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DARPA announces Novel Orbital and Moon Manufacturing, Materials and Mass-efficient Design (NOM4D) program

Artist’s concept of projects which could benefit from DARPA’s (NOM4D) plan for robust manufacturing in space. Credits: DARPA

Pronounced “NOMAD” the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency plan aims to develop technologies for adaptive, off-earth manufacturing to fabricate large structures in space and on the Moon.

Bill Carter, program manager in DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office explains in an announcement of the program, “We will explore the unique advantages afforded by on-orbit manufacturing using advanced materials ferried from Earth. As an example, once we eliminate the need to survive launch, large structures such as antennas and solar panels can be substantially more weight efficient, and potentially much more precise. We will also explore the unique features of in-situ resources obtained from the moon’s surface as they apply to future defense missions. Manufacturing off-earth maximizes mass efficiency and at the same time could serve to enhance stability, agility, and adaptability for a variety of space systems.”

The program will be split into three 18 month phases driven by metrics associated with progressively challenging exemplars such as respectively, a 1-megawatt solar array, a 100m diameter RF reflector, and finally IR reflective structures suitable for use in a segmented long-wave infrared telescope.

Lessons learned from the program could be applied to on-orbit manufacturing operations by commercial space companies as launch costs come down and access to cislunar space becomes more routine for both government and commercial entities.

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Project MOONRISE demonstrates 3D printed regolith structures under lunar gravity conditions

Artist impression of the MOONRISE laser mounted on a lunar rover for fabrication of structures on the Moon. Credits: Laser Zentrum Hannover / 3D Printing Industry

A German company called Laser Zentrum Hannover .eV in partnership with the Technical University of Braunschweig has been working on a project called MOONRISE which aims to use laser technology to build a village on the Moon out of lunar regolith. Toward that end, the team for the first time has demonstrated the ability to 3D print structures out of simulated lunar regolith under lunar gravity conditions. The results of their experiments are described in an article in 3D Printing Industry.

The research was carried out in the Leibniz University Hannover’s Einstein-Elevator, a large-scale drop tower device in which experiments can be run under variable gravity conditions at a high repetition rate.

Initiated in 2019, Project MOONRISE is funded by the Volkswagen Foundation and is focused on improving the technology readiness level of additive manufacturing using lunar regolith as building material.

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Survey of industry experts on challenges of lunar ISRU by 2040

Artist impression of ISRU activities on the Moon. Credits: NASA

What do space experts in industry and academia think will be the technical and policy challenges to overcome for a sustainable lunar outpost leveraging ISRU by 2040 to be realized? A survey using the Delphi method has just been completed to answer this question. The results were just released as a pre-proof in Acta Astronautica. Significant contributors in the fields of ISRU technologies, space architecture, power systems, and space exploration participated in the survey.

There was a group consensus that NASA’s Artemis mission returning humans to the Moon would be delayed by at least 2 years from the previous administration’s target of 2024 due to uncertainty in U.S. policy over the next few years. No surprise here. There was also agreement that ISRU processes could add significant power requirements on the order of 1 MW to a lunar base, and that photovoltaic systems were preferred over nuclear power sources because of a “…political distaste for space nuclear power systems”. Of particular note, the survey participants could not reach agreement on the impact that Covid-19 would have on space exploration.

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Where should we get oxygen on the Moon?

Artist impression of activities at a Moon Base which could include oxygen production. Credits: ESA – P. Carril

Kevin Cannon of the Cannon Group at the Colorado School of Mines can help find the answer. In a recent post on his Planetary Intelligence blog, the Assistant Professor of Geology and Geological Engineering describes a trade study comparing extraction of oxygen from regolith such as Metalysis’ ESA funded study to getting O2 from ice mining at the lunar poles as favored by NASA. Nothing stands out from a cursory look at the pros and cons of each approach.

