Exploration, Resource Development, and Settlement of the Inner Solar System: Rewards and Challenges
William A. Ambrose Dallas Geological Society December 13, 2017
Schmitt (2004) Abstract
Debates still continue over which near-term destinations for future space exploration—the Moon, the Asteroids, or Mars—should be chosen for human habitation and resource development. Each of these destinations has its own risks and rewards. Improved technology in space-transportation systems and in situ resource utilization (ISRU) can support an expanded human presence on each of these possible space destinations. Water ice is superabundant on Mars but is also present in Polar Regions on the Moon, as well as in comets and volatile-rich asteroids. M-type asteroids contain a variety of precious metals such as platinum and palladium. Lunar metals such as titanium, magnesium, and iron occur in basaltic mare, and along with helium-3 and hydrogen, can be mined with currently available technology. Environmental constraints on humans in space (microgravity, radiation and temperature flux, absence of atmosphere or atmospheric toxicity, and absence of soil organics) can be overcome through engineered habitation structures and terraforming. Although microgravity on asteroids poses challenges for mining, these problems can be overcome through advanced materials-collection with mass-drivers for moving refined materials into near-earth or Cis-Lunar orbit. Orbital depots for fuel and life-support materials have benefits for the economics of launch and transit missions and can also serve as temporary accumulation areas for materials transport to Earth’s surface. Currently envisioned, shallow-subsurface habitations on the Moon and Mars can allow humans to cope with hostile radiation environments on planetary surfaces. Future advances in technology and planetary engineering, involving surficial domed structures and ultimately terraforming, can potentially greatly expand human accessibility to planetary terrains. For each resource or environmental challenge in space there are existing technologies that are fully capable of supporting a sustained human presence in space. Global Space Economy ● $330 Billion in 2015 -Commercial activities: 76 percent -Global navigation systems -Infrastructure and support -Transportation systems (ISS, Space Tourism) ● NASA: $ 19.3 Billion: 2016 (0.5% US Federal Budget)
Falcon 9: May 18, 2015 Outline
● Moon -Return Mission -Resources and Habitation Systems
● Asteroids -Resources, Extraction Technology -Microgravity
● Mars -Mission Risks -Habitation Systems -Terraforming Return to the Moon
● Earth’s closest neighbor -Three-day trip -Technology already exists to return to the Moon - Human missions: <0.1% surface area visited
● Abundant resources -Water and volatiles for human settlement and rocket fuel -Metals for Moon Base and solar power facilities
● Technology Development -Settlements: Learning experiences for Mars -Mining -Space-power systems Helium-3 from the Solar Wind
3He Generation and Solar Helium Lunar Accumulation
Earth Shielded
Schmitt (2004) Lunar He-3 Distribution Global: 6.5 x 108 kg (715 million short tons)
Fa and Jin (2007)
He-3 ppb/m2
<5 10 20 30 40 >50 Lunar He-3 Mining Matt Gujda et Gujdaal. (2006) et al. (2006) Mass 9.7 tons 350 kW power usage Handles 30° slopes
Solar Powered! Surficial Hydrogen Distribution Implantation from Solar Wind OP
Tycho
OPOP
~20 ppm 518
1000 km Tycho
A ~0.4-mi2 (1-km2) area of mare regolith at 40-ppm hydrogen could be mined to a depth of ~3.3 ft (1 m) to extract an equivalent amount of hydrogen for launching the Space Shuttle (Spudis, 1996). >100 ppm 448 Epithermal neutron counts Volatiles at the Poles Hale-Bopp Impacts from Comets Malcolm Ellis 1013 kg water: past 2 Ga (Arnold, 1979)
North Pole: ~600 Mt of ice:
Daily launches of a space shuttle For 2,200 years
1.5°
Bussey and Spudis (2006) View from the Moon’s South Pole
Kaguya Photograph Solar power Solar Illumination North Pole
% Illumination
100
90-99
75-90
60-75
45-60
15 km 0 Bussey and Spudis (2006) Mercury: Polar Ice -Hydrogen (Neutron Spectrometer)—tens of cm -Radar Reflectance Data at Near Infrared -Topography and Temperature Data
Chabot et al. (2013) Private Space Sector
Mark Maxwell
Bigelow Aerospace: Habitation Modules, Lunar Base SpaceX: Launch vehicles Odyssey Moon: Rovers Infinite Space Dynamics, Planetary Resources: NEAs Deep Space Industries: Space manufacturing, solar Mars One: Mars colonization 1-2 m depth of investigation Lunar Ice Drill Luna-27 lander in 2020
ESA/Finmeccanica (2016) Luna Ring: Shimizu Corporation
Energy Conversion Microwaves Facilities Lasers
Energy Transmission Facilities
Modified from Shimizu Corporation (2016) Luna Ring: Close View
Shimizu Corporation (2016) B330 Habitation: Bigelow Aerospace 330 m3 volume (ISS 900 m3)
Bigelow Aerospace (2016) BEAM Bigelow Expandable Activity Module BEAM Bigelow Expandable Activity Module
May 28, 2016 Lunar Base Designs Sinterhab
ESA/Foster + Partners (2013)
Inflatable Lunar Base Cislunar Space and Economic Potential
Modified from Duke et al. (2003); Kutter (2015)
Earth-LEO: 8.0 kms-1
LEO GEO L1 L2 LLO LEO-Moon: 6.3 kms-1
