Janine Captain

Selection, Development and Results for The RESOLVE Regolith Volatiles Characterization Analytical System

The RESOLVE project requires an analytical system to identify and quantitate the volatiles released from a lunar drill core sample as it is crushed and heated to 150 °C. The expected gases and their range of concentrations were used to assess Gas Chromatography (GC) and Mass Spectrometry (MS), along with specific analyzers for use on this potential lunar lander. The ability of these systems to accurately quantitate water and hydrogen in an unknown matrix led to the selection of a small MEMS commercial process GC for use in this project. The modification, development and testing of this instrument for the specific needs of the project is covered.

Mauna Kea, Hawaii, as an Analog Site for Future Planetary Resource Exploration: Results from the 2010 ILSO-ISRU Field-Testing Campaign

The major advances in knowledge of extraterrestrial bodies come from in situ measurements on robotized measuring devices deployed by international space missions, for example, on the Moon and Mars. It is essential to test these instruments in environments on Earth thatbearacloseresemblancetoplanetaryconditions.Withintheframeworkofthe2010InternationalLunarSurfaceOperationInSituResource Utilization (2010 ILSO-ISRU) Analog Test, a suite of scientific instruments developed for in situ lunar research was field tested and cali- brated on the Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii on January 27 to February 11, 2010. This site will beused as one ofthe future standard test sites to calibrate instruments forin situ lunarresearch.In 2010, atotalof eight scientificteams tested instrument capabilities at the test site.In this paper, a geological setting for this new field-test site, a description of the instruments that were tested during the 2010 ILSO-ISRU field campaign, and a short discussion of each instrument about the validity and use of the results obtained during the test are provided. These results will serve as reference for future test campaigns. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)AS.1943-5525.0000200.

Creating Methane from Plastic: Recycling at a Lunar Outpost

The high cost of re-supply from Earth demands resources to be utilized to the fullest extent for exploration missions. Recycling is a key technology that maximizes the available resources by converting waste products into useful commodities. One example of this is to convert crew member waste such as plastic packaging, food scraps, and human waste, into fuel. The ability to refuel on the lunar surface would reduce the vehicle mass during launch and provide excess payload capability. The goal of this project is to determine the feasibility of recycling waste into methane on the lunar outpost by performing engineering assessments and lab demonstrations of the technology. The first goal of the project was to determine how recycling could influence lunar exploration. Table I shows an estimation of the typical dried waste stream generated each day for a crew of four. Packaging waste accounts for nearly 86% of the dry waste stream and is a significant source of carbon on the lunar surface. This is important because methane (CH4) can be used as fuel and no other source of carbon is available on the lunar surface. With the initial assessment indicating there is sufficient resources in the waste stream to provide refueling capabilities, the project was designed to examine the conversion of plastics into methane.

Tribocharging Lunar Simulant in Vacuum for Electrostatic Beneficiation

Electrostatic beneficiation of lunar regolith has potential application for separating minerals for material processing on the moon. This paper describes the use of tribocharging lunar simulant prior to mineral grain separation. The lunar simulant JSC‐1 was sieved into five size fractions: 100μm for characterization, however only the 50–75μm fraction was passed through aluminum, copper and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) inclined plane chargers. The amount of charge acquired by the simulant is dependant upon the difference in the work function of the charging material and the mineral grain composition of the simulant itself. Various charge‐to‐mass ratios (Q/M) for the different tribocharging materials were obtained for JSC‐1 in vacuum as well as in air. XPS, SEM and Raman spectroscopy were used to evaluate the JSC‐1 simulant before and after beneficiation. Results indicate notable changes in mineral composition between pre‐ and post‐beneficiation samples after only a sin...

Chemochromic hydrogen detection

Hydrogen is becoming an increasingly important fuel source as fossil fuel supplies decline. The low explosive limit of hydrogen makes leak detection a priority when dealing with this fuel. In an effort to support the use of hydrogen, a chemochromic sensor has been developed which is robust, simple to use, and does not require active operation. It can be made into a thin film or tape which can be conveniently used for leak detection at unions, valves, or outlets. There are two forms of the sensor, a reversible and an irreversible, allowing a variety of applications based on individual situations. The irreversible sensor is useful during hazardous operations when personnel cannot be present, while the reversible is ideal for monitoring the status of a leak in person or via a camera. Testing the irreversible sensor against environmental effects has been completed and results indicate this material is suitable for outdoor use in the harsh beachside environment of Kennedy Space Center. The environmental testing has led to increased sensitivity of the irreversible chemochromic sensor. In an effort to advance this technology further, this chemochromic sensor will be integrated into a sensor system using an electrical or optical signal.

