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Lunar StructuresRutgers Symposium on Lunar Settlements

Department of Mechanical& Aerospace Engineering

4 June 2007

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Harrison Schmitt Apollo 17

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Arthur C. Clarke, 1951

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In 1962, a lunar base study by John DeNike and Stanley Zahn was published in Aerospace Engineering. Their chosen location was a flat region on the moon that included the Sea of Tranquility (the Apollo 11 landing site).

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President Bush’s new vision for NASA plans to return astronauts to the Moon by 2020.

The Chinese Chang’e program plans human missions to the Moon after 2020.

The European Space Agency’s Aurora program intends to send humans to the Moon by 2024.

New Space Programs

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• attract young Americans to engineering & science• economic rewards• manifest destiny• science• national security• creating an epic vision for humanity• Moon as a testbed• safeguard the species

Moon First !

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• areas of permanent sunlight

• solar cells can be made from local materials

• no atmosphere

• power beaming back to Earth

• Helium - 3

Energy Production

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Mining

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Tourism – Hilton Exterior

Concept and picture courtesy Peter Inston

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Tourism - Marriott

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• gMoon = 1.62 m / s²

• gEarth = 9.81 m / s²

• gravity is reduced by 5/6

• A lunar structure has six times the weight bearing capacity as on Earth.

Gravity

Dust lock

OTHER INTERESTING Moon-to-Earth RATIOS: Mass 1/81;Radius 1/3.7; Surface Area 1/13.5; Mean Density 1/1.65; Escape Velocity 1/4.7

Lunar Environment

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• can range from 34.5 kPa (5 psi) to 101.3 kPa (14.7 psi)

• optimum is believed to be at 69 kPa (10 psi)

• enclosure structure must contain the pressure

Internal Air Pressurization

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• protection from radiation and micrometeoroids

• insulation (temperature differentials of 250°C)

• regolith cover is most feasible

• at least 2.5 m - 3.0 m of regolith cover needed

• avg regolith mass is 1.7 g / cm³

• dead load results to 8.3 kPa

(1.2 psi)

Shielding

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Additional Critical Environment Factors

• Regolith dust: very small particles that are easily electrostatically charged, easily suspended and displaced, are abrasive, and attach to everything

• Moonquakes: Order of magnitude ~ 5 Richter, can last 10 minutes vs. 2 min max on Earth

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• first generation: pre-fabricated and pre-outfitted modules like the ones for the ISS

Concepts

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Cylinder Modules

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Courtesy Orbital Sciences

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Structural ConceptsStructural Concepts

• second generation:

locally assembled structures after a certain presence on the Moon has been established

• third generation:

structures exclusively made from local materials

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A Spherical Inflatable

Concept and picture courtesy M. Roberts (NASA)

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Rover Bases

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Structural Analysis and Design of the

RUTGERS lunar base

Ruess, Schänzlin, Benaroya, Structural Design of a Lunar Habitat, Journal of Aerospace Engineering, Vol. 19, No. 3,July 1, 2006. ©ASCE,

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Proposed Design:A Tied-Arch Shell Structure

Concept and picture by F. Ruess and H. Benaroya

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Structural Analysis

Additional calculation parameters:

• rise: 5 m

• regolith modulus of subgrade reaction: 1000 kPa / m

• global safety factor applied: 5

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Structural Analysis

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Cross Sections: Summary

• cross section Type 4 is most efficient

• material: high-strength aluminum

• arch mass: 31 kg / m²

• average floor mass: 118 kg / m²

• max. deflections for operational loads are about 5 cm

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Hinged Connections: Variant 2Concept: Jörg Schänzlin

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The Construction Sequence

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Base Layout

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FIRST LUNAR BASEFIRST LUNAR BASEBABAKIN CORPORATION’S CONCEPTION

Russian Concepts courtesy V. Shevchenko

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LUNAR OUTPOSTLUNAR OUTPOST

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MANNED LUNAR BASE - 2050ENERGIA-STERNBERG PROJECT

BASE 2050: Residential Zone in Crater, General View

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MANNEDBASE INCRATER

ENERGIA –STERNBERGPROJECT

PLAN VIEW

1. Inhabited modules2. General purposes3. Clean facilities4. Kitchens5. Adaptation & Rehabilitation6. Medical facilities7. Control center8. Maintenance9. Communications10. Labs

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Cross-section View

36MANNED BASE IN LAVA TUBE. ENERGIA-STERNBERG PROJECT

1. Residential (200 people)2. Manufacturing3. Control4. Launch complex5. Technical6. Warehouses7. Power systems8. Shelters9. Roads

Base mostly inlava tubes forprotection.

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On To Mars

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Mars Habitat

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Next Generation Issues• Ownership • Balance economic development with

safeguarding the environment• Democratic Principles• New generations will have new physiology and new psychology• New generations will have new loyalties• Independence

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Thank you !

• Questions ?