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.     

Attempt to study Marangoni flow of low-Pr-number fluids using a liquid bridge of silver

In order to experimentally investigate the Marangoni flow of low-Prandtl-number fluids in a liquid bridge geometry under the condition of small Marangoni numbers close to the critical Marangoni numbers Ma_c1 and Ma_c2, the formation of a liquid bridge of silver was attempted. The available temperature difference between the upper and lower rods to obtain a small Marangoni number, such as Ma = 50, was calculated for a 5 mm high liquid bridge for several molten metals. For molten silver, the possible temperature difference was estimated to be 16 K, whereas, for molten silicon, this was 0.38 K, which is unrealistic for the purposes of experiments. For silver, a free surface can be obtained in the wide range of oxygen partial pressures, whereas, for molten silicon, the available oxygen partial pressure range is very small; equilibrium oxygen partial pressure for SiO₂ formation is as low as 1.1 × 10⁻¹⁴ Pa. A liquid bridge of molten silver was successfully prepared and temperature oscillation was observed; the estimated Marangoni number was 160 and oscillation frequency was 0.26 Hz.     

Gas permeability and flow characterization of simulated lunar regolith

Recent discoveries of water ice trapped within lunar topsoil (regolith) have placed a new emphasis on the recovery and utilization of water for future space exploration. Upon heating the lunar ice to sublimation, the resulting water vapor could theoretically transmit through the lunar regolith, to be captured on the surface. As the permeability of lunar regolith is essential to this process, this paper seeks to experimentally determine the permeability and flow characteristics of various gas species through simulated lunar regolith (SLR). Two different types of SLR were compacted and placed into the permeability setup to measure the flow-rate of transmitted gas through the sample. Darcy’s permeability constant was calculated for each sample and gas combination, and flow characteristics were determined from the results. The results show that Darcy’s permeability constant varies with SLR compaction density, and identified no major difference in permeable flow between the several tested gas species. Between the two tested SLR types, JSC-1A was shown to be more permeable than NU-LHT under similar conditions. In addition, a transition zone was identified in the flow when the gas pressure differential across the sample was less than ∼40 kPa.     

Moon surface radiation environment analysis for February 1956 solar event conditions

The radiation environment on the surface of the Moon presents a new source of particles resulting from the interaction of incoming solar protons and galactic cosmic rays with the lunar regolith. Here we present a study of the fluence profile of primary and secondary particles on the top 1 m layer of lunar regolith for the spectrum of one of the hardest spectrum solar event, that of February 1956. Different regolith compositions and their influence in proton and neutron production and backscattering is considered, as well as the nature of the backscattered radiation. Simple geometry Monte Carlo simulations have been used also for calculating regolith shielding properties, and it is shown that a layer of at least 50 cm regolith is needed for significantly reducing the dose levels received by astronauts in a hypothetical lunar habitat.     

Research on the evaluation method of lunar soil disturbance based on the fitting of Gaussian surface

It is crucial to maintain the layer sequence information on in situ lunar soil during the lunar soil sampling. In this paper, a discrete element model for direct push sampling of the lunar weathering layer is established, and the relationship between the perturbation rate of the lunar soil layer sequence information and the sampling depth is obtained. A quantitative evaluation method of the perturbation rate of the structural information on the lunar soil layer sequence based on the Gaussian curvature is proposed by reconstructing the center-of-mass point cloud model of the marked layer lunar soil particles in MATLAB. The proposed method can accurately describe the perturbation rate of lunar soil layer sequence information and can analyze the degree of lunar soil disturbance according to the displacement of the sampling tube and mechanical parameters in real-time inversion during the sampling process. When the sampling depth is 40 mm, the minimum and maximum perturbation rates of sampling along the penetration direction of the machine are 5.261 % and 27.649 %, respectively. The perturbation rate shows a trend of first decreasing and then increasing. The method proposed in this study could effectively solve the problem that the disturbance of lunar soil bedding information was difficult to evaluate in the sampling process of lunar regolith.     

