Proposal for the 2004-05 ISRU University Design Competition from the MIT LunarDREEM Team

Proposal for the 2004-05 ISRU University Design Competition from the MIT LunarDREEM Team Lunar Demonstration of Resource Extraction from Extraterrestrial Material Proposal Cover Page for the 2004-05 ISRU University Design Competition from the MIT LunarDREEM Team (Lunar Demonstration of Resource Extraction from Extraterrestrial Material) Academic Institution: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 77 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139 Team Leader: Julie Arnold (1st year Masters student, Aeronautics & Astronautics) arnoldj@mit.edu 908-461-0548 Supervising Faculty Member: Jeffrey A Hoffman (Professor of Aerospace Engineering) jhoffma1@mit.edu 617-452-2353 Student Team Members: Jason Atkins – Excavator Team (Junior, Mechanical Engineering) Katonio Butler – Excavator Team (Junior, Aeronautics and Astronautics) Grant Kristofek – Excavator Team (2nd year Masters student, Mechanical Engineering) Chris Mattenberger – Excavator Team (Junior, Aeronautics and Astronautics) Jordan Medeiros – Excavator Team (Junior, Materials Science and Engineering) James North – Oxygen Extraction Team (Junior, Aeronautics and Astronautics) JoHanna Przybylowski – Oxygen Extraction Team (Senior, Aeronautics & Astronautics) Alice Zhou – Oxygen Extraction Team (Sophomore, Materials Science and Engineering) Student Advisor: Ian Garrick-Bethel – (1st year Ph.D student, Earth and Planetary Sciences) Team Journalist: William T.G Litant – (Communications Director, Aeronautics & Astronautics) TABLE OF CONTENTS Cover Page ………………………………………………………………….…………………………… … Contents ……………………………………………………………………………………………….… … List of Figures …………………………………………………………………………………………………4 List of Tables ………………………………………………………………………………………………….5 Proposal Summary …………………………………………………………….………… … ……………….6 Conceptual Design Review ………………………………………………………………………………….…7 Compilation of Assumptions ……………………………………………………………… …… …7 1.1 Environmental Assumptions 1.2 Mobility/Rover Assumptions 1.3 Control Assumptions 1.4 Other Assumptions Regolith Excavation System ………………………………………………………………………….7 2.1 Conceptual Design of Regolith Excavation, Collection and Delivery System …………… …….8 2.1.1 Excavator Subsystem 2.1.2 Loading-Unloading Subsystem 2.1.3 Bulk Physical Characteristics Test Chamber 2.2 Regolith Excavation, Collection and Delivery System Architectures …………………………12 2.3 Trade Studies and Methodology for Option Selection ………………………………… … 13 2.3.1 Regolith Excavation, Collection and Delivery System Functional Properties 2.3.2 Regolith Excavation, Collection and Delivery System Trade Study 2.3.3 Trade Study Implications and Future Design Methodologies In-Situ Oxygen Production System (ISOPS) …………………………………………….… …… 17 3.1 High Level ISOPS Architectures …………………………………………………… ………17 3.1.1 Choosing the Process for and Oxygen Production Plant 3.1.2 Processing Options 3.2 Design Methodology …………………………………………………………….…………… 21 3.2.1 Furnace 3.2.2 Electrolysis 3.2.3 Conceptual Design of the Electrolysis System 3.2.4 Design Methodologies for the Oxygen Collection System 3.3 Process Efficiency Measurements …………………………………………………………… 24 3.3.1 Conceptual Design 3.3.2 The Effect of Moist Hydrogen Gas on Process Efficiency Measurements 3.4 Control, Regulation, and Process Efficiency Measurement Sensors …………………….…… 25 Concept of Operations …………………………………………………………………………….…25 Outreach Plan ………………………………………………………………………………………… ……27 Supplemental Information ……………………………………………………………………… …………29 About the Student Team Academic Departments + Course Descriptions and applicability Supporting Faculty Departmental and Institutional Commitment (Letter from Wesley Harris, Aero/Astro Department Head) References …………………………………………………………………………………………… ……37 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: Excavator Concepts …………………………………………………………….……………… Figure 2.2: Sliding Panels Loading-Unloading Concept …………………………….….………………… 10 Figure 2.3: Horizontal Piston Loading-Unloading Concept ………………………….…….……………… 10 Figure 2.4: Dual Iris Loading-Unloading Concept ………………………………….……….…………… 10 Figure 2.5: Compressive Chamber Test Chamber Concept …………………………………….………… 11 Figure 2.6: Rotary Bar Test Chamber Concept ………………………………………………… ………….11 Figure 2.7: Thin Wire Pull Test Chamber Concept …………………………………………….………… 12 Figure 3.1: Major Elements of an Oxygen Production/ Water Extraction System Figure 3.2: Relationship Between Furnace Mass and Objective to Minimize Mass ………… ………… 18 ………… ……… 22 Figure 3.3: Relationship Between Number of Batches and Objective to Maximize Reliability …… … 22 Figure 3.4: Operation of Dual-Chamber Mass Measuring Instrument ……………………………….…… 23 Figure 4.1: Bulk Excavation …………………………………………………………………………….… 25 Figure 4.2: Interspersed Excavation …………………………………………………………………….… 25 Figure 4.3: Control Flow Diagram of Excavation and Regolith Processing Procedures ………………… 26 Figure 4.4: Timeline of Power Consumption for Concept of Operations ……………………………… 26 LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Relationship between Mission Objectives and Concept Functional Properties ……….… … 13 Table 2.2: Relationship Matrix for Regolith Excavation, Collection, and Delivery Trade Study …… 16 Table 3.1: Comparison of Oxygen Extraction Methods …………………………………………… … 17 Table 3.2: Relationship Matrix for ISOPS Trade Study ………………………………………….….… 20 PROPOSAL SUMMARY The Conceptual Design Report (CDR) details design options and trade studies for two subsystems of a robotic lander exploring the South Polar region of the moon: a system for the excavation and transfer of lunar regolith to experiment test chambers, and an integrated system for both the production of oxygen and extraction of water from lunar regolith Design options and trade studies are also presented for: a mechanism for loading and unloading regolith from the oxygen production/water extraction subsystem, a test chamber to measure bulk physical characteristics of the regolith, and oxygen production/water extraction process efficiency measurements First, qualitative and quantitative assumptions necessary to carry out the functions of these subsystems are listed Objectives for each subsystem are then defined along with qualitative and quantitative information specific to that subsystem Approaches for achieving the objectives are presented, and possible subsystem architectures are enumerated Trade studies are then presented which evaluate how well each of the subsystem architectures achieves the subsystem objectives; based on these trade studies, a subsystem conceptual design and alternatives are chosen Design methodologies used to conduct the subsystem trade studies are presented, and future design methodologies are described The Conceptual Design Report closes with Concept of Operations using the subsystem design options selected by the trade studies The Concept of Operations includes timelines, scenarios, and usage profiles for the subsystems We end by presenting an outreach plan which includes presentation of this work at NASA’s Exploration System Conference in Orlando at the end of January, 2005; establishing a LunarDREEM project website; local presentations at events sponsored by the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium, and K-12 classroom activities Finally, we demonstrate our team’s commitment to and ability to conduct outreach by describing activities we have already carried out at two public conferences CONCEPTUAL DESIGN REVIEW COMPILATION OF ASSUMPTIONS 1.1 Environmental Assumptions 1.1.1 Given as part of the competition guidelines - Robotic lander is delivered to the South Polar region of the moon (>75° S) - Robotic lander rover either lands in or moves into a permanently shadowed crater where water ice is present within a meter of the surface - The excavator subsystem will collect at least 100kg of