Integrity of sulfur concrete subjected to simulated lunar temperature cycles

In view of potential application as a construction material on the lunar surface the mechanical integrity of sulfur concrete was evaluated after being subjected to simulated temperature cycles. Here, small cubes of sulfur concrete were repeatedly cycled between room (20 °C) and liquid nitrogen (−191 °C) temperatures after which they, and non-cycled cubes, were evaluated by compression testing. The compression strength of the non-cycled samples averaged ∼35 MPa (5076 psi) before failing whereas the cycled samples fractured at about 7 MPa (1015 psi). Microscopic examination of the fracture surfaces from the cycled samples showed clear de-bonding of the sulfur from the aggregate whereas it was seen adhering in those non-cycled. Based on a simple analysis it was concluded that the large strength discrepancy between cycled and non-cycled samples is due to differences between the coefficients of thermal expansion of the materials constituting the concrete.     

Performance of a small and low-cost chamber to simulate lunar surface environment

The performance of a small and low-cost metal chamber built to simulate the pressure and temperature conditions of lunar surface was assessed and the results are presented. This chamber is intended for studying the physical properties of lunar surface and subsurface (using soil simulants) and also to validate the technology readiness of certain newly developed payloads planned for future lunar surface missions (Lander/Rover). It is possible to reach down to ∼10⁻⁷ Pa under specific conditions and maintain the temperature of the sample under investigation to lunar day and night temperatures. The designed system has been subjected to various tests to evaluate its performance and suitability for carrying out experiments in a simulated lunar environment.     

Ground experiments of Chang’e-5 lunar regolith penetrating radar

The Lunar Regolith Penetrating Radar (LRPR) is an Ultra-Wideband (UWB) array-based Ground penetrating radar (GPR) onboard the lander of Chang’e-5 (CE-5) mission. The primary scientific objectives of the LRPR are to probe the thickness and structure of lunar regolith of the landing site, and support the drilling and sampling process. In order to evaluate the performance of the LRPR, a series of ground experiments are performed using the LRPR prototype mounted on a CE-5 lander model. The performance of the LRPR is evaluated by comparing the experimental data with the simulated data. Data processing and imaging method are verified, and the interferences from the lander and other aspects are analyzed. The results of the ground experiments and simulation demonstrate that the LRPR is able to meet the design requirement of 2-m detection depth. They also indicate that the upper and lower interfaces of the stratified structure in the lunar regolith can be well distinguished by the LRPR when the dielectric constant difference is greater than 0.3, and the imaging effect of the location under the dense antennas is better than that of other positions. However, the identification capability of the LRPR to the independent blocky objects is relatively poor mainly due to the clutters caused by the lander, the sparsity of the antenna elements compared to the size of the basalt block, the limited aperture of the antenna array, and the tail of the transmitted waveform.     

绕月微卫星精确撞月轨道设计

为实现约束条件下的精准可控撞月,提出了基于Lambert问题的精确撞月轨道设计方法。通过求解Lambert问题,可得到撞月轨道轨控时刻的速度脉冲初值解,然后通过打靶法迭代得到撞月轨道的精确解。以"龙江二号"微卫星轨道为例,对撞月点经纬度的覆盖性,以及燃料约束下同一撞月点可行的轨控弧段进行全面分析。最后,通过月球南极水冰探测的撞月轨道设计案例,以验证本文提出的轨道设计方法的有效性。     

Energy requirements of a thermally processed ISRU radiation shield for a lunar habitat

The purpose of this study was to establish, on a first principles basis, the order of magnitude of energy requirements for a thermally processed, lunar regolith radiation shield constructed using an in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) approach. This was done by developing a reference scenario habitat and using thermodynamic relationships and specific heat capacity expressions to determine the energy required to bring such a regolith volume up to sintering temperatures (c. 1,375 K). Once the energy requirements were developed some power system architectures were outlined conceptually and a nuclear power plant of c. 400 kW was suggested as a means to supply the necessary energy. This is well beyond current space nuclear applications. The study concludes that it is likely that the most efficient near-term solution is chemical processing of regolith, from an energy requirements perspective. The technology is also more mature and likely to be delivered on near term projects as it does not require such scaled-up power system architectures. Alternatively, bringing storm shelters up with the habitat to provide a means of weathering major solar events, and adding additional radiation protection to habitat quarters, possibly through a water blanket or similar mechanism, could provide a non-ISRU solution with current technology. However, in the longer term, the development of MW-scale power system architectures (fission, solar etc.), may permit a very large volume of material to be processed thermally for construction material, making a large, permanent human presence on the Moon more easily realisable.     

月球表层采样样品智能确认方法

表层采样是月球采样探测的重要方式，样品智能确认有助于提升工作效率与复杂问题处理能力。结合月球表层采样铲挖工作过程，分析了铲挖过程中臂载相机图像的特点，模仿有人参与识别过程，提出了层次解耦的月球样品智能识别流程，利用深度学习方法构建了一类深度卷积识别网络，完整地描述了图像、特征、标记在网络中的正反传递关系，并在月球表层采样地面试验中进行了验证，结果表明该方法对不同光照、不同背景、不同过程、不同形态的样品，具有较好的泛化识别能力，误识别率优于8.1%，平均单幅识别时间约0.7 s。     

Mapping lunar surface chemistry: New prospects with the Chandrayaan-2 Large Area Soft X-ray Spectrometer (CLASS)

Surface chemistry of airless bodies in the solar system can be derived from remote X-ray spectral measurements from an orbiting spacecraft. X-rays from planetary surfaces are excited primarily by solar X-rays. Several experiments in the past have used this technique of X-ray fluorescence for deriving abundances of the major rock forming elements. The Chandrayaan-2 orbiter carries an X-ray fluorescence experiment named CLASS that is designed based on results from its predecessor C1XS flown on Chandrayaan-1. We discuss the new aspects of lunar science that can be potentially achieved with CLASS.     

论月球资源和航天月球探测

月球有珍贵的信息资源 ,丰盛的物质资源 ,奇特的环境资源和高远的位置资源。月球是航天深空探测的重点天体。长久以来的天文观察和最近 4 5年来的航天探测 ,已使人类对月球的面目有了相当多的认识。     

月球探测技术--探测初期测控通信系统

介绍了国外月球探测测控通信系统的发展和现状。在分析我国现有统一S波段(USB)测控通信网和天文甚长基线干涉仪(VLBI)对探测器测控通信支持能力的基础上,提出了利用现有条件实现测控通信的解决方案。比较和分析表明,采用有源天馈网络的实现简单且技术成熟可靠,是一个较优的方案。     

地月空间星地双向单程测量高精度模型

针对使用星地双向单程测量技术实现给定场景下的地月空间高精度测量问题,建立了地月空间纳秒级星地时差解算模型与米级瞬时距离解算模型,定量分析了模型中各因素的量级,并对模型中收发时延、引力时延、定轨误差和大气延迟等多种因素引入的时差和距离估算误差进行了定量分析。仿真数据的处理结果校验了误差量级理论分析的准确性,时差估算的均方根误差优于7.6ns,瞬时距离估算均方根误差优于2.4 m。建立的模型可以对地月空间星地DOWR测量数据进行高精度处理,实现地月空间高精度时间比对,支持未来中国载人登月等任务及地月空间高精度导航技术。