Space Research

Here are some different research areas, for which research has been performed:

NASA has selected 3 companies to bid on the next generation lunar rover
- https://www.space.com/nasa-lunar-terrain-vehicle-artemis-moon-rover-contracts
  Astrolab/Venturi Lunar Terrain Vehicle (FLEX) [edit section]
https://videos.space.com/m/C9AHWPxU/astrolabs-lunar-terrain-vehicle-next-gen-moon-roving
https://youtu.be/SfT6HIc9OPw - video of FLEX operations on the moon
Features:
- supports manned and unmanned operation
- supports operation while drive is standing
- supports cargo transport and deployment
  - has a big empty center for holding crates
  - has an arm to deploy items

Vehicle Technologies [edit section]

Artificial Gravity [edit section]

See Artificial Gravity

space stations [edit section]

VAST Haven [edit section]

See httsp://vastspace.com/

Haven-1 - 2025
- launched on Falcon-9 in 2025
populated by Dragon capsule with 4-person crew in 2025, for up to 30-day mission
- plan to do lunar gravity simulation (with rotation?)
- Resources:

Haven-2 - (2029-2032)
- https://interestingengineering.com/space/vast-haven-2-potential-iss-successor
- larger Haven-2 modules, eventually building to 8 parts with a central core (9 launches)
- also plan auxiliary stuff - robot arm, ports for experimental payloads

Moon Information [edit section]

Moon composition [edit section]

The crust consists of 43% oxygen, 20% silicon, 19% magnesium, 10% iron, 3% calcium, 3% aluminum, and trace amounts of other elements, including chromium (0.42%), titanium (0.18%), manganese (0.12%),

source: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-the-moon-made-of-604005
compare to earth's crust, which is: 46% oxygen, 28% silicon, 8% aluminum, 5.6% iron, 4% calcium, 2.3% sodium, 2.3% magnesium
- source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundance_of_elements_in_Earth%27s_crust

Lunar Materials and Resources [edit section]

Water [edit section]

impact glass beads [edit section]

impact glass beads = at most 130ml of water per cubic meter of lunar surface regolith
- it should be easy to extract (heat IGB to over 100C and distill moisture)
- see https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/mar/27/glass-beads-on-moon-surface-hold-billions-of-tonnes-of-water-scientists-say
- see https://ceramics.org/ceramic-tech-today/aeronautics-space/uncovering-secrets-of-the-moon-the-role-of-glass-beads-in-the-lunar-surface-water-cycle/

water from solar wind (Hydrogen) and Oxygen [edit section]

"NASA Scientists Show How Ingredients for Water Could Be Made on Surface of Moon, a 'Chemical Factory' - NASA"
- https://www.nasa.gov/missions/nasa-scientists-show-how-ingredients-for-water-could-be-made-on-surface-of-moon-a-chemical-factory/
"Want to make water on the moon, the solar wind could help"
- https://www.space.com/solar-wind-may-make-water-on-moon.html

density of solar wind [edit section]

Near the Earth's orbit at 1 astronomical unit (AU) the plasma flows at speeds ranging from 250 to 750 km/s (155–404 mi/s) with a density ranging between 3 and 10 particles per cubic centimeter and temperature ranging from 104 to 106 Kelvin
- source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_wind

Lunar Construction materials [edit section]

Glass [edit section]

Space Windows - materials used for windows in space

Costs [edit section]

How much will rockets, landers, bases, equipment and transportation cost on the moon?

Rocket costs [edit section]

Starship test articles are estimated to cost about $100 million per ship (including booster)
- Likely, a fully-equipped Starship might be about $100 million, all by itself (that's a guess, though)

Lunar transfer costs [edit section]

Astrobotic Payload Users Guide
- https://www.astrobotic.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/PUGLanders_011222.pdf
- has good information about costs, details of issues that landers deal with
  - orbits, prices, capabilities, configurations, propulsion
  - environment: vibration, radiation, thermal, power, humidity, pressure, clean-room (anti-contamination), electrical, etc.
  - operations
- $1.2 million per kg to the Lunar Surface
- $4.5 million per kg to the Lunar Surface on a rover
- Peregrine lander
- Griffin lander

Dangers [edit section]

Meteors and meteorites [edit section]

meteorite material stats [edit section]

How much meteorite material hits the earth each day:

See https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/is-it-dusty-in-here-or-is-it-just-the-14-tons-of-meteorite-dust-that-settles-to-earth-every

100 tons per day of meteor materials hits the earth - most ends up in the atmosphere
14 tons per day of very small meteorites
10 tons per day of meteorites large enough to see

80% of solar system dust is from comets (essentially evaporating)
- See https://arxiv.org/pdf/1109.2983.pdf (regarding the origin of dust and micro-meteorites that comprise the Zodiacal cloud)
  - In particular, it seems to come from Jupiter Family Comets (JFCs)

60% of micrometeorites in Antarctica are believed to be from comets:
- See https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/antarctic-study-shows-how-much-space-dust-hits-earth-every-year/

How much meteorite material hits the moon each day:

2800 lbs?

LRO measurements indicate moreeteor hits than expected

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/earths-moon-hit-by-surprising-number-of-meteoroids/
Surface may turn over every 81,000 years, instead of every few million years, due to secondary splotches from primary impacts

Antarctica stations [edit section]

There will likely be a lot of similarities between tourism and stations in Antarctica, and tourism and stations on the moon.

See Antarctica Info

Social and societal aspects of space travel, industry and colonization [edit section]

This is a pretty interesting read:

https://www.space.com/responsible-space-settlement-benefit-humanity

Check back on this research - planned for 2024 and 2025:

https://bassconnections.duke.edu/project-teams/future-space-settlements-lessons-history-2024-2025