LEO GEO L1 and L2 Moon Remote Sensing Communications Fuel Depot Mining Communications Solar Power Communication Link Fuel Depots Observations Observations Lunar Observations Manufacturing Debris Mitigation Satellite Life Extension Repair Station Habitations Propellant Transfer Solar Power to Earth Propellant Costs
Based on $3 million per ton at LEO Kutter (2015)
Cost from Earth Cost from Moon 4040 35 3030 25 2020 15 1010 5 $0.001k $0.5k 00 Resource Resource ($k/kg) Cost Earth LEO GEO L1 Moon Outline
● Moon -Return Mission -Resources and Habitation Systems
● Asteroids -Resources -Microgravity
● Mars -Mission Parameters -Resources -Terraforming NEAs Non-Earth Nov. 10, 2017 approaching Amors NEA’s
Armagh University 3554 Amun—NEA Smallest known M asteroid—300× metal in lunar regolith
~2 km diameter (size of a typical open-pit mine)
Mass: 30 billion tons
Market value Fe and Ni: $8,000 billion Co: $6,000 billion Pt-group: $6,000 billion
Equivalent asset $10 million per ton to launch from Earth, or Codrin Bucur $300,000,000 billion Asteroid-Mining Technology
Strip mining Orbital transfer
Bonsor (2000) Ames Research Center Phobos – Refueling Station
CI chondrite asteroid
Carbon- and water-rich
Fuel for solar-thermal or nuclear-thermal engines
Provide propellants for Mars landing or return to Earth
Viking Destination: Mars
Most Earth-Like Planet
-Second-closest planet (>200-d trip with conventional rocket) -Earthlike seasons; Day = 24 hours, 37 minutes -As much land surface as the Earth VASIMR* Plasma-Ion Propulsion Mars in 39 days
* Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket Mars: Surface Radiation Risks
RAD on Mars Curiosity Galactic Cosmic Rays, Solar Particle Events Radiation equivalent to whole-body Computed Axial Tomography (CAT) scan every 5 days Lifetime cancer risk increase of 5% Mars Habitations
Underground facilities
Surface facilities with solar panels
Bryan Versteeg Mars One Craters of the Moon Lava Tubes on Earth National Park
Layering
Open
Filled Mollica et al. (2011)
National Park Service Mars: Collapsed Lava Tubes Themis Terraforming Mars
Daein Ballard
Requirements Raise surface temperature Increase atmospheric pressure Change chemical composition of atmosphere Surface water Reduce UV flux at surface Reflection Arrays
Rigel Woida 1000 Mirror radius (km) 800 Mirror mass (kilotonnes)
600
400
200 MirrorRadius 0 0 5 10 15 20 Mass: ~180,000 tonnes Temperature Increase at Pole (K) Altitude: 214,000 km
Modified from Zubrin and McKay (1997) Greenhouse Effect of Polar CO2
Human habitation: minimum partial pressure of O2 130mbar. 220 Vapor Pressure 200 Polar Temperature
180
160 B Polar temperature raised 20K 140 A Temperature Pole at (K) current 10 0.1 1 10 100 1000 Pressure (millibars)
Modified from Zubrin and McKay (1997) Greenhouse Gas Factories 3 trillion tons of CFCs yr-1 to keep up with atmospheric decomposition
National Geographic Pbs.org
Induced CFC Pressure CFC Production Required Power Heating (K) (mbar) (ton/hr) (MWe) 5 0.012 263 1315 10 0.040 878 4490 20 0.110 2414 12070 30 0.220 4829 24145 40 0.390 8587 42933
Modified from Zubrin and McKay (1997) Ice Comet/Asteroid Impacts Four 10-GT objects
5 Mars
) 4 -1
3 Jupiter
2 Saturn Delta v (kms Delta v 1 Uranus Orionsarm.com 0 Neptune 0 10 20 30 40 50 Initial solar distance (AU)
Modified from Zubrin and McKay (1997) Extremophiles
Chroococcidiopsis Cyanobacterium Desiccant-resistant. Antarctic rocks, thermal springs, and hypersaline habitats. https://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Terraforming
Deinococcus radiodurans Bacterium Radiation-resistant (500,000 rad) Peroxide-resistant Daly (Uniformed Services University) Plant Cultivation
Requirements
Increase atmospheric O2 N2 Increase surf. Temp. 60K Liquid water Reduce surface UV, Reduce cosmic ray flux
Ecopoiesis Anaerobic Extremophiles Photosynthetic cyanobacteria Technical Challenges • No Magnetosphere: Atmospheric Stability • Creation of substitute for planetary magnetosphere beyond current or reasonably expected technology.
• Hostile Radiation Environment • Personal protection, local (crop- & city-scale appears practical).
• Low-temperature Environment • Current technology: ample power availability
• Weak Greenhouse Effect • Methane, CFCs, and artificially enhanced GHGs are practical.
• Soil Nitrates • Genetic engineering provides foreseeable solutions. Terraforming Mars: Timeline
120mb O2 Oxygenation
Surficial Water
Ecopoiesis/Plants
CFC Factories 3 x 1012 tons/year
Asteroid impacts 8K rise
Orbital reflectors 20K rise
2030 2100 2500 3000
Year AAPG Astrogeology Committee
Jim Reilly Space Shuttle Astronaut
Mission Harrison H. Schmitt Apollo 17 Astronaut To provide AAPG members a forum for ideas on astrogeology and its relationships to terrestrial geology, energy and other issues. AAPG Memoir 101 Astrogeology Committee
Energy Resources for Human Settlement in the Solar System And Earth’s Future in Space AAPG Astrogeology Committee Sponsored Events
Technical Session 2018 AAPG Convention (May 23) (Salt Lake City, UT) “New Discoveries in the Solar System”
Field Trip 2020 AAPG Convention (Houston, Texas) “Inside NASA Space Center Houston” Sunset on Mars