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Application of manufactured productsA wide range of products can be manufactured from the following materials: (1) lunar regolith or basalt; (2) regolith or rock beneficiated to concentrate plagioclase or other minerals; (3) iron, extracted from lunar soil or rocks by various means; (4) naturally occurring or easily obtained materials that have cementitious properties; and (5) byproducts of the above materials. Among the products that can be produced from these materials are the following: beams; plates and sheets; transparent plates (windows); bricks and blocks; pipes and tubes; low-density materials (foams); fiber, wire, and cables; foils and reflective coatings; hermetic seals (coatings); and formed objects. In addition to oxygen, which can be obtained by several processes, either from unbeneficiated regolith or by reduction of concentrated ilmenite, these materials make the simplest requirements of the lunar resource extraction system. A thorough analysis of the impact of these simplest products on the economics of space operations is not possible at this point. Research is necessary both to define optimum techniques and adapt them to space and to determine the probable market for the products so that the priority of various processes can be assessed. Discussions of the following products are presented: aerobraking heat shields; pressurized habitats; lunar photovoltaic farms; and agricultural systems.
Document ID
19930007713
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Other
Authors
Sastri, Sankar
(New York City Technical Coll. Brooklyn, NY., United States)
Duke, Michael B.
(NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1992
Publication Information
Publication: NASA. Johnson Space Center, Space Resources. Volume 3: Materials
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Accession Number
93N16902
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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