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SpaceIL scores $1 million Moonshot award from X-PRIZE Foundation

Although crash landing after failure of its main engine, Beresheet still shines after an unplanned disassembly on the lunar surface https://www.xprize.org/prizes/google-lunar/articles/xprize-awards-1m-moonshot-award-to-spaceil

Update: President of SpaceIL Morris Khan announces on Twitter a second attempt to send a lander to the moon: https://twitter.com/search?q=%23IsraeltotheMoon&src=hashhttps://twitter.com/search?q=%23IsraeltotheMoon&src=hash

Update: Peter Diamandis reflects on the SpaceIL mission: https://www.diamandis.com/blog/reflections-on-spaceil-mission

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Lunar settlement design – engineering solutions for environmental challenges

Dr. Haym Benaroya summarizes some of the key concerns in a paper published in the journal Reviews in Human Space Exploration (REACH).  For initial outposts and eventual permanent lunar settlements the important factors to be addressed for dwellings on the Moon include radiation mitigation, micrometeoroid protection, hazards from lunar dust toxicity and psychological well-being.  The paper was published in December of 2017 and is provided by the author’s permission.

https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3Acb6fb6cc-22bb-4923-9254-dc376051fd65

The paper provides an introduction to these concerns, but a more thorough treatment of all of the engineering challenges can be found in Dr. Benaroya’s book “Building Habitats on the Moon: Engineering Approaches to Lunar Settlements.”

https://www.amazon.com/Building-Habitats-Moon-Engineering-Settlements/dp/3319682423

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Lunar Propellant Production Plan

A collaborative effort by a team of experts from industry, government, and academia has developed an economically viable model for a sustainable lunar propellant production infrastructure to support lunar settlement and cis-lunar operations.  The team’s findings were published in the March issue of REACH (link below).  To reduce costs and weight, the proposal replaces conventional mining equipment for excavating, hauling, and processing with lightweight heating enclosures to extract water by sublimation out of the regolith for subsequent electrolysis into hydrogen an oxygen.  The study established feasibility and a path to commercialization. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352309318300099#aep-article-footnote-id1

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Moon Diver – robotic exploration of lunar lava tubes

At the 50th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference earlier this month, a paper was presented describing a mission concept for a two-wheeled tethered robotic rover to explore lava tubes on the Moon.  In addition to the scientific value of these windows into the lunar crust, lava tubes are ready-made natural structures that provide radiation protection, shielding from micrometeorites, and a shelter from the extreme temperature swings of the lunar surface.  Perfect for lunar settlements!

https://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2019/pdf/1163.pdf