In a more data driven analysis to compare apples to apples, Cannon examines energy costs of mining oxygen and plots it against the amount of bulk material that has to be processed to produce an equal amount of O2 from different sources ranging from plain silicate regolith to various grades of water ice endmembers. The analysis even includes processing material from various types of asteroid resources. The types of ice/regolith mixtures can vary widely as described in one of Cannon’s tweets.

Artist’s impression of different types of water ice / regolith endmembers. Credits: Lena Jakaite / strike-dip.com / Colorado School of Mines

Cannon’s analysis reaches the conclusion that “At 1.5-2% water by weight, icy regolith is essentially on par with O2-from-regolith on a joule for joule basis. In other words, if you had a pile of icy regolith already sitting on the surface, it makes sense to throw it out if the grade is less than about 1.5% and extract oxygen directly from the silicate regolith instead.”

More brilliance from the mind of Kevin Cannon can be found in these posts: Want to eat like a Martian in an environmentally friendly manner?, The logistics of dining off Earth, SpaceX will need suppliers for Mars settlement, The accessibility of lunar ice. And of course, don’t forget to visit kevincannon.rocks.

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ArmorHab mission architecture for Mars Colonization

ArmorHab transport habitat configured for artificial gravity. Credits: Dark Sea Industries LLC / University of New Mexico / The Mars Society

The innovative ArmorHab mission architecture was presented at the Mars Society Conference in 2016. This novel approach should be considered as part of a strategy for settlement of the Red Planet. The concept integrates several engineering solutions for habitat design to address radiation protection, life support, and transportation while leveraging in situ resource utilization to enhance crew health, safety and reduce costs.

The basic building block of the architecture is a cylindrical Mylar shell wrapped in superconductive tape providing radiation protection through emulation of a magnetosphere. This structure is encased in a protective aerogel for strength and insulation including layers of water ice to further protect the crew from micrometeorites and algae bioreactors for scrubbing carbon dioxide for life support.

ArmorHab wall structure with superconducting tape for radiation protection and algae bioreactors for life support. Credits: Dark Sea Industries LLC / University of New Mexico / The Mars Society

Leveraging Buzz Aldrin’s Mars Cycler invention, the plan starts by building out infrastructure in cislunar space including automated factories on the Moon, then expanding out to Mars with space stations, cycling habitats and connecting “trucks” to provide transport to and from the surface of each destination.

Illustration of cycler model showing six TransportHabs, three space stations and a Mars Truck. Credits: Dark Sea Industries LLC / University of New Mexico / The Mars Society
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SAM: Space Analog for the Moon and Mars

Exterior view of SAM. Credits: samb2.space
Interior view of greenhouse controlled environment with depiction of SIMOC temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide level control panel. Credits: samb2.space

Located at the iconic Biosphere 2 facility in Arizona, SAM is a hi-fidelity, hermetically sealed science center about to begin cutting edge research into environmental control and life support systems (ECLSS). The facility will host researchers to perform experiments on plant physiology, regolith chemistry, food cultivation and a host of other studies in the context of a space habitat analog.

Utilizing the original Test Module which completed three closed cycles to test water and human waste recycling prior to the main Biosphere 2 facility construction, SAM will be fitted with an airlock and pressurized enclosure including quarters for research crews to stay up to two weeks at a time.

Of particular interest, SAM in partnership with National Geographic, will help validate SIMOC, an interactive closed-loop life support system simulator based on authentic NASA data. Feedback from SAM will refine the SIMOC mathematical model that balances food, air, water, agriculture and solar energy to support humans in a closed ECLSS.

SIMOC was developed though a grant by Arizona State University’s Interplanetary Initiative. Unveiled at the Mars Society 23 Annual International Convention last October (see page 87 of the Conference Abstract) the software is licensed and hosted by the National Geographic Society for integration into classrooms globally where curricula is provided for teachers to get students involved as citizen scientists to design habitats to sustain human life on the Moon and Mars.

