 ISRU Reverse Water Gas Shift Testbed (NASA KSC). In space exploration, In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) describes the proposed use of resources found or manufactured on other planetary bodies (the Moon, Mars, etc.) to further the goals of a space mission. Space exploration is the physical exploration of outer space by both manned and unmanned spacecraft. ...
According to NASA, "In-situ resource utilization will enable the affordable establishment of extraterrestrial exploration and operations by minimizing the materials carried from Earth."[1] The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an agency of the United States Government, responsible for that nations public space program. ...
Examples of ISRU
ISRU can provide materials for life support, propellants, construction materials, and energy to a science payload or a crew deployed on a planet, moon, or asteroid. A propellant is a material that is used to move an object by applying a motive force. ...
It is now very common for spacecraft to harness the solar radiation found in-situ, and it is likely missions to planetary surfaces will also use solar power. Beyond that, ISRU has not yet received any practical application, but it is seen by exploration proponents as a way to drastically reduce the amount of payload that must be launched from Earth in order to explore a given planetary body. A spacecraft is a vessel, craft or device designed to operate beyond the surface of the Earth in outer space. ...
Solar power describes a number of methods of harnessing energy from the light of the sun. ...
Mars A typical proposal for ISRU is the use of a Sabatier reaction, CO2 + 4H2 → CH4 + 2H2O, in order to produce methane on the Martian surface, to be used as a propellant. The Sabatier process involves the reaction of hydrogen with carbon dioxide at elevated temperatures and pressures in the presence of a nickel catalyst to produce methane and water. ...
Another reaction proposed for Mars is the reverse water gas shift reaction, CO2 + H2 → CO + H2O. This reaction takes place rapidly in the presence of an iron-chrome catalyst at 400 Centigrade[2], and has been implemented in an earth based testbed by NASA[3]. Oxygen is liberated from the water by electrolysis, and the hydrogen can be recycled back into the gas shift reaction, meaning that only a small amount of hydrogen is needed and can be brought from Earth. The water gas shift reaction is an organic reaction in which water and carbon monoxide react to form carbon dioxide and hydrogen (water splitting) CO + H2O → CO2 + H2 The water gas shift reaction is part of steam reforming of hydrocarbons and is involved in the chemistry of catalytic converters While...
Hoffman voltameter used to electrolyze water. ...
Other proposals are based on Phobos and Deimos. These moons are in reasonably high orbits above Mars, have very low escape velocities, and unlike Mars have return delta-v's from their surfaces to LEO which are less than the return from the Moon. Phobos in particular has shown signs of possessing water, and water (steam) is a very adequate rocket fuel in its own right[4], and at least one study has shown orders of magnitude lower costs and higher production rate from simply using steam rather than electrolysing the water and then liquifying the resultant gases.[5] In addition, water is stable and space storable. Phobos (IPA or , Greek Φόβος: Fright), is the larger and innermost of Mars two moons (the other being Deimos), and is named after Phobos, son of Ares (Mars) from Greek Mythology. ...
Deimos (IPA or ; Greek Δείμος: Dread), is the smaller and outermost of Mars’ two moons, named after Deimos from Greek Mythology. ...
Delta-v budget (or velocity change budget) is a term used in astrodynamics and aerospace industry for velocity change (or delta-v) requirements for the various propulsive tasks and orbital maneuvers over phases of the space mission. ...
The Moon On the moon, the lunar highland material anorthite is similar to the earth mineral bauxite, which is an aluminium ore. Smelters can produce pure aluminum, calcium metal, oxygen and silica glass from anorthite. Raw anorthsite is also good for making fiberglass and other glass and ceramic products.[6] Over twenty different methods have been proposed for oxygen extraction on the Moon. Oxygen is often found in iron rich lunar minerals and glasses as iron oxide. the oxygen can be extracted by heating the material to temperatures above 900°C and exposing it to hydrogen gas. The basic equation is: FeO + H2 → Fe + H2O. This process has recently been made much more practical by the discovery of significant amounts of hydrogen containing regolith near the moon's poles by the Clementine spacecraft[7]. Regolith (Greek: blanket rock) is a layer of loose, heterogeneous material covering solid rock. ...
Apparent magnitude: up to -12. ...
Anorthite is one of the plagioclase feldspars, an important group of minerals abundant in the Earths crust. ...
Bauxite with penny Bauxite with core of unweathered rock Bauxite is an aluminium ore which consists largely of the Al minerals gibbsite Al(OH)3, boehmite and diaspore AlOOH, together with the iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite and small amounts of anatase TiO2. ...