Upwards migration phenomenon on molten lunar regolith: New challenges and prospects for ISRU

As part of our research on the feasibility of producing commodities from lunar regolith by thermal-driven processes with minimal terrestrial precursors we need to characterize, reproduce, and understand thermophysical properties of the molten regolith still unforeseen under the lunar vacuum conditions at a scalable sample size. Two unanticipated phenomena, apparently caused by lunar melt’s surface tension under vacuum, have been revealed in our research work, vacuum void formation and upwards migration. In this paper we present our findings and thinkable explanation on the upwards migration phenomenon experimentally observed and consistently replicated as JSC-1A lunar regolith simulant melted at high vacuum. Upwards migration of molten lunar regolith will make future lunar ISRU’s melting processes both challenging as molten bulk material would migrate upwards along the container’s walls, and also promising on new opportunities for alternative ISRU’s sustainable processes as regolith’s upwards migration takes place in uniformed thin-film pattern. Among the potential ISRU’s processes that might use controlled thermal thin-film-based migration without the necessity of terrestrial precursors are production of feedstock for 3D printing, fractional separation of regolith’s component’s (O₂, metals, and alloys) via pyrolysis, film coating, purification of valuables solid crystals including silicon, and fabrication of key elements for microfluidic, and MEMS devices. Thermal upwards migration phenomenon on JSC-1A’s melt is formulated and explained by the authors as due to thermal Marangoni effect (also known as thermo-capillarity) in which temperature gradients within the melt’s bulk and along the crucible’s wall yield the surface tension large enough to supersede the gravitational force and yield the experimentally observed upwards thin-film migration. As far as the authors know, upwards thermal migration of molten JSC-1A (or other lunar simulant regolith) under vacuum has not been reported in the literature. A thermal mathematical model accounting for thermal Marangoni effect on molten JSC-1A agrees with what experimentally was observed, the formation of the meniscus on the melt-wall surface interface along with an incipient upwards migration in thin-film pattern along the crucible wall that, according to the model, experiences large temperature gradient, an important factor to trigger the thermal Marangoni effect along with the fact that surface tension of the molten lunar regolith material is temperature dependent.     

模拟月壤铺粉过程DEM数值仿真

空基激光选区熔化（SLM）技术与原位资源利用（ISRU）概念结合,有望解决地外大规模基地建设的工程难题。SLM铺粉过程对成形件性能和质量有重要影响。基于非球形粒子叠加球模型方法,建立模拟月壤颗粒几何模型;基于线性弹簧-阻尼接触作用模型、Hamaker理论及牛顿运动定律,建立颗粒动力学模型;采用三维离散单元方法（DEM）及软球模型,进行不同工况下模拟月壤在铺粉过程中的流变特性研究。结果显示:所提模型和方法能开展指定工况和环境参数的模拟月壤颗粒系统流动性和堆积行为数值仿真研究;月面低重力环境导致粉床表面粗糙度变大、堆积密度和平均配位数变小;通过降低铺粉速度和优化刮刀型面,可以有效改善月基铺粉的粉床质量,获得更密实和均匀的粉床结构。      

Mechanical behavior of the metal parts welded with extraterrestrial regolith simulant by the solar concentrator in ISRU & ISRF application

The use of in-situ resources plays an important role on future extraterrestrial human activities for the facility repair and habitat construction, especially in sustainable space exploration of Moon and Mars. A method of the metal welded with extraterrestrial regolith simulant using solar processing under ambient conditions is presented. Metal parts are made of Q235B ferroalloy and TA2 titanium alloy into standard tensile members according to the ASTM code. They are disconnected from the middle in advance, and then welded together with lunar and Martian regolith simulant under ambient conditions, respectively. The entire welding process and precautions are detailed. Additionally, the mechanical behavior of weldments is characterized regarding their tensile strength. Furthermore, the fusion zone of weldments is studied by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. The results show that it is possible to weld metal parts together with extraterrestrial regolith simulant by the solar concentrator. The average ultimate tensile strength of ferroalloy specimens welded with lunar and Martian regolith simulant is 2.94 MPa and 1.66 MPa; The average ultimate tensile strength of titanium alloy specimens welded with lunar and Martian regolith simulant is 4.95 MPa and 2.59 MPa. Moreover, the failure mode of all weldments was brittle failure. The welding joints strength derives from the phases that the regolith as the solder fusing into ferroalloys in a homogeneous way and titanium alloys in an inhomogeneous way. The presented method may provide a new thought for astronaut assistance associating with repairing and fabricating in subsequent Moon and Mars missions.     

Mercury: can any ice exist at subpolar regions?