regolith, and the oxygen production/water extraction subsystem must process all of this 100kg within a one-month mission 1.1.2 Additional assumptions made by LunarDREEM team - Temperature in the permanently shadowed crater is constant at ~40K - Ambient pressure is a hard vacuum - Solar radiation has no appreciable effect on subsystems - The floor of the permanently shadowed crater is flat ground, with powdery dust to at least meter - The regolith in the permanently shadowed crater has no more than 1% ice-water by weight (Based on data from the Clementine and Lunar Prospector probes, [Feldman, 2000]) - No more than 2% wt oxygen will be extracted from the iron-oxides in the polar lunar regolith (Data shows ~4% could be extracted from lunar mare, and ~1.2% from lunar highland material The lunar south pole is an intermediate region, and we assume ~2%.) [Allen, 1996] - The average density of the lunar regolith is 3100 kg/m [Heiken, 1991], so the 100 kg of regolith specified for this project has a volume of 032 m3, equivalent to a cube 32 cm on a side 1.2 Mobility/Rover Assumptions 1.2.1 Given as part of the competition guidelines - A rover the size of the Mars Exploration Rovers will carry the design team’s experiment package - The lander has ample volume available to meet the experiment requirements - Experiment packages should attempt to meet mass (50 kg) and power (100 W) constraints 1.2.2 Additional assumptions made by LunarDREEM team - “Experiment package” includes excavator subsystem, oxygen production/water extraction subsystem, bulk physical characteristics test chamber, and process efficiency measurements - Experiment package is mounted on rover; rover provides mobility for all the subsystems (including excavation subsystem); rover mobility is dictated solely by mobility requirements for the Experiment Package - Rover can deliver the entire 100W continuous power to the Experiment Package when required - Rover can “plant itself” to provide sufficient reaction force to counter excavation forces - No constraints on subsystem-rover interfacing; subsystems can be placed anywhere on the rover - The rover has adequate computing and communications capability for the Experiment Package 1.3 Control Assumptions 1.3.1 Given as part of the competition guidelines -Real-time communications will be available on a continuous basis between the rover and Earth 1.3.2 Additional assumptions made by LunarDREEM team -Earth-based user control will not be limited by bandwidth availability -Earth-based control/oversight is available 24 hours a day throughout the entire mission 1.4 Other Assumptions Other assumptions specific to subsystem technologies are detailed separately in the following sections REGOLITH EXCAVATION, COLLECTION, AND DELIVERY SYSTEM Excavation, Collection and Delivery System – an integrated system for the excavation and transfer of lunar regolith from the lunar surface to experiment test chambers The Excavation System is composed of three subsystems: an Excavator Subsystem to collect regolith, a Loading-Unloading Subsystem to load and unload the regolith into an oxygen production furnace or other test chamber, and a Bulk Physical Characteristics Test Chamber to measure bulk physical properties of the lunar regolith The following sections identify the objectives and concept design options for each subsystem Excavation System architectures integrating concept design options for all three subsystems are then enumerated, and a trade study is presented to differentiate between the Excavation System architectures based upon high-level, qualitative factors such as risk and complexity A primary Excavation System architecture and alternative architectures are proposed for further analysis based on this trade study 2.1 Conceptual Design of Regolith Excavation, Collection and Delivery System 2.1.1 Excavator Subsystem 2.1.1.1 Objectives The Excavator Subsystem is the module that will have first contact with the regolith The Excavator Subsystem must collect regolith up to one meter below the surface, and must collect at least 100 kg of regolith within one month The design must mitigate exposure to the abrasive, dusty lunar environment and preserve the volatiles contained in the lunar regolith These goals must be met while minimizing mass and power usage to meet mission constraints, minimizing risk, maximizing simplicity, facilitating maintenance and support, and maximizing control of mass flow Risk minimization is a critical objective to be addressed by the Excavator Subsystem functional requirements Risk is a measure of the probability of failure within a particular functional requirement and, for current consideration, is defined as a function of the number of moving parts, the number of interfaces with the lunar environment, and the ability of the subsystem to respond to stimuli and disturbance Simplicity of design is a measure of the difficulty associated with implementing a design and the complexity associated with operating in the lunar environment For the purpose of distinguishing between conceptual designs, simplicity is characterized by of the number of system components, complexity of components, and complexity of control requirements Mass flow controllability is a measure of how precisely and accurately the Excavator Subsystem is able to control the movement of regolith from the lunar surface to other subsystems This is an important consideration in mitigating the effects of lunar dust and the accurate placement of regolith in test chambers 2.1.1.2 Conceptual Design Options A multitude of concepts were initially considered to fulfill the Excavator Subsystem objectives of collecting regolith up to one meter below the lunar surface and collecting 100 kg of lunar regolith over the course of a one month mission These concepts included radical designs using vibrating wedges, vacuums, telescoping tubes, and electrostatic netting Concepts based on more standard terrestrial systems included backhoes, combines, treaded conveyor belts, and lifting drills Ultimately, terrestrial-based concepts were favored over the radical concepts due to the risk factors associated with the radical concepts The design success of radical concepts requires currently uncharacterized information about the mission-specific lunar environment, and the concepts have no exiting heritage of implementation or operation in either terrestrial or lunar environments Three Excavator Subsystem concepts based on terrestrial applications have been selected for further study: Drill, Treaded Conveyor Belt, and Backhoe Notional diagrams of the three excavator concept design options are shown in Figure 2.1 2.1.1.2.1 Excavator Concept 1: Drill The Drill is based the concept of the “Archimedes Screw.” The drill is translated vertically from the rover into the regolith The rotational motion lifts regolith along the length of the screw, while the vertical translation slowly moves the entire drill housing into the regolith to reach a maximum depth of one meter The regolith, pushed up and out of the drill housing, overflows into a collection bin While the length of the Drill is fixed to excavate to a depth of one meter, the diameter of the Drill can be optimized to collect 100 kg of regolith either in a single excavation or over the course of several excavations Multiple excavations, while requiring less mass and power than a single excavation, are operationally more complex The Drill will require a minimum of two control sensors: one to measure angular velocity and another to measure vertical position 2.1.1.2.2 Excavator Concept 2: Treaded Conveyor Belt The Treaded Conveyor Belt is a creative design most easily compared to the treaded track of a snowmobile A treaded belt is operated by a simple motor around two pulleys This entire housing is able to translate both vertically and horizontally in order to give the system a greater reach for