Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Moon 101 - A Course in Lunar Science for non-specialists

I have been watching these lectures.  Most interesting but takes an hour or so for each one.
I know, we are still talking a lot about what was learned from the Apollo missions.

Now I need to look for business plans to make the next missions interesting to the competition.
Maybe that way we will see more activity.

If we really want to develop space we are going to need to have access to a lot of resources that are already outside of our gravity well.
"Make It So!"
- LRK -

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Moon 101. 01. Introduction to the Moon

Published on Sep 2, 2013
In the first presentation of the Moon 101 lecture series, Dr. Paul Spudis gives an introduction to the Moon, providing an overview of the more detailed Moon 101 lectures to follow. The presentation begins by describing the nature of the Moon as a heavily cratered rocky planet, and compares the general properties of the Moon to those of the Earth and Mars. Global images and elemental composition maps are then followed by discussions of: the thermal and micrometeorite environments on the lunar surface; the Moon's orbit and resulting eclipses and lunar librations as viewed from Earth; surface topography; moment of inertia; surface morphology and physiography; landscapes and terrains; the surface lighting environment; regolith and dust; and the origin of the Moon. The presentation concludes with a review of past and current robotic exploration missions to the Moon. 

Lesson presented: 06⁄04⁄2008
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The PDF links will give you a larger presentation to follow while listening to the talks.
- LRK -

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN_RNXGa5Ro
Moon 101. 02. The Lunar Environment

Published on Sep 2, 2013
Dr. Mendell's presentation addresses a multitude of aspects of the Lunar Environment. The first section reviews the many external factors that act upon the Moon and how their effects that need to be understood by the lunar designer or explorer. He chooses to discuss the environmental factors through their connection to the Moon's location in the universe, in the Milky Way Galaxy, in our solar system near the Sun, and in proximity to the Earth. The effects of the solar wind plasma, meteoroids, and solar insolation are important on the Moon because it lacks a magnetic field and a substantial atmosphere. He describes the Earth-Moon system as a "binary planet" and discusses the Lunar Coordinate System and the importance of the Moon's polar regions. The second part of Dr. Mendell's presentation covers the implications of the environment for living and working on the Moon. We have little to no experience in habitat design for a low-gravity planet. The Moon's 'lumpy' structure introduces irregularities in its gravitational field, increasing the cost of maintaining low orbits. He goes on to discuss the Moon's tenuous atmosphere, its unusual surface reflectivity, ejecta from surface impacts (why we need to worry about this), lunar seismic events (moonquakes, impact events -- even ours), and lastly emanations of gases from beneath the surface. 

Lesson presented: June 18, 2008
Lesson published: June 27, 2008
http://www.spudislunarresources.com/m...
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The Once and Future Moon by Paul D. Spudis
- LRK -

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Moon 101. 03. Physiography and Geology of the Moon

Published on Sep 2, 2013
Dr. Paul Spudis discusses the physiography and geology of the moon including: terrains, landforms, topography (photogeology), impact crater formation, excavation, ejecta emplacement, secondaries, impact melting and shock metamorphism, lunar meteorites, flux through time; cataclysm, periodicity, correlation with terrestrial record and other planets.
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- LRK -

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Moon 101. 04. The Lunar Surface

Published on Sep 2, 2013
The fourth presentation in the Moon 101 series, Dr. Jeff Plescia discusses -- dust, rocks, slopes, trafficability (geotechnical properties); formation and evolution of regolith, interface with bedrock; crater size-frequency distributions, exotic components, highland⁄mare mixing, vertical and lateral transport of material; chemical and mineral composition, physical state, properties, and surface characteristics.
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Moon 101. 05. The Lunar Crust

Published on Sep 2, 2013
Dr. Gary Lofgren discusses the current understanding of the crust of the Moon. The presentation begins with a brief overview of the Moon's surface, and discusses the prevailing Magma Ocean Theory resulting in the formation of the primary, or original, lunar crust. The crust was subsequently modified by impact bombardment and volcanic activity. Compositional variations in the lunar crust are then described as three major terrains: Procellarum KREEP terrain, Feldspathic Highlands terrain, and the South Pole-Aitken basin terrain. It is noted that studying rock samples is the key to understanding the lunar crust. The presentation then focuses on the characteristics and ages of the major rock types found on the Moon: basaltic rocks from mare lava flows, anorthositic rocks in the lunar highlands, impact breccias and melt rocks, and volcanic glasses. The lecture concludes with a brief review of the rock sampling conducted during the Apollo missions, and lessons learned for future lunar surface exploration. 
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Published on Sep 2, 2013
In the sixth presentation of the Moon 101 lecture series, Dr. Jeff Plescia discusses the current understanding of the interior of the Moon. The presentation begins with a brief overview of the Moon from a geophysical perspective, and discusses the prevailing Giant impact Theory and Magma Ocean Theory resulting in the formation of the Moon and its differentiation into crust, mantle, and core. The presentation then focuses on the current understanding of the chemistry, mineralogy, and thickness of the lunar crust; the boundaries, depth, and mineralogy of the mantle; and the size and composition of the lunar core. Geophysical parameters of the Moon are then discussed, including: the seismic nature of the Moon, including shallow, deep, and thermal moonquakes and impact events; the lunar gravity field; magnetism; and heat flow.