Screen shot of SIMOC habitat interactive simulation software. Credits: Kai Staats / National Geographic Society

As stated on the SAM at B2 website:

“There is no single-run experiment that results in the ideal solution for providing breathable air, recycled water, food and waste reprocessing. Rather, we will see an unfolding of experiments, findings, and prototypes for decades to come. Much as farming evolved from the art of crop rotation to the science of genetically modified organisms, living on the Moon, Mars, and in free space will demand constant improvements in our systems as more humans move to off-world homes.”

Kai Staats, Director at SAM, was a recent guest on The Space Show where he provided a history of the creation of the facility and his role in developing SIMOC.

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UK company aims to turn lunar soil into oxygen

Artist’s depiction of a future lunar base 3D printed from local materials. Credits: ESA/Foster + Partners

A British company called Metalysis as been funded by ESA to study their industrial-scale production of metals and alloys for application in a lunar environment. Metalysis has already demonstrated that they can extract 96% of the total oxygen content from ilmenite, a black iron-titanium oxide with a chemical composition of FeTiO3 found by Apollo astronauts to be abundant in lunar regolith. The process leaves a metallic powder alloy that can be used for in-situ 3D printing on the Moon.

In a press release last month, Metalysis states that “The project will provide an assessment to prepare and de-risk technology developments, focused towards oxygen production for propellants and life support consumables. The ability to extract oxygen on the moon is vital for future exploration and habitation, being essential for sustainable long duration activities in space. In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) will significantly reduce the payload mass that
would be needed to be launched from Earth.”

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Moonwards demo now on line – the future is for making

Moonwards is a technically realistic simulation of a settlement on the Moon called Moontown. It’s a 3d virtual environment you can explore on your own, or you can interact with others in the online experience. You can chat with other people there via your respective avatars touring the facility. You can learn about how all the structures were built and the machines that maintain the settlement by opening cards attached to objects, playing audio clips, watching slide shows, or activating animated presentations. Right now it is just a demo, but when completed, you will be able to build things, create characters, add 3d models to the library, create presentations, play games inside the town, hold or attend events and much more. Its all open source to encourage collaboration.

Visit Moonwards and click on “download” to get a free demo today. You can help realize this exciting vision of the humanity’s future by visiting and cooperating to build out this virtual settlement on the Moon.

Moonwards creator Kim Holder and I discussed the new demo with Dr. Space himself, David Livingston on The Space Show last Sunday. Checkout a podcast of the show at here.

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The Space Show fund raising drive

Credits: The Space Show

The Space Show – the nation’s first talk radio show focusing on increasing space commerce, advancing space science and economic development, facilitating our move to a space-faring economy which will benefit everyone on Earth – needs your help. The Space Show is hosted by Dr. David Livingston, who completed his doctoral dissertation in 2001 on the commercialization and expansion of space development. Take a moment to visit The Space Show website and read Dr. Livingston’s end of year message. Please give generously to ensure this valuable resource continues to promote, encourage, and support future global economic opportunities, scientific discoveries, and medical advances for all humankind through peaceful and cooperative ventures in outer space.

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Lunaprise to preserve humanity’s legacy on the Moon

Credits: Lunaprise

Lunaprise has contracted with Intuitive Machines in partnership with NASA and SPACEX to place a permanent repository of human information on the Moon. The time capsule will be delivered via Intuitive Machines’ NOVA-C lander on their 2021 flight to the Ocean of Storms. Using patented nanotechnology, the Lunaprise team is able to etch messages from one million Earth Ambassadors on a pure nickle nanofiche capable of withstanding radiation and extreme temperatures on the Moon for millions of years.

You can leave a “Lunagram” helping to create a legacy of our civilization by memorializing your life story in a lunar archive. This is your opportunity to participate in humanity’s plan B in case of an Earth catastrophe, or even if we settle space, to leave a permanent record for the ages.