The heat transfer in a regolith subsurface layer of thickness 20 m has been theoretically simulated for the areas near Mercury's north pole aiming at the clarification of the possible existence of subsurface ice formations of different form. The paper considers different models of the icy regolith structure and composition: pure uniform amorphous ice; a porous dispersive system with ice-filled pores and voids; permafrost. For comparison the heat transfer in dry iceless regolith has been considered as well. It has been shown that the line of maximum distribution of subsurface icy formations depends on the icy regolith model, but for any one in the “hot” regions it does not go below 70°. For the “cool” regions this line has been shown to go from 5° to 10° southward than that for the “hot” ones. The possible thickness of icy regolith near the pole has been estimated for different models assuming an interior heat flow of 15 mW m⁻². It has been shown that the maximum thickness of this layer takes place at the pole and is equal to 10 km for any model.     

A drilling tool design and in situ identification of planetary regolith mechanical parameters

The physical and mechanical properties as well as the heat flux of regolith are critical evidence in the study of planetary origin and evolution. Moreover, the mechanical properties of planetary regolith have great value for guiding future human planetary activities. For planetary subsurface exploration, an inchworm boring robot (IBR) has been proposed to penetrate the regolith, and the mechanical properties of the regolith are expected to be simultaneously investigated during the penetration process using the drilling tool on the IBR. This paper provides a preliminary study of an in situ method for measuring planetary regolith mechanical parameters using a drilling tool on a test bed. A conical-screw drilling tool was designed, and its drilling load characteristics were experimentally analyzed. Based on the drilling tool-regolith interaction model, two identification methods for determining the planetary regolith bearing and shearing parameters are proposed. The bearing and shearing parameters of lunar regolith simulant were successfully determined according to the pressure-sinkage tests and shear tests conducted on the test bed. The effects of the operating parameters on the identification results were also analyzed. The results indicate a feasible scheme for future planetary subsurface exploration.     

An engineering model of Titan surface winds for Dragonfly landed operations

Winds near the ground on Titan for the Dragonfly landing site (near Selk crater, 10°N) for the mid-2030s (Titan late southern summer, L_s ~ 310°) are estimated for mission design purposes. Prevailing winds due to the global circulation are typically 0.5 m/s, and do not exceed 1 m/s. Local terrain-induced flows such as slope winds appear to be similarly capped at 1 m/s. At various landing sites and times, these two contributions will vectorially combine to yield steady winds (for part of a Titan day, Tsol) of up to 2.0 m/s, but typically less – the slope wind component will be small in the mid-morning. In early afternoon, as on Earth and Mars, solar-driven convection in the planetary boundary layer will cause wind fluctuations of the order of 0.1 m/s, varying with a typical timescale of ~1000 s. Occasionally this convection organizes into coherent ‘dust devil’ vortices: detectable vortices with speeds of 1 m/s are predicted about once per Titan day. We have introduced the convective velocity scale combined with the advection time of PBL cells as a metric to derive the frequency of occurrence of gusts associated with convective vortices (‘dust devils’). Maximum possible vortex winds on Titan of 2.8 m/s may be expected only once per 40 Tsols, and define the maximum wind (4.8 m/s at 10 m height) that Dragonfly must tolerate without damage. The applicability of different wind combinations, scaled to the height of relevant Dragonfly components above the ground (e.g. the maximum corresponds to 3.9 m/s at 1.3 m height) by a logarithmic wind profile, to Dragonfly design and operations are discussed.     

Investigating the soil removal characteristics of flexible tube coring method for lunar exploration

Compared with other technical solutions, sampling the planetary soil and returning it back to Earth may be the most direct method to seek the evidence of extraterrestrial life. To keep sample’s stratification for further analyzing, a novel sampling method called flexible tube coring has been adopted for China future lunar explorations. Given the uncertain physical properties of lunar regolith, proper drilling parameters should be adjusted immediately in piercing process. Otherwise, only a small amount of core could be sampled and overload drilling faults could occur correspondingly. Due to the fact that the removed soil is inevitably connected with the cored soil, soil removal characteristics may have a great influence on both drilling loads and coring results. To comprehend the soil removal characteristics, a non-contact measurement was proposed and verified to acquire the coring and removal results accurately. Herein, further more experiments in one homogenous lunar regolith simulant were conducted, revealing that there exists a sudden core failure during the sampling process and the final coring results are determined by the penetration per revolution index. Due to the core failure, both drilling loads and soil’s removal states are also affected thereby.     