Lesson presented: 08⁄13⁄2008
http://www.spudislunarresources.com/m...
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- LRK -

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Moon 101. 07. The Lunar Polar Environment

Published on Sep 2, 2013
In the seventh presentation of the Moon 101 lecture series, Dr. Ben Bussey discusses the current understanding of the polar regions of the Moon. The presentation begins with a brief overview of the geometry of the Moon's axis of rotation with respect to the ecliptic plane, the resulting polar environment on the lunar surface, and the proposition that a polar region, particularly the south pole, would be a good location for a lunar outpost. Using imagery data from the Clementine and SMART-1 missions, the majority of the presentation focuses on how local topography at the poles result in two specific areas of interest: permanently shadowed craters possibly containing water ice, and topographically high areas that receive enhanced illumination from sunlight due to their elevated position with respect to the surrounding terrain. The presentation concludes with discussions about how radar instruments on the Chandrayaan-1 and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

Lesson presented: 08⁄27⁄2008
http://www.spudislunarresources.com/m...
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- LRK -

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Moon 101. 08. A Brief, Selective History of the Apollo Program

Published on Sep 2, 2013
In the eighth presentation of the Moon 101 lecture series, Dr. Dean Eppler provides a brief and selective history of the Apollo program. The presentation begins with President Kennedy's message to Congress on National Priorities in May of 1961, and his desire to commit the nation to the exploration of the Moon. The presentation then focuses on several key efforts that made the Apollo program successful, including national will, money, heavy lift launch vehicles, lunar landers, space suits, operational practices, and luck. An overview of each Apollo mission to the Moon then follows, including mission facts and statistics, results, and lessons learned. The presentation concludes with discussions on how the Constellation Program could use the lessons learned from Apollo to benefit the future explorations of the Moon.

Lesson presented: 09⁄10⁄2008
http://www.spudislunarresources.com/m...
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- LRK -

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfMbAVnVdlc
Moon 101. 09. Future Scientific Exploration of the Moon

Published on Sep 2, 2013
In the ninth presentation of the Moon 101 lecture series, Dr. Paul Spudis discusses current ideas for the future exploration of and operations on the Moon. The presentation begins with a brief overview of why the Moon is important and the value of exploration, particularly human spaceflight. Points of discussion included using the Moon as a school for exploration, a place to learn how to live and work off planet, and a stepping stone to the Solar System. The presentation then focuses on how geological exploration is conducted, including reconnaissance and field work, field and lab analyses, mapping, and planning surveys, traverses, and transects. The importance of surface mobility to accomplish these tasks, and the proper mix and use of humans and robots are highlighted. The presentation then focuses on the use of emplaced science stations and observatories for geophysics, astrophysics, heliophysics, and earth observations. The presentation concludes with discussions summarizing new exploration approaches and the challenges facing these approaches, such as lighting conditions and lunar dust.

Lesson presented: 09⁄24⁄08
http://www.spudislunarresources.com/m...
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- LRK -

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Moon 101. 10. Lunar Meteorites

Published on Sep 2, 2013
In the tenth presentation of the Moon 101 lecture series, Dr. Kevin Righter discusses lunar meteorites and how they have contributed to lunar science. The presentation begins with a brief overview describing what meteorites are and what they look like. Discussion then continues with where meteorites come from, and how lunar meteorites can be recognized from other meteorites. The presentation then focuses on NASA's involvement with the U.S. Antarctic meteorite program, and the curation of collected meteorites, including the tools and materials used. Other locations where meteorites have been collected, such as Africa, are also mentioned. The presentation concludes with discussions about how the study of lunar meteorites has contributed to the advancement of lunar science, including extending the range of ages for the eruption of basaltic lavas, refining the composition of the feldspathic highlands crust, and providing more data to better understand the impact flux at Moon.