General Name, Symbol, Number aluminium, Al, 13 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 13, 3, p Appearance silvery Atomic mass 26. ...
Iron ore (Banded iron formation) Manganese ore Lead ore Gold ore An ore is a volume of rock containing components or minerals in a mode of occurrence which renders it valuable for mining. ...
General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series Nonmetals, chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless (gas) very pale blue (liquid) Atomic mass 15. ...
This article is about the chemistry of hydrogen. ...
Regolith (Greek: blanket rock) is a layer of loose, heterogeneous material covering solid rock. ...
Apparent magnitude: up to -12. ...
It has also been proposed to use lunar regolith as a general construction material[8], through processing techniques such as sintering, hot-pressing, liquification, and the cast basalt method. The cast basalt method is used on Earth for construction of, for example, pipes where a high resistance to abrasion is required. Cast basalt has a very high hardness of 8 Mohs (diamond is 10 Mohs) but is also susceptible to mechanical impact and thermal shock[9] which could be a problem on the moon. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...
In physics, to liquefy or liquify means to turn something into the liquid state. ...
In materials science, hardness is the characteristic of a solid material expressing its resistance to permanent deformation. ...
Mohs can refer to: Friedrich Mohs Mohs Automobile Mohs scale of mineral hardness This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...
This article is about the gemstone. ...
Thermal shock is the name given to cracking as a result of rapid temperature change. ...
Glass and glass fibre are straight forward to process on the moon and mars, and it has been argued[6] that the glass is optically superior to that made on the Earth because it can be made anhydrous. Successful tests have been performed on earth using two lunar regolith simulants MLS-1 and MLS-2[1]. Glass can be made transparent and flat, or into other shapes and colors as shown in this sphere from the Verrerie of Brehat in Brittany. ...
There is a disputed proposal to merge this article with glass-reinforced plastic. ...
As a general term, a substance is said to be anhydrous if it contains no water. ...
In August 2005, NASA contracted for the production of 16 metric tons of simulated lunar soil, or "Lunar Regolith Simulant Material."[10] This material, called JSC-1a, is now commercially available for research on how lunar soil could be utilized in-situ.[11]
ISRU classification In October 2004, NASA’s Advanced Planning and Integration Office commissioned an ISRU capability roadmap team. The team's report, along with those of 14 other capability roadmap teams, were published May 22, 2005.[12] The report identifies seven ISRU capabilities: (i) resource extraction, (ii) material handling and transport, (iii) resource processing, (iv) surface manufacturing with in-situ resources, (v) surface construction, (vi) surface ISRU product and consumable storage and distribution, and (vii) ISRU unique development and certification capabilities.
Criticism While it is without doubt that ISRU will provide a spur to technological innovation that will one day prove useful, a question mark hangs over whether it is a cost effective techniqe for accelerating present exploration of space. One critique [2] points out that the rather long lead in time for lunar ISRU means that for the first decade of lunar base build up ISRU will actually hinder the program by taking up valuable cargo space for little return.
See also On December 4, 2006, NASA announced the conclusion of its Global Exploration Strategy and Lunar Architecture Study. ...
The continuous bombardment of the Moon by comets and meteoroids have added some amount of water to the lunar surface. ...
David R. Criswell, Ph. ...
Paul D. Spudis is an American geologist and lunar scientist. ...
Gerard Kitchen ONeill (1927 - 1992) was a U.S. physicist and space pioneer. ...
References - ^ In-Situ Resource Utilization (html). NASA Ames Research Center. Retrieved on 14 January 2007.
- ^ The Reverse Water Gas Shift (html). Retrieved on 12 February 2007.
- ^ Mars In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Testbed (html). NASA. Retrieved on 12 February 2007.
- ^ Neofuel]
- ^ Origin of How Steam Rockets can Reduce Space Transport Cost by Orders of Magnitude
- ^ a b Mining and Manufacturing on the Moon (html). NASA. Retrieved on 12 February 2007.
- ^ The Clementine Bistatic Radar Experiment (html). Science Magazine. Retrieved on 12 February 2007.
- ^ Indigenous lunar construction materials (html). NASA. Retrieved on 12 February 2007.
- ^ Cast Basalt (html). Ultratech. Retrieved on 12 February 2007.
- ^ NASA Science & Mission Systems Office (html). Retrieved on 14 January 2007.
- ^ bringing commercialization to maturity (html). PLANET LLC. Retrieved on 14 January 2007.
- ^ NASA Capability Roadmaps Executive Summary. NASA.
External links |
Feeds |
Contact