基于球堆叠的月壤蓄热器传热特性数值研究

月壤蓄热是月球原位资源利用的一种重要方式，也是解决未来月球基地能源需求的最具潜力的途径之一。针对月壤蓄热过程，建立了基于球形堆叠的月壤蓄热器多孔介质蓄热模型。蓄热器的壳体采用登月舱下降级的燃料罐，流体传热介质采用氦气。通过数值模拟的方法研究了不同流动压降下月壤蓄热球堆叠方式、球直径对蓄热器传热过程的影响规律和机理，并分析了蓄热动态过程。研究结果表明，月壤蓄热球在简单立方体均匀堆叠（SC）和面中心立方体均匀堆叠(FCC)两种方式下，SC堆叠方式的综合蓄热指数比FCC模式可提高302%；同时还发现月壤蓄热球的直径存在最优值，可使得蓄热器在单位泵功下获得最大的蓄热量，并且该最佳值随着流体进出口压差增加而减小。该研究可为未来月壤蓄热器的设计和优化提供理论指导。     

An in situ laser induced breakdown spectroscope (LIBS) for Chandrayaan-2 rover: Ablation kinetics and emissivity estimations

A miniaturized in situ laser induced breakdown spectroscope-LIBS is one of the two lunar rover payloads to be flown in India’s next lunar mission Chandrayaan-2, with an objective to carry-out a precise qualitative and quantitative elemental analyses of lunar regolith at the proximity of the landing region. As per the imposed mission constraints and the executed design optimization studies, a compact and light-weight LIBS prototype model is developed at our premises. This paper mainly concerns with the estimation of theoretical aspects; especially on evaluation of elemental ablation parameters and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) calculations for the designed instrument. Theoretical estimations and simulations yielded an incident laser power density of the order of 5 × 10¹⁰ W/cm² on the target surface at a defined lens-to-surface distance (LTSD) of 200 mm and revealed an SNR > 100 for most of the elements under consideration. This paper also addresses the impact of LTSD variation on detection capability. The estimation of plasma-temperatures was carried out utilizing the emission spectra obtained under high vacuum environments employing the LIBS laboratory model. Experimental investigations and the performed theoretical estimations asserted the successful operation of the configured LIBS instrument for in situ elemental analyses on lunar surface.     

Integrated design of solar thermal propulsion system for microsatellite with liquid ammonia as propellant

This paper presents a design of solar thermal propulsion (STP) system for microsatellite with liquid ammonia as propellant. The system was equipped with two concentrators, which were respectively placed in the tank and thrust chamber for propellant supply and heating. A platelet heat exchanger was adopted to heat the propellant in the chamber, and the fluid–solid coupling effect between the wall and the gas was considered. Meanwhile, the effects of satellite mass, initial orbit, nozzle size and target temperature on the performance of STP system were analyzed. The results show that for microsatellites with a total mass of 100 kg, the STP system can fully heat the propellant to more than 2050 K, generate an intermittent thrust of about 26 N, and enable the satellite to obtain a velocity increment of more than 1470 m/s within 19 days, consuming only 42 kg of propellant, which can directly meet the transfer mission from the geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) to the geostationary orbit (GEO). The maximum velocity increment could reach more than 1950 m/s when the propellant was completely consumed; Changing the mass and initial orbit of the satellite will not affect the thrust and specific impulse. Satellites with smaller mass will spend less time and propellant during orbit transfer. The lower is the perigee height of the initial orbit, the greater is the propellant consumption, while the shorter is the time of orbit transfer; The reduction of nozzle throat size and target temperature will lead to the increase of specific impulse and the decrease of orbital transfer time, but the reduction of thrust.     

SOI/SIMOX-CMOS器件的研究

研究SOI-SIMOX(Silicon On Insulation-Separation by Implanted Oxygen)材料及SIMOX-CMOS器件.高能大剂量(170keV,1.5×10¹⁸/cm²)氧离子注入到P型(100)单晶Si衬底,再经高温长时间(1300℃,6h)退火,形成SIMOX结构材料.经测试,SIMOX表层单晶硅膜反型为N型,研究表明,这是由于在制备SIMOX的工艺中,残留在SIMOX表层硅膜内的氧离子起施主作用所致,并计算出氧杂质在硅中的施主电离能,其值为0.15eV.采用SIMOX材料研制了MOSFET及CMOS三3输入端与非门电路,并介绍了研制SIMOX-CMOS器件的主要工艺.     