Lesson presented: 10⁄08⁄08
http://www.spudislunarresources.com/m...
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Paul D. Spudis, Ph.D.

Spudis Lunar Resources Blog

Moon 101 - A Course in Lunar Science for non-specialists
Presentation materials for a course of lectures at NASA Johnson Space Center
June-October, 2008

Moon 101 Lecture Series
 
Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -

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Sunday, July 6, 2014

How to develop an excitement for a future that includes the use of space and the Moon

Well on the last post, Possible Future Space Exploration and The Tasks Needed To Make It Happen, I sounded like it would be hard to generate an interest in a future that included space and going to the Moon with humans, and yet the past Apollo missions continue to make impressions on those that understand and make possible for the next generation to experience the excitement of a vision.

David Robertson is experimenting with micro computers and passed me a link about Jeff Highsmith's Bedroom Apollo Mission.
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Jeff Highsmith is from Make. His Mission Control Desk (a homework desk which, when you’ve finished learning your spellings and writing about what you did on your holidays, magically turns itself into an Apollo Mission Control station, complete with bleeps, bloops, and the ability to disastrously stir the oxygen tanks) is a project that got a lot of you very, very excited when we featured it. Jeff is King of the Maker Parents.

He’s not been idle since then - after all, he has two sons, and the younger one needed a project for his own bedroom to go alongside his brother’s envy-inspiring Mission Control Desk. This is what he ended up with. Please make sure you’re giving your jaw plenty of support before hitting play, so it doesn’t hit the floor when it falls open with amazement.
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The must see video - LRK - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfY-SlC2XHc
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Here is the "Make" website for Jeff''s  Making Fun: Kids Room Spacecraft with a commentary and images of the different stages.
Do take a look and then think how the script he has could be written to talk about going back to the Moon to do real work.
- LRK -

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http://makezine.com/video/making-fun-kids-room-spacecraft/
Kids Room Spaceship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfY-SlC2XHc
When I was building the Mission Control Desk for my older son’s room, it became clear that we would also need a spaceship to go with it. Over the last four months, in scraps of time between other roles, I built a spaceship for my younger son’s room. It has a control panel full of interesting displays and whiz-bang space sounds. A joystick controls lights and sounds for the engine and thrusters. The payload bay has a motorized hatch and contains a robot arm that can be remotely operated over video feed to deploy payloads like toy satellites. Headsets provide an audio link between the spacecraft and Mission Control in the other room, so my sons can practice collaborating on their space missions. The above video is a great overview of the main features of the spaceship, but if you would like to know a few more implementation details, keep reading.
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Another look at Jeff's play list of the individual projects.
http://makezine.com/playlist/making-fun/
- LRK -
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These micro processors beat my one micro switch on the steps up to my room over the garage that let the Erector Set motor open my door.
- LRK -

Arduino
The little microcontroller that launched a maker revolution.

Raspberry Pi
The embedded Linux board that fits in your hand — and in your next project.


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Can we take images of the Apollo Lunar Module and use them to make our own simulators for going back to the Moon?
The book, "VIRTUAL LM" is a good pictorial reference.
Virtual LM: A Pictorial Essay of the Engineering and Construction of the Apollo Lunar Module: Apogee Books Space Series 47 [Paperback]

There are plenty of reference at the Apollo Archive Project.

Maybe you have seen the simple Lunar Lander simulation.
I would really like to see more from NASA and as my granddaughter said, "ASK YOUR PHONE", so I did.
"LUNAR ELECTRIC ROVER SIMULATOR" and got 
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Version 1.0 of the NASA Lunar Electric Rover App is now available!

In Version 1.0:

Lunar Electric Rover (LER) Photo Gallery
Interactive LER Viewer
Awesome conceptual animation
LER Simulator
Multiple difficulty levels

Application Description

Welcome to the NASA Lunar Electric Rover (LER) Simulator. You don’t need a driver’s license, but you still need to buckle up as the LER Simulator gives you a glimpse of what it might be like to support the activities of a functioning Lunar Outpost. Get busy. You never know if your skills here will become a major part of the NASA Astronaut application process in the future.