potential excavating area The end of the conveyor belt is placed on the surface of the regolith, and the conveyor belt motors move the belt such that the tread on the belt scoops up small amounts of regolith The regolith is then carried along the conveyor belt until it overflows into a collection bin The now empty tread travels along the belt back towards the regolith, and the entire housing then translates down to position for the next scoop The Treaded Conveyor Belt will require a minimum of four control sensors The first measures x-displacement; the second measures y-displacement; and the third measures the angle of rotation at the base located on the rover; and the fourth measures contact of the scoops with the ground 2.1.1.2.3 Excavator Concept 3: Backhoe The Backhoe is a proven terrestrial design, designed somewhat like an arm, and allows for three-axis motion of the end-effector An actuator attached to the rover will be able to rotate in both the horizontal and vertical planes, much like the human shoulder The “shoulder” is attached to a middle actuator, which has rotational capability in the vertical plane, like an elbow This “elbow” is then attached to the final actuator that will control the movement of the scoop in the vertical plane The scoop will be able to reach any position within a given radius around the shoulder attachment to the rover The scoop end-effector will transport regolith from the lunar surface to a collection bin The Backhoe will require a minimum of five control sensors Two of those sensors measure x- and y- displacement, two sensors will be used to measure the angles of rotation of the scoop and the “elbow”, and another sensor will measure contact of the end-effector with ground Concept 1: Drill Concept 2: Treaded Conveyor Belt Concept 3: Backhoe Figure 2.1: Excavator Concepts (arrows indicate directions of motion) 2.1.2 Loading-Unloading Subsystem 2.1.2.1 Objectives The purpose of the Loading-Unloading Subsystem is to load an experiment chamber (such as a furnace) with regolith, and then remove spent regolith Although the Loading-Unloading Subsystem is integrated with the experiment chamber, it is a mechanical device which interacts closely with the Excavator Subsystem, and is thus considered a part of the Excavation System The Loading-Unloading Subsystem must perform its purpose while minimizing mass and power usage to meet mission constraints, minimizing risk, maximizing simplicity, and facilitate maintenance and support Additionally, Loading-Unloading Subsystems should have provide for regolith mass measurements inside the experiment chamber 2.1.2.2 Conceptual Design Options Three concepts are proposed for the Loading-Unloading Subsystem: Sliding Panels, Horizontal Piston, and Dual Irises Figures 2.2 – 2.4 show notional diagrams of these concepts 2.1.2.2.1 Loading-Unloading Concept 1: Sliding Panels Regolith is dropped into a container at Stage Then the container is pushed over to Stage 2a As it moves to Stage 2a the regolith begins to fall out of the bottom of the container and is dropped onto a scale in Stage 2b Then the regolith drops into the furnace and is processed After processing, the remaining waste is weighed before being dumped out of the system Once the regolith is dropped into the furnace the container retracts to its original position and is loaded again The sliding panels require two control sensors to confirm the location of the regolith throughout the process The first sensor confirms that regolith is in the initial bin, and the second confirms that regolith is in position to enter the furnace Figure 2.2: Sliding Panel Loading-Unloading Concept 2.1.2.2.2 Loading-Unloading Concept 2: Horizontal Piston Regolith is brought in by a conveyor belt The regolith falls into a bin where it is weighed on a scale Then the furnace door opens, allowing a piston to push the bin into the furnace The furnace door closes and processing occurs Once processing is completed the furnace exit door opens and a grappling piston pulls the original bin from the furnace The bin is pulled on top of a scale and weighed once again before it is dropped through the trap door and out of the system While processing occurs, a new bin is placed below the conveyor belt and begins to be filled The horizontal pistons will require three sensors One sensor measures movement of the conveyor belt, another sensor measures the amount of regolith loaded in the bin, and the third sensor determines whether the bin is in position for ejection Figure 2.3: Horizontal Piston Loading-Unloading Concept 2.1.2.2.3 Loading-Unloading Concept 3: Dual Iris Regolith is loaded onto the top iris where it is weighed Next, the iris opens and the regolith falls into the furnace The top iris closes and processing occurs After processing, the waste regolith is weighed Then the second iris opens and the regolith is dropped out of the furnace and out of the system One sensor will be needed for each iris to detect the presence of regolith Figure 2.4: Dual Iris Loading-Unloading Concept 2.1.3 Bulk Physical Characteristics Test Chamber 2.1.3.1 Objectives The objective of the Bulk Physical Characteristics Test Chamber is to measure shear, yield, and strain (compaction) of the lunar regolith collected by the Excavator Subsystem These objectives must be met while 10 contain the water Water batch sizes less than 0.1 kg are assigned a “5” Batches between 0.1 kg and 0.2 kg are assigned a “4”; batches between 0.2 kg and 0.5 kg are assigned a “3”; batches between 0.5 kg and 1.0 kg are assigned a “2”; and batches between 1.0 kg and 5.0 kg are assigned a “1” While the relationship between furnace processing options and subsystem reliability is quantified in Matrix 1, the relationship between electrolysis processing options and the subsystem reliability is not quantified, because electrolysis batching primarily requires current cycling rather than thermal cycling Cycling current is not expected to significantly impact subsystem reliability 3.2.3 Conceptual Design of the Electrolysis Subsystem There are two central issues pertaining to the conceptual design of an electrolysis subsystem: the type of electrolyzer and the method for collecting and measuring water prior to electrolysis Two types of electrolyzers are appropriate for use on the lunar surface: proton exchange membrane (PEM) and alkaline While both electrolyzers require an operating temperature of at least 21 deg C (room temperature) for effective functioning, primary differences between the two electrolyzers include operating pressure, stacking capabilities, and corrosion considerations PEM electrolyzers can operate up to 5000 psi, while alkaline electrolyzers can operate at no more than a few hundred psi PEM electrolyzers are easily stackable to serve a large range of electrolysis rates, while alkaline electrolyzers have only limited scaling capability Neither of these design options favors one electrolyzer type over the other, because preliminary calculations indicate that the Oxygen Production/Water Extraction System can operate at standard atmospheric pressure Also, lowscale oxygen production does not necessitate a great deal of stacking However, while the advantages that PEM provides in terms of operating pressures and stackability are not design critical for the small-scale oxygen production demonstration, corrosion and containment considerations favor the use of a PEM electrolyzer Alkaline electrolyzers utilize potassium hydroxide as an electrolyte, which is extremely corrosive and necessitates designing containment mechanisms for the hazardous material In contrast, PEM electrolyzers use a solid, non-corrosive membrane, eliminating the need for any mechanisms to mitigate the risk associated with hazardous materials [Chewonki, 2004] Prior to electrolysis, the water must be collected and weighed to obtain measurements related to process efficiency (see Section 3.3.1: Conceptual Design of Process Efficiency Measurements) It is straightforward to collect and weigh water if the water will be electrolyzed sequentially between furnace processing and heating However, if the water is electrolyzed concurrently with furnace heating and reduction then a dual chamber mass-measuring instrument must be placed between the furnace and PEM electrolyzer A dualchamber decouples water collection from water electrolysis, and introduces a natural mechanism for obtaining accurate mass measurements The operation of a dual-chamber mass-measuring instrument is diagramed in Figure 3.4 below Step Step Step Step Figure 3.4: Operation of a Dual-Chamber Mass Measuring Instrument 23 The water produced by the furnace is collected in the upper chamber Once the batch of regolith in the furnace has been completely reduced, the chamber is weighed The upper chamber opens and allows water into the lower chamber The upper chamber then closes before the furnace begins to heat the next batch of regolith The water from the next batch of regolith collects in the upper chamber, while the water in the lower chamber is electrolyzed When the water in the lower chamber has been completely electrolyzed and the batch of regolith in the furnace has been completely reduced, the chamber is weighed again This operation of the Dual-Chamber Mass Measuring Instrument provides the electrolyzer the maximum time possible to electrolyze each batch of water, thus minimizing the electrolysis power requirement 3.2.4 Design Methodology for the Oxygen Collection Subsystem The objectives of the Oxygen Collection Subsystem are to collect all the oxygen produced or extracted from 100 kg of lunar regolith while minimizing mass and mitigating flammability hazards Assuming that the regolith contains no more than 1% water ice by weight and no more than 2% extracted oxygen by weight (see Section 1.1.2: Assumptions) the Oxygen Collection Subsystem will have to contain no more than kg of oxygen The primary conceptual design option for the Oxygen Collection Subsystem is how it interfaces with the Electrolysis Subsystem If the operating pressure of the Electrolysis Subsystem is less than the maximum oxygen tank pressure, a pump will be required to transfer oxygen from the Electrolysis Subsystem to the oxygen storage tank If the operating pressure of the Electrolysis Subsystem is greater than the maximum oxygen tank pressure, a regulator will be required to interface between the Electrolysis Subsystem and the oxygen storage tank However, if the operating pressure of the Electrolysis Subsystem equals the maximum oxygen tank pressure, neither a pump nor regulator is required, minimizing subsystem mass Minimizing the pressure at which the oxygen is stored helps to mitigate flammability hazards Because the volume of payload on the mission is not constrained, the oxygen tank can be made arbitrarily large in volume to minimize pressure However, because increasing tank size also increases the Oxygen Collection Subsystem mass, it is important to consider a maximum tank pressure that results in a plausible tank volume At standard atmospheric pressure, kg of oxygen occupies 2.1 liters (a cube with 12.8 cm sides) This reasonably small volume suggests that both the Electrolysis Subsystem operating pressure and the maximum tank pressure can operate at standard atmospheric pressure Designing the Oxygen Collection Subsystem includes choosing materials and conducting a hazards analysis Methodology for the hazards analysis is presented here and will be carried out for future design reports A hazards analysis is particularly necessary for this application because oxygen is easily contaminated; many gases and liquids are soluble and miscible in it A hazards analysis includes considering the most severe operating conditions (such as temperature, pressure and flow rate) and their effects on the system The effect of operational anomalies, single-point failure modes such as ignition, combustion, explosion, and the effect of oxygen enrichment of other system environments (such as the electrolyzer or furnace) will also be considered This includes evaluating the flammability of metallic and non-metallic design materials such as mechanical impact, ignition temperature, and frictional heating Also, component tests may be performed to demonstrate safety margins to ignition thresholds (Beeson, 2000) 3.3 Process Efficiency Measurements 3.3.1 Conceptual Design Three measurements of process efficiency are incorporated into the oxygen production/water extraction system First, process efficiency is measured by continuously weighing the batch of regolith inside the furnace Comparing the batch mass before heating to the batch mass after heating and before processing gives a measure of the amount of water ice in the regolith Comparing the batch mass before processing and after processing gives a measure of the process efficiency for hydrothermal reduction of the regolith Process efficiency is also measured by weighing the water produced as proposed in the conceptual design for the dual chamber mass-measurement instrument The process efficiency measurement indicating the amount of water-ice in the regolith is found by comparing the mass of the batch of regolith inside the furnace before heating to the amount of water collected after heating but before reduction The process efficiency of 24 hydrothermal reduction of regolith is found by comparing the mass of the batch of regolith inside the furnace before heating to the mass of the water collected during reduction Finally, the most direct method for measuring the process efficiency involves measuring the oxygen flow into the oxygen collection subsystem The efficiency measurement indicating the amount of water-ice in the regolith is found by comparing the flow meter measurements associated with the amount of oxygen collected associated with furnace heating to the mass of the batch of regolith inside the furnace before heating The process efficiency of hydrothermal reduction of regolith is found by comparing the amount of oxygen collected associated with reduction to the mass of the batch of regolith inside the furnace before heating 3.3.2The Effect Of Moist Hydrogen Gas On Process Efficiency Measurements The operating temperatures (approximately 21 deg C) and pressures (standard pressure) of the electrolysis subsystem introduce water vapor into the purged or recycled hydrogen flow This results in a loss of some fraction of the water produced Preliminary calculations of the relative humidity in the hydrogen flow indicate that water vapor results in a loss of approximately 1.7 percent of the collected oxygen This calculation assumed: a hydrogen flow with humidity that is purged, or alternatively, hydrogen flow that is dried and then recycled; and a hydrogen flow an order of magnitude greater than the minimum required flow This results in an overestimate of the impact moist hydrogen gas has on process efficiency measurements and suggests that mechanisms not need to be designed into to capture, collect, and electrolyze moisture from hydrogen flow 3.4 Control, Regulation, and Process Efficiency Measurement Sensors The ISOPS system requires two sensors for control and three sensors for regulation functions One control sensor is required to detect regolith in the Furnace and initiate furnace heating Likewise, one control sensor is required to detect water in the Electrolysis Subsystem and initiate water electrolysis Regulation sensors are required to maintain Furnace processing temperature, Electrolysis Subsystem operating temperature, and Oxygen Collection Subsystem operating temperature Also, three sensors are necessary to measure process efficiency: a scale to weigh the regolith in the Furnace, a scale to weigh the water that is produced, and a flow meter to measure the amount of oxygen collected CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS Proposed Mission Timeline Once the lunar rover is positioned in the permanently shadowed crater, two weeks will be spent gathering regolith and measuring bulk physical characteristics, and two weeks will be spent processing regolith to collect oxygen Surface Mission Phases Excavating regolith requires four distinct mission phases: (1) Gather regolith, (2) Measure Bulk Physical Characteristics of Regolith, (3) Load Regolith into Furnace, (4) Unload Processed Regolith from Furnace Processing regolith requires five distinct mission phases: (1) Heat Regolith, (2) Reduce Regolith, (3) Collect Water (and recycle Hydrogen Gas), (4) Electrolyze Water (and recycle Hydrogen Gas), (5) Collect Oxygen Mission scenarios are formed from the specific placing of these phases on a mission timeline There are two high-level mission scenario options: concurrent or sequential processing, as discussed in Section 3.1.2 Examples of bulk or interspersed excavation of regolith are diagramed in the figure below Figure 4.1: Bulk Excavation Figure 4.2: Interspersed Excavation 25 Necessary Procedures A control flow diagram of necessary procedures to excavate and process regolith is shown in the figure below Arrows in the diagram indicate the how each procedure triggers other procedures, and does not indicate the temporal ordering of procedures The dashed arrow indicates additional control flow if interspersed excavation is conducted Figure 4.3: Control Flow Diagram of Excavation and Regolith Processing Procedures Remote vs Autonomous Operations Near real-time communication between the Earth and the moon opens up the possibility for blending remote control and autonomous operation for many aspects of the mission Remote operability is particularly advantageous and likely to be implemented when the system must interact with an unknown environment For example, the Excavator Subsystem will most likely be operated by remote control Using position sensor and video data, remote operators will be able to avoid lunar rocks scattered around excavating areas, which would otherwise impede operations On the other hand, fully autonomous operations are greatly desired for control of functions when the environment is not highly variable Specifically, our design is likely to implement autonomous control for regulation functions such as maintaining Furnace, Electrolysis Subsystem, and Oxygen Collection Subsystem temperatures Timeline of Power Consumptions The figure below shows the a timeline of power consumption over the mission duration, assuming bulk excavation of lunar regolith and the following current processing architecture: 10 kg regolith batch size + hour processing time + 24 hour heating time Figure 4.4: Timeline of Power Consumption for Concept of Operations 26 OUTREACH PLAN The student team participating in the ISRU University Design Competition is part of the LunarDREEM project, an ongoing student-initiated research endeavor at MIT devoted to advancing the cause of space exploration through the use of extraterrestrial resources Even before the announcement of the 2004-05 NASA ISRU competition, LunarDREEM members were working on lunar ISRU research and to sharing the excitement of this work They are committed to sharing project work with scientific, engineering, and public communities and have already demonstrated this commitment through actual outreach activities Recent Outreach Activities LunarDREEM project team members participated in the Space Frontier Foundation’s fifth-annual “Return to the Moon” conference in Las Vegas, Nevada from 16-18 July, 2004 The conference provided a unique opportunity to engage the leaders of the international lunar exploration and development community At this conference, LunarDREEM team members presented preliminary results modeling the capabilities of a lunar robotic mission utilizing oxygen produced in-situ as a propellant component for visiting multiple sites with a single lander More recently, student team members participating in the ISRU Design Competition presented an outreach poster at the SpaceVision2004 Conference held at MIT from 11-14 November Participating in their first poster session, student team members presented the design competition challenge, design options, and trade study methodology The team received positive feedback from space-enthusiasts in government, industry, and academia; students attending the conference also showed a great deal of enthusiasm for the competition work Future Outreach Plans 1st Space Exploration Conference Design competition team members participating in LunarDREEM project research from June-August 2004 will present a paper describing their summer work at the st Space Exploration Conference, being held in Orlando, Florida from 30 January – February with sponsorship from NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate The team is proud that their paper was accepted on a competitive basis as one of only 52 selected from a total of 675 submitted to the conference organizers Attending the conference and presenting their paper will provide team members an opportunity to discuss their progress on the design competition with other members of the space community and work towards raising interest and support for lunar ISRU activities LunarDREEM Website The student team plans to create a LunarDREEM ISRU Design Competition website to reach an extended student community The website will have a homepage with links to material appropriate for different age groups: K-8, 9-12, and university-level students Appropriate material for students from elementary and middle schools will include a qualitative, high-level description of the uses for ISRU in general and lunar ISRU in particular, a description of the robotic demonstration mission outlined in the competition guidelines, and simple pictures/diagrams of the student team’s system designs The link to high school-level information will include a more technical description of the competition and team designs, as well as an introduction to trade studies and design methodologies The technical aspects of the project will be related to high schoollevel chemistry and physics The university-level link will provide a technical, detailed description of the team’s progress, assumptions, trade studies, and design methodologies and calculations The university-level information will also provide links to websites of the other university design teams and also to NASA web- 27 based ISRU material The LunarDREEM team is fully prepared to implement the website on the schedule specified in the competition guidelines Local Presentations Some of the LunarDREEM team’s support has come from the Massachusetts Space Grant, and the team has agreed to make a presentation of their work during the Space Grant-sponsored Massachusetts Space Day at the Boston Museum of Science in the Fall of 2005 The audience is several hundred Massachusetts high school students The team will work with museum personnel to set up a temporary exhibit of their excavator apparatus, together with explanatory material showing the importance of ISRU for future space exploration The exhibit will emphasize that all the work was done by students, which we believe will be highly motivating for students viewing the exhibit Locally at MIT, the LunarDREEM team has volunteered to present their work in late April/early May as a class lecture in the 16.S26 Freshman Seminar series on “Modern Space Science and Engineering” Classroom Activities The LunarDREEM student team proposes to adapt the K-8 and 9-12 level website content to a short, presentation lesson plan for local grade-school and local high-school students The Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium supports numerous school activities such as the Science Club for Girls and middle school Rocket Clubs, and these will provide a