The utilization of extraterrestrial resources will become a key element in space exploration and colonization of the Moon and Mars in the 21st century. Indeed, the development and operation of in-situ manufacturing plants are required to enable the establishment of permanent lunar and Martian bases and colonies. Oxygen manufacture for life support and propulsion will be the most important process for the first of these plants. This will be followed by the development of add-on facilities for the manufacture of additional products and materials using the byproducts of lunar oxygen production, e.g., iron, silicon and slag, followed by the development of permanent lunar bases and colonies for commercial development on the Moon and from the Moon for the benefit of space science, exploration and utilization and, most importantly, Earth and humankind. Commercial development on the Moon is discussed, e.g., (1) the potential value of the manufacture of oxygen and silane to support lunar-based transportation systems for exploration and colonization of the near and far sides of the Moon, (2) the manufacture of iron, ferrosilicon, and ceramic products to support the construction of advanced lunar bases and colonies, and (3) the manufacture of high purity silicon wafers to support solar electric power generation.


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    Title :

    Lunar Resource Utilization: The Production of Lunar Oxygen


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    Sixth ASCE Specialty Conference and Exposition on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space ; 1998 ; Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States


    Published in:

    Space 98 ; 622-644


    Publication date :

    1998-04-21




    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English




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