RESOLVE's Field Demonstration on Mauna Kea, Hawaii 2010

In cooperation with the Canadian Space Agency, and the Northern Centre for Advanced Technology, Inc., NASA has undertaken the In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) project called RESOLVE (Regolith and Environment Science & Oxygen and Lunar Volatile Extraction). This project is an Earth-based lunar precursor demonstration of a system that could be sent to explore permanently shadowed polar lunar craters, where it would drill into regolith, quantify the volatiles that are present, and extract oxygen by hydrogen reduction of iron oxides. The resulting water could be electrolyzed into oxygen to support exploration and hydrogen, which would be recycled through the process. The RESOLVE chemical processing system was mounted on a Canadian Space Agency mobility chasis and successfully demonstrated on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano in February 2010. The RESOLVE unit is the initial prototype of a robotic prospecting mission to the Moon. RESOLVE is designed to go to the poles of the Moon to “ground truth” the form and concentration of the hydrogen/water/hydroxyl that has been seen from orbit (M 3 , Lunar Prospector and LRO) and to test technologies to extract oxygen from the lunar regolith. RESOLVE has the ability to capture a one-meter core sample of lunar regolith and heat it to determine the volatiles that may be released and then demonstrate the production of oxygen from minerals found in the regolith. The RESOLVE project, which is led by KSC, is a multi-center and multi-organizational effort that includes representatives from KSC, JSC, GRC, the Canadian Space Agency, and the Northern Center for Advanced Technology (NORCAT). This paper details the results obtained from four days of lunar analog testing that included gas chromatograph analysis for volatile components, remote control of chemistry and drilling operations via satalite communications, and real-time water quantification using a novel capacitance measurement technique.

LAVA subsystem integration and testing for the Resolve payload of the Resource Prospector mission: mass spectrometers and gas chromatography

In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) is a key NASA initiative to exploit resources at the site of planetary exploration for mission-critical consumables, propellants, and other supplies. The Resource Prospector mission, part of ISRU, is scheduled to launch in 2020 and will include a rover and lander hosting the Regolith and Environment Science and Oxygen and Lunar Volatile Extraction (RESOLVE) payload for extracting and analyzing lunar resources, particularly low molecular weight volatiles for fuel, air, and water. RESOLVE contains the Lunar Advanced Volatile Analysis (LAVA) subsystem with a Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS). RESOLVE subsystems, including the RP15 rover and LAVA, are in NASA’s Engineering Test Unit (ETU) phase to assure that all vital components of the payload are space-flight rated and will perform as expected during the mission. Integration and testing of LAVA mass spectrometry verified reproducibility and accuracy of the candidate MS for detecting nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. The RP15 testing comprised volatile analysis of water-doped simulant regolith to enhance integration of the RESOLVE payload with the rover. Multiple tests show the efficacy of the GC to detect 2% and 5% water-doped samples.

Development of an Integrated RVC‐LWRD System for RESOLVE

Resource investigation in the lunar poles is important to the potential impact of in‐situ resource utilization (ISRU). The Regolith and Environment Science and Oxygen and Lunar Volatile Extraction (RESOLVE) project aims to develop a payload that will investigate the permanently shadowed areas of the lunar poles and demonstrate ISRU technology. As a part of the RESOLVE project, the regolith volatile characterization (RVC) subsystem will examine the release of volatiles from sample cores. The volatile sample will be introduced into the lunar water resource demonstration (LWRD) subsystem where the released hydrogen and water will be selectively captured. The water will be condensed to form a droplet and electrolyzed to produce hydrogen and oxygen. This process will demonstrate small scale ISRU techniques. This paper will present the challenges, characteristics, and development of the RVC and LWRD. The experiments performed to evaluate adsorption methods will be discussed. Based on these experiments, it has b...