LER App Menu Page

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That doesn't help me on my android Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone.
Took a look at the next link below the one I found and we have a list of applications.
Again, more for Apple than Android.  :-)
- LRK -

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Connect & Collaborate with NASA
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Station & Shuttle

Ascent: Space Station Crew: › iPhone/iPad→
Ascent: Commemorating Shuttle: › iPad→
30 Years Shuttlebook:  iPad→
AstroApp: Space Shuttle Crew: › iPhone/iPad→

Solar System

3D Sun:› iPhone/iPad→
Cassini:› iPhone→
Comet Quest: › iPhone→
Curiosity: › Windows Phone→
Go StarGaze: › iPhone→
Grail Mission App: › iPhone→
Lunar Electric Rover Simulator App: ›  iPhone→
MESSENGER: Orbiting Mercury: › iPhone/iPad →
Moon Tours:  › iPhone/iPad →
NASA Be A Martian: › iPhone/iPad→, › Android→, or › Windows Phone→
NASA HIAD: › iPhone/iPad→
NASA Science: A Journey of Discovery: › iPad→
NASA Space Weather App: › iPhone→
NASA Visualization Explorer: ›iPhone/iPad→
Space Communications and Navigation: NetworKing: › IPhone/iPad→
Spacecraft 3D: › iPhone/iPad App→ or › Android→
Space Junk Sammy: › iPhone/iPad→
Space Place Prime: › iPhone→or ›iPad→
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Index
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My problem is making the possible, seem possible.  No one could break the 4 min mile, until someone did, no one could do a Quad in ice skating, until someone did. It seems to mean at our current pace it will be China, Russia, India or maybe even Italy, who will get back to the Moon to do something profitable. 


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What is the purpose of the global exploration strategy?

The Global Exploration Strategy, which includes input from more than 1,000 individuals representing 14 of the world's space agencies, as well as non-governmental organizations and commercial interests, was intended to address two overarching issues: "Why we are returning to the moon," and "What we are planning to do when we get there?"

Participation by other nations, as well as commercial interests, is an important aspect of implementing the Vision for Space Exploration. The process of developing a global strategy created an opportunity to explore in greater depth the reasons other countries might have for going to the moon, potential activities associated with lunar exploration, and to understand commercial interest in the overall Vision. The global exploration strategy is the result of a lengthy dialogue among potential stakeholders.

How was the global exploration strategy dialogue conducted?

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin initiated the dialogue in order to discover fresh ideas and gauge international interest in the U.S. agency's plan for implementing the Vision for Space Exploration – particularly with regard to the moon and Mars. From April 2006 through December 2006, NASA and representatives from 13 other space agencies met regularly with non-governmental organizations and private-sector entities to identify goals and objectives, and to begin to understand what exploration of the moon might mean for each nation. NASA coordinated the multilateral discussions. The agency's approach was inclusive.

What space agencies participated?

In addition to NASA, space exploration experts from Australia, Canada, China, the European Space Agency, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and Ukraine participated.

What did the multilateral discussions produce?

The discussions generated agreement on six strategic themes for lunar exploration, 180 possible objectives within those themes, and a draft framework document. More information about the themes and objectives can be found on the Exploration website at www.nasa.gov/exploration. The participants agreed on the themes that answer the question "Why return to the moon?" The themes are:

1. Exploration Preparation: To use the moon to prepare for future human and robotic missions to Mars and other destinations
2. Scientific Knowledge: To pursue scientific activities addressing fundamental questions about Earth, the solar system, the universe and our place in them
3. Sustained Presence: To extend human presence to the moon
4. Economic Expansion: To expand Earth's economic sphere to encompass the moon and to pursue lunar activities with direct benefits to life on Earth
5. Global Partnership: To strengthen existing international partnerships and create new ones
6. Inspiration: To engage, inspire and educate the public.

The Global Exploration Strategy is a work in progress. It will inform future discussions between NASA and its partners on areas of collaboration and cooperation in the exploration of the moon, Mars, and beyond.
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What are NASA’s priorities in terms of capabilities to develop?

Such priorities include, but are not limited to, space transportation (including the Orion crew exploration vehicle, the Ares I and Ares V rockets, and the Lunar Surface Access Module), initial communications and navigation capabilities, the development of a suit for extravehicular activity on the lunar surface, providing a closed-loop life support system, and obtaining knowledge about the effects of the lunar environment on humans. Consistent with broader U.S. policy objectives, further discussion, study, and evaluation of these issues will take place as part of the process of developing a final lunar exploration program.

What objectives would NASA hope to accomplish on the moon?

