Experimental Studies on Mechanics of Lunar Excavation
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 4, Issue 1
Abstract
One of the first construction operations for building a stationary habitat on the moon or Mars will be excavation of soil. The reasons for this necessity are manyfold and range from the need to protect inflatable habitats against radiation to creating an underground space for building electrical power plants. Despite the tremendous amount of earth movement that has taken place on this globe, a sound theoretical basis for designing soil‐moving machines does not exist. This paper describes the results of experiments that were developed to evaluate empirically if and how soil could be excavated on the moon. No attempt has bee made to optimize or promote a particular method. The goal of the present study is rather to establish a sound knowledge base to use for the more‐detailed studies needed to design an operational system that will be successful on the moon.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Alekseeva, T. V., et al. (1985). Machines for earthmoving work. Amerind Publishing Co., Private Limited, New Delhi, India.
2.
Balovnev, V. I. (1983). New methods for calculating resistance to cutting of soil. Amerind Publishing Co., Private Limited, New Delhi, India.
3.
Bernold, L. E., and Rolfsness, S. L. (1988). “Earthmoving in the lunar environment.” Proc., Space 88, ASCE, 202–216.
4.
Carrier, W. M., III, Mitchell, T. K., and Mahmood, A. (1973). “The nature of lunar soil.” J. Soil Mech. Found. Div., ASCE, 99, 813–832.
5.
Cintala, M. T., and Hoerz, F. (1989). “Impact cratering in low‐gravity environments: Results of reconnaissance experimentation on the NASA KC‐135A reduced gravity aircraft.” Proc., 19th Lunar and Planetary Sci. Conf., Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, Tex., 627–639.
6.
Gill, W. R., and Berg, G. E. (1968). Soil dynamics in tillage and traction. U.S. Dept. of Agr., U.S. Government Printing Ofc., Washington, D.C.
7.
Johnson, S. W., et al. (1969). “Gravity and atmospheric pressure effects on crater formation in sand.” J. Geophysical Res., 74(20), 4838–4850.
9.
Mitchell, T. K., et al. (1972). “Mechanical properties of lunar soil: Density, porosity, cohesion and angle of friction.” Proc. 3rd Lunar Sci., Conf., MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 3235–3253.
10.
Rowe, R. T. and Barnes, K. K. (1961). “Influence of speed on elements of draft of a tillage tool.” Trans., Soc. Agric. Engrg., 4, 55–57.
11.
Schuring, D. J. (1977). Scale models in engineering. Pergamon Press, New York, N.Y.
12.
Soehne, W. (1956). “Some principles of soil mechanics as applied to agricultural engineering.” Grundlagen der Landtechnik, Munich, West Germany, 7, 11–27 (Nat. Inst. Agr. Engrg., English Translation 53).
13.
Zelenin, A. N., Balornev, V. I., and Kerov, I. P. (1985). Machines for moving the earth. Amerind Publishing Co., Private Limited, New Delhi, India.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 4 • Issue 1 • January 1991
Pages: 9 - 22
Copyright
Copyright © 1991 ASCE.
History
Published online: Jan 1, 1991
Published in print: Jan 1991
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.