The Kumtag meteorite strewn field

The Kumtag meteorite strewn field was found in the Kumtag desert, 132 km south of Hami city in the Xinjiang province, China. It is an ellipse of 2.5 × 7.9 km, with a long axis extending along the northeast-southwest direction. The largest individual meteorite of the strewn field weighs about 10 kg; the smallest individual has a mass of only 27 g. In total, more than 100 individuals with a total mass of more than 180 kg were collected. The location and the distribution of the fragments suggest that the Kumtag meteoroid entered the atmosphere in the direction Northeast-Southwest. All meteorites collected in this strewn field are samples from the same unique meteorite shower. The Kumtag meteorite is an H5 ordinary chondrite with a shock stage S2, and a weathering grade W2. The cosmic ray exposure age of Kumtag is 6.7 ± 0.8 Ma, which is rather typical for H chondrites and which indicates that Kumtag was derived from the massive impact event on its parent body ~7 Ma ago. A significant amount of He has been lost during certain unknown processe(s) before the Kumtag meteorite was ejected from its parent body.     

The energy spectra of protons and helium measured with the ATIC experiment

The Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter (ATIC) balloon experiment is designed to investigate the composition and energy spectra of cosmic rays at the highest energies currently accessible by direct measurements, i.e., the region up to 100 TeV. The instrument consists of a silicon matrix for charge measurement, a graphite target (0.75 nuclear interaction length) to induce hadronic interactions, three layers of scintillator strip hodoscopes for triggering and trajectory reconstruction, and a Bismuth Germanate (BGO) crystal calorimeter (18 radiation lengths) to measure particle energies. ATIC has had two successful Long Duration Balloon (LDB) flights from McMurdo, Antarctica: one from 12/28/00 to 01/13/01 and the other from 12/29/02 to 01/18/03. We present the energy spectra of protons and helium extracted from the first flight, over the energy range from 100 GeV to 100 TeV, and compare them with the results from other experiments at both the lower and higher energies. ATIC-1 results do not indicate significant differences in spectral shape between protons and helium over the investigated energy range.     

Regolith effects in planetary X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy: Laboratory studies at 1.7–6.4 keV

Laboratory measurements are presented to study the effects of the physical properties of regolith on planetary soft X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Two laboratory setups are used to independently measure these regolith effects using lunar regolith analog samples with three different particle-size ranges. Discussion is given on the data analysis. Some of the data may be valid only for qualitative conclusions. Analytical modelling is used to separate the effects expected for a plane-parallel and homogeneous medium from those of measured regolith analogs. The surface roughness and porosity of the regolith are observed to induce an enhancement of the higher-energy part of the spectrum as a function of the incidence angle. The enhancement is larger for rougher surfaces. A brief discussion is given on the relevance of this study for future planetary missions carrying soft X-ray spectrometers.     

Measurement of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates in the mesosphere by a 3 MHz Doppler radar

A new narrow beam Doppler radar operating at 3.17 MHz has been installed close to the Andøya Rocket Range in Andenes, Norway in summer 2002 in order to improve the ground based capabilities for measurements of turbulence in the mesosphere. The main feature of the radar is a Mills Cross transmitting/receiving antenna consisting of 29 crossed half-wave dipoles. In combination with the modular transceiver system this provides high flexibility in beam forming and pointing. In general, vertical and oblique beams with a minimum one way half-power full-beam width (HPFW) of 6.6° are used. The observations are usually performed with a height resolution of 1 km and with off-zenith beams at 7.3° directed towards NW, NE, SE, and SW. Turbulence intensities have been estimated from the width of the observed signal spectra using an computationally intensive correction method which requires precise knowledge of the antenna radiation pattern. The program uses real-time measurements of the wind field in all determinations. Turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates based on radar observations are presented and compared with corresponding climatological summer and winter profiles from rocket measurements, as well as with single profiles from model runs for selected periods from September 2003 to Summer 2004. The mean turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates based on these radar measurements are about 5 mW/kg at 60 km altitude and about 20 mW/kg at 80 km, in reasonable agreement with mean turbulence intensities obtained from previous rocket soundings at Andenes.