As part of developing the global exploration strategy, NASA identified 40 objectives of particular interest. These include those activities associated with preparing for human missions to Mars and other destinations, providing the capabilities to support scientific investigations, actions that would enable an extended/sustained human presence on the moon, such as demonstrating the use of in situ resources and measuring lunar phenomena, measuring lunar resources and characterizing their possible use, activities that enable international participation, and activities that engage, inspire, and help educate the public. Unlike the sorties to different locations that characterized Project Apollo in the late 1960s and early 1970s, an outpost would enable a sustained human presence on the moon that meets the priorities of the Vision for Space Exploration.
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Do read the whole link, and note the year 2006.  Now here we are in 2014.  Maybe not make those 2020 predictions.
Recent email exchanges with Dr. David Schrunk, "The Moon" left me with this suggestion.
- LRK -

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A couple of parting thoughts...

To solve problems and improve human technological expertise, engineers need ideas, knowledge, tools, and resources.  Ideas and knowledge -- they have plenty. The present set of tools (computers, 3-D printers, earth-moving machines...) are highly capable -- marvelous.  Main challenge for engineers, then, is to obtain resources (finances, raw materials, energy).   Which brings us to the Moon!  The Moon will provide us with infinite material resources (lunar regolith, harvestable near Earth asteroids, asteroid belt [eventually]) and abundant, continuous energy (sunlight).

So.  All we need to do is arrange the financing for a small (initially robotic) lunar base that has the "seed" tools needed to grow an autonomous manufacturing facility on the Moon.  Then engineers will have everything needed to explore and colonize the solar system, supply the Earth with all of its energy and material needs (i.e., greatly improve living standards and quality of life on Earth), and launch robotic emissaries on missions to the stars.

The Moon is the key (am I being redundant? -- sorry about that).

Second point.  Lava tubes / lava chambers on the Moon will enable us to "go underground" where humans and machines will be protected from the radiation, micrometeorites, and temperature extremes of the lunar surface.  By going underground (e.g., with inflatable habitats), we will create and grow Earth-like environments that will be safe and comfortable.  Result from this effort is that we will become a multi-planet spacefaring species. Interesting thing is that we require no technological breakthroughs to make this possible -- can be done today.

Anyway, here's a photo of the opening to a large underground chamber on the Moon (opening is 60-80 meters diameter and depth to underground floor is also 60-80 meters).  Maybe use this chamber to create a safe and comfortable home for 1000 people with inflatable habitats, etc?

Thanks,

David
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The above with permission Dr. Shrunk.

I hope we can help our students that are in the pipe line to be inquisitive and interested in the "What IF" problems where they learn to think outside the box and attack problems with an "How can I?" attitude, rather than "I can't", maybe we will have a chance at developing our nearest neighbor, the MOON. 

Have fun with lunar robots, send lunar maintainers, send lunar engineers, send lunar scientists, send lunar dreamers.  Will look more into what is being done with the subject Lunar games. Maybe someone is interested in our own Luna right near by that needs to be developed.

How to develop an excitement for a future that includes the use of space and the Moon.

Moon 101. 09. Future Scientific Exploration of the Moon
Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -
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Saturday, July 5, 2014

Possible Future Space Exploration and The Tasks Needed To Make It Happen.

A question posed about the last post, "Space Race - The Untold Story National Geographic & Discovery HD Channel", why are these documentaries almost always about the past -- successful missions that were accomplished 40-60 years ago?

David G. Schrunk commented:
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We went from Sputnik to Apollo 11 in less than 12 years.  A similar time span (or, say, 20 years) of human technological progress beginning with the placement of a mining / manufacturing base on the Moon in 2020 would allow us to become masters of the solar system(!).  For example, by 2040 we could be 1) launching lunar-made spacecraft (satellites, probes, landers, solar sails...) from the Moon with mass drivers every ten minutes or so -- and thus explore every region of interest in the solar system in depth, 2) supplying the Earth with all of its energy needs from lunar-made SPS's, and 3)intercepting and mining near Earth objects for Earth / Moon benefit.  The Moon would have permanent human settlements and the first phases of human exploration and settlement of Mars would be underway (etc). Seems to me that a "documentary" of the future based on existing ("lagging edge") technology should be quite inspiring. But I'm not holding my breath...
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Which prompted a much longer glib reply, some of which here:

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I should think that having a lot of pictures from past events that have historical value should be easy to assemble and then tell an interesting and eye catching story that people would watch long enough to be bombarded with paying ads.  The more pictures the less one has to write script for.

Writing a forward looking, possible science fiction, would present a lot of "what if", "possible" happenings and would require work to develop a thought provoking story as well as a lot of "possible" imagery. 

