Show Stoppers - Revision history

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2012-10-26T14:40:04Z

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2008-10-13T04:35:06Z

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207.114.25.124: /* Technical Details of the Problem: */

2007-06-08T09:54:27Z

Technical Details of the Problem:

207.114.25.124: /* Technical Details of the Problem: */

2007-06-08T09:52:36Z

Technical Details of the Problem:

Apsmith: Fixed links to existing articles

2007-06-08T06:10:42Z

Fixed links to existing articles

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 Materials designed for the worst Earth industrial environments are becoming available for lunar work.
-*Besides boots, there are some mitigation ideas for dust discussed in the [[Long Endurance Rovers]] article dust section.  Also the [[Robots in Space Suits]] refers to something like boots to cover joints in machinery.  It uses the words, "bellows that has flanges pressed to points above and below the joint by a threaded ring" and is refering to a gas tight covering for a bearing.  This could work for hydraulic pistons too with some limitations on structural shapes and the range of rotation of the bearings at each end of the piston.  There would need to be slides on those exposed polished steel cylinders attached to the inside corners of the bellows to hold the bellows in place.  It is certainly possible to design such slides so that they will nest together without taking up to much space when the piston is contracted and still not bind when sliding back and forth.  The bellows will of course protect against dust as long as it remains gas tight. Replacing the bellows is also discussed in the robots article.
+*Besides boots, there are some mitigation ideas for dust discussed in the [[Long Endurance Rovers]] article dust section.  Also the [[Robots in Space Suits]] refers to something like boots to cover joints in machinery.  It uses the words, "bellows that has flanges pressed to points above and below the joint by a threaded ring" and is referring to a gas tight covering for a bearing.  This could work for hydraulic pistons too with some limitations on structural shapes and the range of rotation of the bearings at each end of the piston.  There would need to be slides on those exposed polished steel cylinders attached to the inside corners of the bellows to hold the bellows in place.  It is certainly possible to design such slides so that they will nest together without taking up to much space when the piston is contracted and still not bind when sliding back and forth.  The bellows will of course protect against dust as long as it remains gas tight. Replacing the bellows is also discussed in the robots article.
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 ==Afternoon Temperatures at the Equator==
-The afternoon surface temperatures at the Lunar Equator are so high that it is very difficult to maintain human life support and protect critical equipment.
+The afternoon surface temperatures at the Lunar Equator are so high that special efforts are needed to maintain human life support and maintain exploratory devices and industrial machinery within operating temperatures.
-−
 ===What is at risk:===
-−
-No lunar site near the Equator can be visited for more than a few days until this problem is addressed.  A permanent settlement in any of these promising locations is currently impossible.  This, and only this, has driven us to the poles.
+No lunar site near the Equator can be visited for more than a few days until this problem is addressed. A permanent settlement in any of these promising locations requires protection from temperature extremes. This problem is in some ways easier to deal with at the poles.
-−
 ===Technical Details of the Problem:===
-−
 Maintaining living temperatures for the crew is one of the most important parts of a life support system.  Also designing equipment, such as your return vehicle, to withstand high temperatures for long periods of time is difficult and expensive.   High surface temperatures create a significant risk to both crew and mission.
-−
 In space the only way to dump waste heat is to radiate it to deep space.  Specialized thermal radiator panels are used and must have a wide view of space.  If these panels also see an expanse of hot lunar surface, they will work very poorly.
-−
 The temperature of lunar surface in the afternoon at the Equator can be above 100 C for more than 100 hours.  Some key temperatures include:
-−
 {| border=1
 |+ '''Temperatures of Interest'''
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 | Mean || 0 C || 272 K || 32 F
 |}
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-Very little equipment can stand being soaked at these high temperatures for this long.  Normal space suits would keep you alive only a limited time.  Your return spacecraft could become unusable even after it cools after sunset.  At present this is seen as an unacceptable risk.
+Very little equipment can stand being soaked at these high temperatures for long.  Normal space suits would keep you alive only a limited time.  Your return spacecraft could become unusable even after it cools after sunset.  At present this is seen as a problem that must be dealt with.
-−
 ===Available Actions:===
-−
 This is the primary reason that sites for NASA's first lunar station are only being considered at the poles.
-−
 Life support could be maintained with a complex double cycle refrigeration system.  These systems are complex and require significant mass shipped from Earth.  The reliability of these systems is under question.
-−
-Some form of umbrella or tent is possible for outside equipment, such as your return spacecraft, but the protection is limited.  Again this brings up safety issues.   An awning in the form of an arch that blocks out a 1.5 degree wide strip of the sky from the point of sunrise to the point of sunset will shade an area from sunlight all day every day of the year on the moon.  Walls north and south of the area high enough to block infrared radiation would remove problems from the surrounding hot environment.  There is a vacuum on the moon so no temperature will be carried by wind from the surroundings.  Anything in shade is automatically cold.  [[Lunar Radiator|Radiators]] will be needed for both industrial processes and living spaces in a colony.  They could be in a cold shaded area.  The shade for a colony's radiators would best be removed by a considerable distance from rocket landing sites.  We can count on engineers designing the colony to think of that.  The problem of high temperatures at the equator is one of the least difficult problems to solve for a colony.
+Some form of umbrella or tent is possible for outside equipment, such as your return spacecraft.  The protection is adequate with a reasonably designed system.  Failure of a sunshade or shade from ambient infrared would be a critical safety issue.  An awning in the form of an arch that blocks out a 1.5 degree wide strip of the sky from the point of sunrise to the point of sunset will shade an area from sunlight all day every day of the year on the moon.  Walls north and south of the protected area high enough to block infrared radiation from the surroundings would remove problems from the hot neighboring landscape.  There is a vacuum on the moon so no temperature will be carried by wind from the surroundings.  Anything in shade is automatically cold.  [[Lunar Radiator|Radiators]] will be needed for both industrial processes and living spaces in a colony.  They could be in a cold shaded area.  The shade for a colony's radiators would best be removed by a considerable distance from rocket landing sites.  We can count on engineers designing the colony to think of that.  The problem of high temperatures at the equator is one of the least difficult problems to solve for a colony.
 In the medium run a number of actions are possible:
-−
-* A polar base could provide a relatively easy to reach safe heaven in emergencies.
+* Sheltered bases could provide a relatively easy to reach safe heavens.
 * Living space can be covered with Lunar [[Regolith]] as described in [[Architecture as Mole Hills]].  This both stabilizes the temperature and provides radiation protection.
 * Partially buried hangers for outside equipment and robots are also possible.
-−
-−
 In the long run, [[Lava Tubes]] and artificial caverns may be used to provide protection from this and other perils.

