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Characterization and Glass Formation of JSC-1 Lunar and Martian Soil SimulantsThe space exploration mission of NASA requires long duration presence of human being beyond the low earth orbit (LEO), especially on Moon and Mars. Developing a human habitat or colony on these planets would require a diverse range of materials, whose applications would range from structural foundations, (human) life support, (electric) power generation to components for scientific instrumentation. A reasonable and cost-effective approach for fabricating the materials needed for establishing a self-sufficient human outpost would be to primarily use local (in situ) resources on these planets. Since ancient times, glass and ceramics have been playing a vital role on human civilization. A long term project on studying the feasibility of developing glass and ceramic materials using Lunar and Martian soil simulants (JSC-1) as developed by Johnson Space Center has been undertaken. The first step in this on-going project requires developing a data base on results that fully characterize the simulants to be used for further investigations. The present paper reports characterization data of both JSC-1 Lunar and JSC Mars-1 simulants obtained up to this time via x-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy, thermal analysis (DTA, TGA) and chemical analysis. The critical cooling rate for glass formation for the melts of the simulants was also measured in order to quantitatively assess the glass forming tendency of these melts. The importance of the glasses and ceramics developed using in-situ resources for constructing human habitats on Moon or Mars is discussed.
Document ID
20080015738
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Sen, Subhayu
(BAE Systems Huntsville, AL, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
February 10, 2008
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: Space Technology and Applications International Forum, STAIF-2008
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Start Date: February 10, 2008
End Date: February 14, 2008
Sponsors: Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS8-02096
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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