Space Resources Engineering: Ilmenite Deposits for Oxygen Production on the Moon

Lino, Gustavo Jamanca

doi:10.12691/ajmm-6-1-2

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Transportation to and from the settlement and Earth, and between settlements, will require fuel for the transport vehicles. While methane production for Martian architecture (Ash et al 1978 ; Musk 2017 ) may be partly done via biological methods (Klas et al 2015 ), oxygen and hydrogen extraction from lunar regolith for chemically based propulsion (Jamanca-Lino 2021 ) will likely be performed via physico-chemical processes (Schwandt et al 2012 ). Other essential resources arise from human needs: water, oxygen, atmospheric pressure, food and waste management.…”

Section: Space Biomining Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The smallest space miners: principles of space biomining

2022

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As we aim to expand human presence in space, we need to find viable approaches to achieve independence from terrestrial resources. Space biomining of the Moon, Mars and asteroids has been indicated as one of the promising approaches to achieve in-situ resource utilization by the main space agencies. Structural and expensive metals, essential mineral nutrients, water, oxygen and volatiles could be potentially extracted from extraterrestrial regolith and rocks using microbial-based biotechnologies. The use of bioleaching microorganisms could also be applied to space bioremediation, recycling of waste and to reinforce regenerative life support systems. However, the science around space biomining is still young. Relevant differences between terrestrial and extraterrestrial conditions exist, including the rock types and ores available for mining, and a direct application of established terrestrial biomining techniques may not be a possibility. It is, therefore, necessary to invest in terrestrial and space-based research of specific methods for space applications to learn the effects of space conditions on biomining and bioremediation, expand our knowledge on organotrophic and community-based bioleaching mechanisms, as well as on anaerobic biomining, and investigate the use of synthetic biology to overcome limitations posed by the space environments.

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Section: Space Biomining Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The smallest space miners: principles of space biomining

2022

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“…For lunar applications, accuracy is important to get close to interesting craters from a mining point of view or in the study of oxygen formation. According to Gustavo Jamanca-Lino [26], the production of oxygen on the moon is crucial for obtaining water, rocket fuel, and promoting commercial activities between the Earth and the Moon. In this sense, the focus of this research is not to improve the precision with respect to the state of the art but to present the effectiveness of using SPEs in the EDL process and to quantify the best precision achieved in soft-landing.…”

Section: Problem Definitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Effort to Use a Solid Propellant Engine Arrangement in the Moon Soft Landing Problem

Obreque

Díaz

2022

Aerospace

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This paper presents a control design strategy for the soft-landing problem on the Moon using solid propellant engines (SPEs). While SPEs have controllability issues and issues relating to the fact that they cannot be restarted, they are characterized by their reliability, simplicity, and cost-effectiveness. Consequently, our main contribution is to tackle this disadvantage by formulating a 1-dimensional landing optimization problem using an array of SPEs in a CubeSat platform, which is analyzed for different numbers of engines in the array and for three types of propellant grain cross-section (PGCS). The engines and control parameters are optimized by a genetic algorithm (GA) due to the non-linearity of the problem and the uncertainties of the state variables. Two design approaches for control are analyzed, where the robust design based on the uncertainties of the variables shows the best performance. The results of Monte Carlo simulations were used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the robust design, which decreases the impact velocity as the number of SPEs increases. Using an arrangement of ten SPEs, the landing was at −2.97 m/s with a standard deviation of 0.99 m/s; using sixteen SPEs, the landing was at −2.04 m/s with a standard deviation of 0.48 m/s. Both have regressive PGCS.

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Current Status of Electrostatic Concentration Techniques for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) on the Moon

Park,

Ryu,

Shin

2023

J. Korean Soc. Miner. Energy Resour. Eng.

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For sustainable space development, it is vital that missions be able to apply In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) methods. Among ISRU priorities is the production of oxygen from lunar regolith. Electrostatic separation as a pre-treatment for oxygen production from regolith, focusing on high-purity ilmenite extraction, is highly regarded for its adaptability to the Moon's extreme conditions of low gravity and high vacuum. This paper investigates the potential of electrostatic separation processes on the Moon, exploring lunar environmental characteristics, lunar regolith simulant concepts, and current development. It also highlights global research trends on electrostatic separation in lunar environments and suggests relevant research topics for South Korea.

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Space Resources Engineering: Ilmenite Deposits for Oxygen Production on the Moon

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

The smallest space miners: principles of space biomining

The smallest space miners: principles of space biomining

An Effort to Use a Solid Propellant Engine Arrangement in the Moon Soft Landing Problem

Current Status of Electrostatic Concentration Techniques for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) on the Moon

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