venue for the student team members to present the material in local schools In particular, we have initiated discussions with the MIT/IGNITE program, which produces classroom content and provides lecturers for Cambridge public schools Here is their proposal: MIT/IGNITE/Cambridge Educational Outreach: The IGNITE Foundation, Inc is an established 501c3 organization established to develop collaborative, educational enrichment programs Our curriculum enrichment development has initially focused in the areas of math, science, and technology (engineering) based on ‘NASA type’ missions while exposing the public to the benefits of aerospace technology because these areas are in the greatest need of support Through this proposal we intend to work closely with the LunarDREEM Proposal team at MIT to blend our outreach programs for a state of the art impact, starting with two elementary schools in the Cambridge Public School District (Haggerty and Tobin) that are in line with the goals of this LunarDREEM Design Project / NASA student proposal IGNITE has established relationships with a variety of organizations who share the same initiatives and in the process and has identified a number of presenters on the broad topic of space/science with experience in the education community This project will provide two speakers from this pool to visit the identified schools over a 6-month period of time In addition to guest speaker programs, we will provide thematic support through appropriate enrichment materials to support project-based curriculum tie-ins created by teachers within the district, a teacher-training workshop, and one topic-related after-school program Lunar content area will include: Phases of the moon: connecting the Sun, Earth, Moon relationship; lunar impact on weather and tides; the history of manned and unmanned outreach to the moon; and astronomers through history: connecting folklore from around the world; understanding why it is so hard to live on the Moon; the value of “living off the land” These Cambridge students will be assessed through a pre- and post-survey to test the benefit of this type of outreach program Results from these surveys will be presented with an end of the year summary These results along with student projects will be shared with the MIT team through an end of the year presentation 28 SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION About the Student Team The student team participating in the ISRU University Design Competition is a part the LunarDREEM project, an ongoing student-initiated research endeavor Since April 2004, this project has provided an engaging and challenging team-oriented research program experience for students The goal of the LunarDREEM project is to conceive, model, design, and experimentally demonstrate efficient, reliable oxygen production from lunar regolith for future lunar exploration and settlement applications Research efforts undertaken from June through August 2004 included both modeling and laboratory work Modeling and analysis were conducted to detail the conditions under which utilizing oxygen produced in-situ (through hydrothermal reduction) as a propellant component can provide benefit for a robotic mission visiting multiple sites With the help of personnel in the Materials Science and Engineering Department, LunarDREEM students set up a laboratory to enable familiarization with the system, process, and equipment needed to extract oxygen from lunar simulant regolith Experiments were carried out to reproduce the Allen, et al (1996) results Laboratory experience provided team members with valuable experience in process and experiment design For Fall 2004 and Spring 2005, LunarDREEM has expanded its project scope to enter the 2004-05 NASA ISRU University Design Competition The team is comprised of members from diverse academic backgrounds: mechanical engineering, materials science and engineering, and aerospace engineering Also, out of nine current team members, one-third are under-represented minorities (male), and one-third are women MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics (Note: Aero/Astro is the lead department for the LunarDREEM project, so the information given below is about Aero/Astro’s departmental structure and curriculum Similar information about the Departments of Earth and Planetary Science, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Chemical Engineering can be found through MIT’s website [web.mit.edu] or can be supplied by the project team upon request.) Department Program Educational Objectives and Outcomes: Department Mission – The mission of the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics is to prepare engineers for success and leadership in the conception, design, implementation, and operation of aerospace and related engineering systems Department Program Goals – The goals of the programs in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics are to:  Educate students to master a deep working knowledge of technical fundamentals  Educate engineers to lead in the creation and operation of new products and systems  Educate future researchers to understand the importance and strategic value of their work Program Objectives – Specifically, the programs in Aeronautics and Astronautics have these objectives: 1.0 To develop a deep working knowledge of technical fundamentals 29 2.0 To develop a refined ability to discover knowledge, solve problems, think about systems, and master other personal and professional attributes 3.0 To develop an advanced ability to communicate and work in multidisciplinary teams 4.0 To develop skills to conceive, design, implement, and operate systems in an enterprise and societal context Program Outcomes – The four program educational objectives were developed into 16 program outcomes These are measurable achievements that focus on what students know, are able to do, and/or have an opinion about as a result of Aeronautics and Astronautics programs The 16 program outcomes are listed below as second-level items aligned with the four program objectives 1.0 Develop a working knowledge of technical fundamentals 1.1 Demonstrate a capacity to use the principles of the underlying sciences of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology 1.2 Apply the principles of core engineering fundamentals in fluid mechanics, solid mechanics and materials, dynamics, signals and systems, thermodynamics, control, computers and computation 1.3 Demonstrate deep working knowledge of professional engineering in aerodynamics, structural mechanics, structures and materials, jet and rocket propulsion, flight and advanced aerospace dynamics, computational techniques, estimation and navigation, human and supervisory control, digital communication, software engineering, autonomy, and digital circuits and systems 2.0 Develop a refined ability to discover knowledge, solve problems, think about systems, and master other personal and professional attributes 2.1 Analyze and solve engineering problems 2.2 Conduct inquiry and experimentation in engineering problems 2.3 Think holistically and systemically 2.4 Master personal skills that contribute to successful engineering practice: initiative, flexibility, creativity, curiosity, and time management 2.5 Master professional skills that contribute to successful engineering practice: professional ethics, integrity, currency in the field, career planning 3.0 Develop an advanced ability to communicate and work in multidisciplinary teams 3.1 Lead and work in teams 3.2 Communicate effectively in writing, in electronic form, in graphic media, and in oral presentations 4.0 Develop skills to conceive, design, implement, and operate systems in an enterprise and societal context 4.1 Recognize the importance of the societal context in engineering practice 4.2 Appreciate different enterprise cultures and work successfully in