Unless there is something exciting, like sex, mayhem, destruction of some other evil alien/enemy, you might not hold the attention of your audience long enough to saturate them with ads that would be appropriate to fund such a "reality show."

It is easy to watch, without really having to commit ones attention, a visual flip chart of events with a mesmerizing narration of a selected historical documentary..

I think it would be harder to convince the audience to watch and participate with full attention, some futuristic, possible,foretold history, like a future that is running out of Helium 3 and what has or will happen, if you just go mine the lunar regolith.  Never mind that YOU are not going to the Moon, and YOU might never need any tests that use Helium 3 or that you need to be concerned about detecting any radio active bomb material in incoming port cargo containers.  Too, complicated, and I don't want to have to THINK about such things since I am not the policy maker, or I am not on the payroll of a large corporation that has an interest in making laws to ensure there is a legal loop hole for whatever interest they need a lobbyist for.
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And of course I had to back up my Helium 3 statement with several links, which then lead into references to Helium 3 on the Moon.  

Google searches then led to reading abstracts of papers presented at "Space 2000" and "Robotics 2000".  I don't belong to the organizations participating and don't have the money to buy all the papers, so looked for author websites in hopes of finding their work in public domain.  

David also had some suggestions and so the list of opportunities to look at what is being done to make it possible to go to space, including the Moon, followed. Warning, Warning, I am going to provide some of those links below with a taste of their contents.

Read on if you wish.
- LRK -
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helium-3
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Helium-3 is a most important isotope in instrumentation for neutron detection. It has a high absorption cross section for thermal neutron beams and is used as a converter gas in neutron detectors. The neutron is converted through the nuclear reaction
n + 3He → 3H + 1H + 0.764 MeV
into charged particles tritium (T, 3H) and protium (p, 1H) which then are detected by creating a charge cloud in the stopping gas of a proportional counter or a Geiger-Müller tube.[15]
Furthermore, the absorption process is strongly spin-dependent, which allows a spin-polarized helium-3 volume to transmit neutrons with one spin component while absorbing the other. This effect is employed in neutron polarization analysis, a technique which probes for magnetic properties of matter.[16][17][18][19]
The United States Department of Homeland Security had hoped to deploy detectors to spot smuggled plutonium in shipping containers by their neutron emissions, but the worldwide shortage of helium-3 following the drawdown in nuclear weapons production since the Cold War has to some extent prevented this.[20]
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Do take a look at a list of the papers presented at "Space 2000".
- LRK -

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Civil Engineering Database
Space 2000

 Active Integration of a Lunar Base Agricultural System with Crew Requirements (by Judith Fielder, ...) 
 Advanced Life Support Systems (by Jennifer L. Gardner) 
 The Advantages of Using the Hubble Space Telescope (by Lia K. Evans) 
 Amateur Radio in Space Communications (by Maria Ashna) 
 The Application of Fourier Transform Heterodyne to Astronomical Interferometry (by Bryan E. Laubscher, ...) 
 Asteroids: More than Just Chunks of Rock (by Amy C. Sorenson) 
 The Astral Highway: A National Space Infrastructure (by James Michael Snead, P.E.) 
 Astronaut Training in Field Geophysical Methods (by Patricia Wood Dickerson, ...) 
 Black Holes: A Great Mystery (by Lindsay A. Smith) 
 Bridging the RLV Financing Gap with a Space Development Bank (by Thomas L. Matula, ...) 
 Building Lunar Colonies (by Kristen Alford) 
 The Caltech Mars Society Human Mars Mission 2.0 (by Derek Shannon, ...) 
 Cheaper, Better Near-Earth Asteroid Prospecting (by Kevin L. Reed) 
 Circuit: Analysis and Propulsion (by Daniel Boorsma) 
 Civil Engineering in the Design and Construction of a Lunar Base (by Y. Cengiz Toklu) 
 A Civil Engineer’s Perspective on Mars Mission ISRU: Reinforced Regolith (by Joel Farrier, P.E., M.ASCE) 
 A Coherent Vision for Space Exploration and Development in the 21st Century (by David G. Schrunk, ...) 
 Commerce at a Lunar Base (by Haym Benaroya) 
Which continues down the page for many, many more.
- LRK -
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David suggested the paper that Philip T. Metzger was a co-author on.  Again, I could only reed the abstract so looked on the web for more information.
- LRK -
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http://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/%28ASCE%29AS.1943-5525.0000236
Philip T. Metzger, Anthony Muscatello, Robert P. Mueller, and James Mantovani (2013).
 ”Affordable, Rapid Bootstrapping of the Space Industry and Solar System Civilization.” 
J. Aerosp. Eng. 26, SPECIAL ISSUE: In Situ Resource Utilization, 18–29.

