Abstract
A study was conducted to determine the mass and power of an in situ propellant production plant producing 10.5 t of liquid oxygen per year from the regolith at the lunar south pole. The carbothermal reduction process was selected for oxygen extraction from the regolith, using direct solar energy from a concentrator for the thermal heating in the carbothermal reactor, and solar arrays for the remaining electrical power needs. The baseline lander design selected for delivery of the production plant is capable of landing a payload mass of 3,600 kg and has significant cargo area available below the propulsion deck close to the ground for the in situ resource utilization (ISRU) hardware. Total mass for the 10.5-t oxygen plant, including all power systems, structure, command and control, communication, thermal management, and 30% margin, was 4,145 kg, exceeding the lander’s payload capability. A second design of a smaller plant producing 7 t of oxygen per year resulted in a mass of 3,459 kg, which is within the lander’s capability. Mass payback ratio for the 10.5- and 7-t oxygen plants is 0.4 and , respectively, and indicates that a net gain of mass on the lunar surface can be realized in three to four months.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code generated or used during the study are proprietary or confidential in nature and may only be provided with restrictions. All data generated for this study is included in this article. The models used to generate the data are not readily available because NASA review and approval for secondary use of models is required. Requests to access the models should be directed to the corresponding author ([email protected]).
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to recognize and thank additional members of the Compass team that also contributed to this work: Elizabeth Turnbull (system integration and master equipment list); James Fittje (system integration and master equipment list, propellant handling and storage); John Gyekenyesi (structures); Nicholas Lantz (command and data handling); Robert Jones (communications); and Thomas Packard (configuration).
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Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 34 • Issue 4 • July 2021
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© 2021 Published by American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 13, 2020
Accepted: Dec 16, 2020
Published online: May 6, 2021
Published in print: Jul 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Oct 6, 2021
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