Lunar Excavating Research

When we return to the moon we will likely do so on limited budgets that will necessitate small, low-cost missions. Since the cost of transportation to moon consumes upwards of 50% of the cost of an entire mission, one way to reduce mission cost is to use lunar resources to the greatest extent practical. This will reduce the amount of material transported to the moon, translating directly and linearly into cost savings. The most obvious lunar resource is the lunar regolith. With the lunar regolith we can build blast barriers, provide radiation and micro-meteorite protection for habitats, and provide feed stock for oxygen production processes. Excavation technology for the lunar environment is an important element that will enable these uses of lunar regolith and one that requires further investigation. The objective of this paper is to summarize the research efforts of the authors including recent results of excavating force measurements in one-sixth Earth's gravity. It is concluded that more research is required to establish force prediction equations for the simple case of a flat blade drawn through lunar soil simulant. The simple case of flat blades can then serve as a base line of comparison for other methods such as curved blades or scoops, vibrating blades or scoops, and rotating brush techniques. Once these methods are also investigated, lunar excavator design parameters and functional requirements can be established and prototypes designed, fabricated, and tested.