Affordable, Rapid Bootstrapping of the Space Industry and Solar System Civilization

Philip T. Metzger, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE1; Anthony Muscatello, Ph.D.2; Robert P. Mueller, A.M.ASCE3; and James Mantovani, Ph.D.4

1Physicist, Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Kennedy Space Center, NE-S-1, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899 (corresponding author). E-mail: Philip.T.Metzger@nasa.gov

2Chemist, Applied Chemistry Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Kennedy Space Center, NE-S-2, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899. E-mail: Anthony.C.Muscatello@nasa.gov

3Aerospace Engineer, Surface Systems Office, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Kennedy Space Center, NE-S, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899. E-mail: Rob.Mueller@nasa.gov

4Physicist, Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Kennedy Space Center, NE-S-1, Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899. E-mail: James.G.Mantovani@nasa.gov

Advances in robotics and additive manufacturing have become game-changing for the prospects of space industry. It has become feasible to bootstrap a self-sustaining, self-expanding industry at reasonably low cost. Simple modeling was developed to identify the main parameters of successful bootstrapping. This indicates that bootstrapping can be achieved with as little as 12 t landed on the Moon during a period of about 20 years. The equipment will be teleoperated and then transitioned to full autonomy so the industry can spread to the asteroid belt and beyond. The strategy begins with a subreplicating system and evolves toward full self-sustainability (full closure) via an in situ technology spiral. The industry grows exponentially because of the free real estate, energy, and material resources of space. The mass of industrial assets at the end of bootstrapping will be 156 t with 60 humanoid robots or as high as 40,000 t with as many as 100,000 humanoid robots if faster manufacturing is supported by launching a total of 41 t to the Moon. Within another few decades with no further investment, it can have millions of times the industrial capacity of the United States. Modeling over wide parameter ranges indicates this is reasonable, but further analysis is needed. This industry promises to revolutionize the human condition.
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Dr. Philip Metzger is a senior research physicist who works at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, where he founded and leads the Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory, part of the KSC Swamp Works. He performs research related to solar system exploration: predicting how rocket exhaust interacts with extraterrestrial soil, investigating the mechanics of soil, characterizing lunar and martian soil simulants, modeling the migration of volatiles on airless bodies, etc. He leads the Agency’s work in rocket blast effects for human-class missions. He has participated in architecture studies for the Lunar Architecture Team, the Mars Architecture Team and the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group. He is also leading projects to develop extraterrestrial excavators, regolith conveyance technologies, dust-tolerant quick disconnects, lunar/martian landing pads, and other surface systems technology. He co-founded NASA’s biannual Workshop on Granular Materials in Lunar and Martian Exploration and is a founding member of the ASCE Technical Committee for Regolith Operations, Mobility and Robotics.  He received the astronaut’s Silver Snoopy award in 2010 and was selected as the Kennedy Space Center’s NASA Scientist/Engineer of the Year for 2011.

You should follow Phil on Twitter @Philtill777 to get more cool, space-related content daily!
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Link to his blog - http://www.philipmetzger.com/blog/

And one more to make clear why you write papers.
- LRK -

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How to Colonize the Solar System in Six Easy Steps

About three years ago, my colleague Rob Mueller asked me if I had an idea for a technical paper we could write for the International Astronautical Congress in Prague, the Czech Republic.  I did, in fact, have a topic that was beginning to fascinate me. I had been looking at pictures from Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, sent back by the Huygens probe in 2005 after parachuting through the thick, orange atmosphere. Seeing Titan’s regolith from less than a meter away, with alien pebbles strewn across the mysterious sand, changed my view of Titan from a mere “moon” to a very real “world.”  (The regolith is the broken up rocky material and soil that covers the surface of a planetary body.)  Suddenly I wanted to go there!  I wanted to head out toward those alien horizons where no human had gone before.  And probably, since I couldn’t realistically go there, a part of me wanted to fulfill the fantasy of exploring Titan by studying its regolith, because studying regolith is what I do in my job. For years we had been developing technologies to work with the regoliths of the Moon and Mars:  to land on it, to drive on it, to excavate it, to process it for resources, to build with it, and to study it for science.  But what about the regoliths everyhere else in the solar system? So I suggested to Rob that we compare and contrast the regoliths of all of the planets, moons and minor planets throughout the solar system.

