[ad_1]
Philip Metzger studied mining waters on the moon. If water is extracted on the moon, satellite missions in geosynchronous orbits could save about $ 100 million.
At present, the additional platinum costs more than $ 100 million to go from a low Earth orbit or the use of ionic propulsors requiring a year to move the satellite. The delayed operation is close to the cost of the boost phase.
The water can be extracted on the moon, delivered to a service station, sold to operators of the space tug, which will then pass the satellite into its final orbit for well under $ 100 million per spacecraft.
Here is the link to the 189-page report on water mines on the moon.
A wide range of potential customers for hydrogen and oxygen products has been identified. They can be used to power reusable landers commuting between the lunar surface and the lunar orbit. They can reduce the cost of traveling to Mars if the interplanetary vehicle can be refueled in a common area before departure. Operations closer to Earth can also benefit from this new inexpensive source of propellant. Refueling in low Earth orbit can significantly improve the size, type and cost of geosynchronous Earth Orbit missions and beyond. This study identified a short-term annual demand for 450 metric tons of moon-derived propellant, equivalent to 2,450 metric tons of treated lunar water, generating $ 2.4 billion in revenue annually.
It has been discovered that instead of excavating, transporting and processing, light tents and / or worms can be used to extract the water resource directly from the regolith in place. The water will be extracted from the regolith by sublimation – heating the ice to turn it into water vapor without going through the liquid phase. This water vapor can then be collected on a cold surface to be transported to a treatment plant where electrolysis breaks down water into its components (hydrogen and oxygen).
To achieve the production demand with this method, it takes 2.8 megawatts of power (2 megawatts of electricity and 0.8 megawatts thermal). Most of the electrical energy will be needed in the treatment plant, where the water is broken down into hydrogen and oxygen. This considerable amount of energy can come from solar panels, sunlight reflected directly to the extraction site or nuclear energy. Because the bottoms of the polar craters are permanently shaded, captured solar energy must be transported from sunlight (crater rim) via bundles or electrical cables. Unlike solar energy sources, nuclear reactors can operate anywhere; However, they generate heat that must be used or rejected and can be simplified if it is located in cold and permanently shaded craters.
The equipment needed for this lunar propulsion operation will be built from existing technologies that have been modified to meet the specific needs of the Moon. Surprisingly, little new scientific knowledge is needed to build this plant. Extensive tests on Earth will precede deployment on the moon, to ensure that robotics, extraction, chemical processing and storage work together effectively. Contributors to this study are those who are currently developing or have already developed the equipment required to enable this capability. From a technological point of view, a lunar thruster production facility is highly achievable.
The initial investment for this operation has been estimated at $ 4 billion, about the cost of a luxury hotel in Las Vegas. With this investment, however, an evolving market is accessible. As refueling lowers transportation costs in space, new business and exploration opportunities will emerge that can greatly benefit the economies of the planet. Even with the first clients identified in this study, it has been determined that this could be a profitable investment with excellent growth opportunities.
Source link
