Many cislunar space activities are made more economical by using propellant sourced from outside of Earth’s deep gravity well. Companies that plan to supply this propellant from the Moon will need to define detailed resource extraction plans to reduce risk and secure investors. On Earth, performing a site investigation is a critical step to reduce risk in resource extraction operations. A site investigation takes stock of existing site data, collects necessary new data, and performs analysis to identify potential risks for avoidance or mitigation. This article presents a framework for lunar site investigations based on available lunar data and publications, interviews with lunar professionals and stakeholders, and terrestrial site investigation standards adapted to the lunar environment. This process will enable the prioritization of new data collection and the definition of requirements prior to establishing long-term resource extraction and construction programs on the Moon.
A Framework for Lunar Resource Extraction Site Investigations: The Current State and Needs of the Industry
17th Biennial International Conference on Engineering, Science, Construction, and Operations in Challenging Environments ; 2021 ; Virtual Conference
Earth and Space 2021 ; 300-310
2021-04-15
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
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