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 ===Technical Details of the Problem:===
-The 2007 change in congress and a potential 2009 change in presidential party are expected to bring new philosophies to bear in US governance. Such changes can be detrimental to long-term activities such as large-scale space operations, and in particular the "New Vision" for space. Consider the many design changes the [[ISS]] when through in the 1990’s and problems and expense this incurred in this program.
+The 2007 change in congress and a potential 2009 change in presidential party are expected to bring new philosophies to bear in US governance. Such changes can be detrimental to long-term activities such as large-scale space operations, and in particular the "New Vision" for space. Consider the many design changes the [[ISS into the Pacific|ISS]] when through in the 1990’s and problems and expense this incurred in this program.
 ===Available Actions:===

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 Life support could be maintained with a complex double cycle refrigeration system.  These systems are complex and require significant mass shipped from Earth.  The reliability of these systems is under question.
-Some form of umbrella or tent is possible for outside equipment, such as your return spacecraft, but the protection is limited.  Again this brings up safety issues.   An awning in the form of an arch that blocks out a 1.5 degree wide strip of the sky from the point of sunrise to the point of sunset will shade an area from sunlight all day every day of the year on the moon.  Walls north and south of the area high enough to block infrared radiation would remove problems from the surrounding hot environment.  There is a vacuum on the moon so no temperature will be carried by wind from the surroundings.  Anything in shade is automatically cold.  Radiators will be needed for both industrial processes and living spaces in a colony.  They could be in a cold shaded area.  The shade for a colony's radiators would best be removed by a considerable distance from rocket landing sites.  We can count on engineers designing the colony to think of that.  The problem of high temperatures at the equator is one of the least difficult problems to solve for a colony.
+Some form of umbrella or tent is possible for outside equipment, such as your return spacecraft, but the protection is limited.  Again this brings up safety issues.   An awning in the form of an arch that blocks out a 1.5 degree wide strip of the sky from the point of sunrise to the point of sunset will shade an area from sunlight all day every day of the year on the moon.  Walls north and south of the area high enough to block infrared radiation would remove problems from the surrounding hot environment.  There is a vacuum on the moon so no temperature will be carried by wind from the surroundings.  Anything in shade is automatically cold.  [[Lunar Radiator|Radiators]] will be needed for both industrial processes and living spaces in a colony.  They could be in a cold shaded area.  The shade for a colony's radiators would best be removed by a considerable distance from rocket landing sites.  We can count on engineers designing the colony to think of that.  The problem of high temperatures at the equator is one of the least difficult problems to solve for a colony.
 In the medium run a number of actions are possible:

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 Life support could be maintained with a complex double cycle refrigeration system.  These systems are complex and require significant mass shipped from Earth.  The reliability of these systems is under question.
-Some form of umbrella or tent is possible for outside equipment, such as your return spacecraft, but the protection is limited.  Again this brings up safety issues.  A reflective sheet could be used to reflect light, but would need to be maintained at could be blown about if it is too close to the landing site.
+Some form of umbrella or tent is possible for outside equipment, such as your return spacecraft, but the protection is limited.  Again this brings up safety issues.   An awning in the form of an arch that blocks out a 1.5 degree wide strip of the sky from the point of sunrise to the point of sunset will shade an area from sunlight all day every day of the year on the moon.  Walls north and south of the area high enough to block infrared radiation would remove problems from the surrounding hot environment.  There is a vacuum on the moon so no temperature will be carried by wind from the surroundings.  Anything in shade is automatically cold.  Radiators will be needed for both industrial processes and living spaces in a colony.  They could be in a cold shaded area.  The shade for a colony's radiators would best be removed by a considerable distance from rocket landing sites.  We can count on engineers designing the colony to think of that.  The problem of high temperatures at the equator is one of the least difficult problems to solve for a colony.
-−
 In the medium run a number of actions are possible:
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 In the long run, [[Lava Tubes]] and artificial caverns may be used to provide protection from this and other perils.
-A combination of the thermal insulation of regolith and heat dissipation by [[Lunar Radiator|radiators]] designed to be effective in the lunar daytime should make living space possible on Luna in areas subject to high angle incident sunlight.  While the lunar daytime temperature is difficulty to be contended with in lunar exploration, it is not a showstopper with respect to permanent habitation.
+Temperature extremes on Luna require attention but are not in any a way show stopper.
-−
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-In the long run, [[Lava Tubes]] and artificial caverns may be used to provide protection from this and other perils.  On Luna, the sky is not your friend.
+In the long run, [[Lava Tubes]] and artificial caverns may be used to provide protection from this and other perils.
-−
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 ===Technical Details of the Problem:===
-For technical details see [[Radiation Problem]].
+For technical details see [[Radiation Problem]] and [[Architecture as Mole Hills]].
 ===Available Actions:===

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 Greenhouse gases building up in the atmosphere from human activity are causing the global average temperature to rise and already producing unprecedented weather patterns. The primary human activity responsible is the burning of fossil fuels for energy; if alternative energy sources are not found, the problem will only accelerate, with serious consequences for many human populations, and many species of plants and animals are threatened.
-The challenge represents a problem, but also an opportunity, for those interested in pursuing the development of space. Space satellites provide the ideal platform for studying the Earth; even the Moon has been suggested as a location to monitor Earth's global average temperature through measuring the warmth provided by Earthlight during the lunar night. Space resources may also provide solutions to the problem, whether through proposals such as the solar shield at the Earth-Sun L1 point to block a portion of solar input, or by replacing fossil fuels with [[Solar Power Satellites]], [[Lunar Solar Power]] or [[Lunar Helium-3]], or through use of other [[Lunar Resources]].
+The challenge represents a problem, but also an opportunity, for those interested in pursuing the development of space. Space satellites provide the ideal platform for studying the Earth; even the Moon has been suggested as a location to monitor Earth's global average temperature through measuring the warmth provided by Earthlight during the lunar night. Space resources may also provide solutions to the problem, whether through proposals such as the solar shield at the Earth-Sun L1 point to block a portion of solar input, or by replacing fossil fuels with [[Solar Power Satellites]], Lunar [[Solar Power]] or Lunar [[Helium3]], or through other lunar [[In Situ Resource Utilization]].
 But the total amount of money available for space related activities is limited. If space funding is focused on monitoring and measurement systems, funds for developing space and particularly the present NASA plans to Return to the Moon will be jeopardized.