organizations 4.3 Conceive engineering systems including setting requirements, defining functions, modeling, and managing projects 4.4 Design complex systems 4.5 Implement hardware and software processes and manage implementation procedures 4.6 Operate complex systems and processes and manage operations Department Curriculum 30 The Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics undergraduate curriculum is built of three main blocks: • The Core Curriculum • Professional Area Subjects • The Capstone Subjects The Core Curriculum is designed to introduce students to the fundamental disciplines of aerospace engineering: materials and structures; fluids and aerodynamics; thermodynamics; physics and dynamics; electronic signals, systems, and circuits; propulsion; control systems; and computer programming This serves both to provide a baseline level of understanding of these critical disciplines and also to expose the students in a way that will aid them in specializing their studies in succeeding semesters Much of the Core Curriculum is covered in a course called Unified Engineering, which is offered in sets of two 12-unit subjects in two successive semesters Unified Engineering is taught cooperatively by a number of faculty members Their purpose is to introduce new students to the disciplines and methodologies of aerospace engineering at a basic level, with a balanced exposure to analysis, empirical methods, and design Several laboratory experiments are performed and a number of systems problems tying the disciplines together are included For example, one recent systems problem involved the students designing, building, and flying a lightweight radio controlled aircraft This requires that the students integrate the knowledge they have gained in disciplines such as aerodynamics, structures, propulsion, and control Additionally, because all of our students take Unified Engineering together, they build friendships and connections which will serve them through the rest of their stay at MIT In addition to Unified Engineering, there are five other courses in the Core Curriculum Two courses -Thermal Energy and Principles of Automatic Control are typically taken in the first semester of the junior year The other Core Curriculum courses are Introduction to Computer Programming; Probabilistic Systems Analysis; and Differential Equations These last three courses are typically taken in the freshman or sophomore years The Professional Area Subjects are a group of courses which treat more completely, and in greater depth, the material covered in the Core Curriculum Students must take four Professional Area Subjects from a selection of 12 offerings The subjects are organized into two branches: Aerospace Engineering, and Aerospace Information Technology In Course XVI-1, students must take at least two subjects designated as Aerospace Engineering In Course XVI-2, the student must take at least three subjects from among the Aerospace Information Technology list The subjects in Aerospace Engineering represent the more traditional aerospace disciplines, which enable the design and construction of airframes and engines This includes fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, heat and mass transfer, computational mechanics, flight vehicle aerodynamics, solid mechanics, structural design and analysis, the study of engineering materials, structural dynamics, human factors engineering, and propulsion and energy conversion from both fluid/thermal (gas turbines and rockets) and electrical devices The subjects in Aerospace Information Technology are in the broad disciplinary area of information, which plays an ever increasing role in modern aircraft and spacecraft This includes feedback, control, estimation, control of flight vehicles, software engineering, aerospace communications and digital systems, the way in which humans interact with the vehicle, through manual control and supervisory control of telerobotic processes (e.g., modern cockpit systems and human centered automation) and how planning and real time decisions are made by machines Subjects in aerospace information technology are taught in both the Departments of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science The Capstone Subjects serve to integrate the various disciplines through experimental work and project efforts Two of the Capstone subjects form the Experimental Projects Laboratory, and a third systems design 31 subject is selected from either Flight Vehicle Engineering or Space Systems Engineering The Experimental Projects Laboratory is a year-long course taken in either the junior or senior years which provides the students with the opportunity to conceive, organize, and execute an original experimental project under the supervision of a faculty member Oral and written reporting of the results are required The written project reports are critically reviewed for writing style and exposition by faculty from the School of Humanities and Social Science and serve as one option for satisfying Phase II of the MIT Writing Requirement Finally, the vehicle design subjects (Flight Vehicle Engineering or Space Systems Engineering) require student teams to apply their undergraduate knowledge to the design of an aircraft or spacecraft This provides the students with a real-world exercise in teamwork and the use of their engineering skills to arrive at a viable final design In addition to traditional engineering, students typically must develop business plans and schedules to support their designs Applicability of NASA’s 2004-05 Lunar In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) University Design Competition to the Aero/Astro Department’s Curriculum Central to the Aero/Astro Department’s educational philosophy is the idea of “Conceive, Design, Implement, and Operate” (CDIO) MIT is one of the leaders in using CDIO as a curriculum organizational principle and works with other engineering schools around the world to develop implement CDIO principles and practices The core of the CDIO philosophy is that engineering students should have the opportunity to participate in the development of actual engineering projects from start to finish, through all the C-D-I-O stages The LunarDREEM student team is carrying out exactly such a program as part of the competition (Note: The competition guidelines are not clear about whether or not students will build actual hardware At one point, the guidelines indicate that a working model of the excavation system and of the task chosen by the team will have to be built and operated However, the program for the late-May Lunar ISRU Design Conference Presentation (Cape Canaveral Spaceport) seems to be limited to a presentation of the Detailed Design Review The LunarDREEM team very much wishes to turn their design into a hardware prototype that they can operate and learn how well their design actually works This aspect of the competition needs to be clarified by the organizers.) Supporting Faculty and Other Personnel Faculty Supervisor: Jeffrey A Hoffman – Professor of the Practice, MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics since 2001 1971 Ph.D Harvard (Astrophysics); 1988 M.Sc Rice (Materials Science) Research Staff University of Leicester, UK (1972-1975) and MIT Center for Space Research (1975-1978) 1978-1997 NASA Astronaut, Johnson Space Center (5 space missions; space walks, including the initial rescue/repair of the Hubble Space Telescope) 1997-2001 NASA European Representative, Paris, France “Lunar Extra-Vehicular Activities (EVAs)”, in The Lunar Base Handbook, P Eckart, ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, (1999) Supporting Faculty (advisors): Donald R Sadoway – MIT Professor of Materials Chemistry since 1978 B.A.Sc in Engineering Science, M.A.Sc and Ph.D.in Chemical Metallurgy, University of Toronto NATO postdoctoral fellowship at MIT (1977) >100 