield, David. A History of Polar Exploration. New York: Dial Press, 1974. Muir-Harmony, Teasel. Operation Moonglow: A Political History of Project Apollo.