I had no idea, then, that writing this paper would change the course of my life.

Over the next several weeks, Rob and I along with the help of Jim Mantovani pored over information about the solar system to hastily write this paper.  As we wrote it, we began to notice the beautiful pattern of resources in our solar system.  This has been noted by others, of course.  John Lewis talked about it in at least one of his books.  But for me it was a revelation.  I began to realize that you can’t fully utilize the vast resources of this solar system unless you set up a logistics network to move things around.  Accessible metals are mostly in the asteroid belt.  Accessible volatiles are mostly in the outer solar system.  Humans may want to ship them around so we can do things things on a grand scale all over the solar system:  building colonies everywhere where we can; establishing research stations and observatories everywhere else.  Ships could travel back and forth on regular routes for both people and resources.  This vision of the solar system as a living, pulsating civilization drew me in, and suddenly exploring the Moon and Mars for scientific discovery was not enough.  I wanted to make space colonization happen!
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Do read the whole blog as there are a number of links to other papers and blogs to keep you interested and informed.
- LRK -

Still trying to get back to reading those funny paper things called books.. :-)

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -
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Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Space Race - The Untold Story National Geographic & Discovery HD Channel (Official)

Have you reached the HO-HUM stage on watching YouTube videos about the Apollo missions?

As mentioned before, the general public wasn't seeing much on TV as the Apollo missions continued to unfold.  By the time they were getting to stay a few days and get more science the funding was being cut back.

Leading up to Apollo it was politics that were involved in the funding of what kind of mission would be flown and by what government organization. Who would, could achieve some sort of military advantage. There were launch failures and poor policy judgment calls.

It seems to me much like a classroom of kids all raising their hands to go buy ice cream. Me, see me, no me. And then the one picked dropped the cone. :-(

Now we see that similar events were taking part in Russia as well.

Having looked at some of the videos, Gene Nelson found some more.  Some I used on the previous post and I would like to pass on one more.
It spells out the story leading up to the Apollo missions. 

The video is from the National Geographic & Discovery channel and I tend not to watch the Discovery channel as I feel they present a number of topics just to garner TV ratings.

I like science fiction but tend to bite my lip when I see it presented a fact. I would go to it for the interesting titles and find really weird stuff that seem to be made to just entertain and hard to believe.  Aliens, past possible, maybe, civilizations, science fiction Von Daniken stories told as true facts.

That said, I found the hour and a half video interesting. Maybe some rockets portrayed not exact versions but you don't need to nit-pick if you want to be entertained while being enlightened.

If you choose to watch, take note of the politics on both sides of the space race.
It is still politics that governs what gets funded. (or not funded)
- LRK -
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8URGdG9RXnc
Space Race - The Untold Story National Geographic & Discovery HD Channel (Official) 1:31:15
National Geographic & Discovery HD Channel (Official)·37 videos
Published on Jun 8, 2014
The Cold War superpowers' race for space unfolds in the story of two men: charismatic ex-Nazi Wernher von Braun on the American team and the enigmatic Sergei Korolev, the Soviet project leader.

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If you want to read a history of the Soviet - American Space Race, I would recommend the two volume set by ASIF A. SIDDIQI.

You can read on-line and down load the pdf files or buy the books. 

I bought them from Amazon.com used books. "SPUTNIK AND THE SOVIET SPACE CHALLENGE & THE SOVIET SPACE RACE WITH APOLLO" by Asif A. Siddiqi. 

At NASA History  PDF http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4408pt1.pdf -10.5 MB & http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4408pt2.pdf - 9.5 MB.  

Like so many of the books I buy, I have not completed reading them. (about 500 page each) 
(So much to learn, so little time. :-)

CHALLENGE TO APOLLO:
THE SOVIET UNION AND THE
SPACE RACE, 1945- 1974

[starts at page 500]
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At a slower pace you can also read about what flew us to the Moon.
Cover with link to Table of Contents. http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4205/cover.html

You may remember that the canceled Constellation mission was going to use technology learned from both the Apollo Saturn era and
 the Space Shuttle era and today there is an on going debate about the use Russian RD 180 engines for the Atlas V.
Rocket engines blow up, so watch or read carefully.
- LRK -

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Once again for reference, the links to the NASA History Publications.
- LRK -
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http://history.nasa.gov/series95.html
NASA History Series Publications

NASA Links about Apollo

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Back to the books and let the tablet recharge. :-)

Thanks for looking up with me.
- LRK -
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  • WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -
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