scientific papers and holder of 12 U.S patents Basic research interests: electrochemical processes in molten salts, liquefied gases, and polymers Applied research interests: development of high- 32 performance, solid-state, rechargeable lithium batteries and environmentally sound technologies for extracting, refining, and recycling metals Member, Norwegian Academy of Technological Sciences “Electrical Conductivity and Transference Number Measurements of FeO - CaO - MgO - SiO Melts”, A.C Ducret, D Khetpal, and D.R Sadoway Molten Salts, Proc Thirteenth Internat Symp., H.C Delong, R.W Bradshaw, M Matsunaga, G.R Stafford, and P.C Trulove, eds., The Electrochemical Society, Pennington NJ, 2002, pp 347-353 “Transference Number Measurements of TiO - BaO Melts by Stepped-Potential Chronoamperometry”, N.A Fried, K.G Rhoads, and D.R Sadoway, Electrochim Acta, 46 (22), 3351-3358 (2001) Jefferson W Tester – MIT Professor of Chemical Engineering Research interests: renewable and conventional energy extraction and conversion, environmental control technologies >180 scientific papers and books Director, MIT Energy Laboratory (1989-2001) Advisory Board Chair, National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust Member, Energy R&D Panel – President’s Advisory Committee on Science and Technology (1997); advisor to USDOE and National Research Council on concentrating solar power, geothermal energy, and waste minimization and pollution reduction Sustainable Energy – Choosing Among Options, Tester, J.W., E.M Drake, M.W Golay, M.J Driscoll, and W.A Peters, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 850 pages (2004) “Re–evaluation of the deep–drill hole concept for disposing of high–level nuclear wastes”, Kuo, Weng– Sheng, M J Driscoll and J W Tester, Nuclear Science J., 32, 229–248 (1995) Maria T Zuber – MIT Professor and Head of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences She participated in multiple NASA missions to map the Moon, Mars, Mercury, and asteroids She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and recipient of NASA's Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal She served on the President’s Commission on the Implementation of United States Exploration Policy “The crust and mantle of Mars”, Zuber, M.T., Nature, 412, 237-244, (2001) “The shape and internal structure of the Moon from the Clementine mission”, Zuber, M.T., D.E Smith, F.G Lemoine, and G.A Neumann, Science, 266, 1839-1843, (1994) Steven Dubowsky – MIT Professor of Mechanical Engineering His research activities have been principally in the dynamic behavior of nonlinear machines and electromechanical systems His work includes analytical and experimental work based on parameter identification methods to locate the sources of noises and performance-limiting factors in machines He has studied the effects of system elasticity on the dynamics and control-ability mechanisms using advanced structural dynamics techniques More recently, his work has been focused on the planning, control and design of robotic and mechatronic systems This work includes the development of intelligent systems for the elderly, medical devices, space robots and rough terrain system for planetary exploration Dr Dubowsky and his students have developed algorithms for self-learning adaptive control of rigid and flexible robotic manipulators, and for the optimal control and planning of robotic systems Professor Dubowsky is currently the Director of the MIT Mechanical Engineering Field and Space Robotics Laboratory He has been the Associate Director of the Interdepartmental Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity at MIT and was for six years the Head of the Systems and Design Division of the Mechanical Engineering Department His research has been sponsored by a number of industrial firms in the United States, Europe and Asia, as well as NSF, NASA, DARPA, DOE, The US Army, The French agencies EDF and CNRS, the Korean KEPRI, the British SERC, Japan’s NASA, and others He is a Fellow the ASME and IEEE “An Architecture for Distributed Environment Sensing with Application to Robotic Cliff Exploration”, Sujan, V.A., Dubowsky, S., Huntsberger, T., Aghazarian, H., Cheng, Y., and Schenker, P., Autonomous Robots, Vol 33 16, No 3, pp 287-311, (May 2004) “Probabilistic Modeling and Analysis of High-Speed Rough-Terrain Mobile Robots”, Golda, D., Iagnemma, K., and Dubowsky, S., Proceedings of the 2004 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2004), New Orleans, LA, pp 914-919, (April 2004).ndo, FL, Vol 5422, April 2004 Team Journalist: William T.G Litant – MIT Aeronautics and Astronautics Department communications director since 2001 He oversees the department’s communications efforts including electronic and print development and media relations He also develops and leads communications-related seminars and classes for department faculty, students, and staff An accomplished broadcast and print journalist, Mr Litant began his career as a news reporter and announcer at two Syracuse, New York radio stations He has worked in the news department of WBZ television in Boston, been a Boston Globe correspondent, and written for a number of other newspapers and magazines He has worked as a communications specialist with the Raytheon Company, assigned to the U.S Department of Transportation where he wrote, directed, and photographed film and video documentation of DoT research projects He also served the Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation and Construction as a communications specialist for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the Massachusetts Highway Department Immediately prior to coming to MIT, he spent 15 years as the communications director at the Massachusetts Bar Association where he was the editor-in-chief of Lawyers Journal, the largest-circulation legal newspaper in the commonwealth; supervising editor of The Massachusetts Law Review; creator and editor-in-chief of the award-winning first law-related newspaper in the nation for children; producer of a law-themed radio series broadcast by 28 Massachusetts stations; and editor of The Massachusetts Journalist’s Court and Legal Handbook His honors include several American Bar Association Partnership awards, Journalist of the Year Award from the largest county bar association in Massachusetts, an award from the U.S Army for providing legal information to soldiers during Operation Desert Storm, and the first honorary lifetime membership awarded by the National Association of Bar Executives Communications Section He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, the New England Science Writers, and a number of MIT editors and communicators’ groups Mr Litant holds a BFA degree in communications from Emerson College in Boston, has done extensive graduate study in education at Northeastern University, and is a former certified secondary-level English teacher Departmental and Institutional Commitment: Attached is a letter from Professor Wesley Harris, Head of the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, indicating both departmental and institutional support for the LunarDREEM student team participation in the NASA 2004-05 ISRU University Design Competition Also attached is a letter from Ms Lauren Gallant, Aero/Astro Department Administrative Officer, indicating the department’s willingness to support student travel to the Design Conference Presentation Matrix 34 35 36 REFERENCES Allen, Carleton C et al, Oxygen Extraction from Lunar Soils and Pyroclastic Glasses, Journal of Geophysical Research, vol 101, 26085-26095, 1996 Chambers, J G et al, Quantitative Mineralogical Characterization of Lunar High-Ti Mare Basalts and Soils for Oxygen Production, Journal of Geophysical Research, vol 100, 14391-14401, 1995 Chewonki Renewable Hydrogen Project, Advances in On-Site Electrolysis Hydrogen Generation Technology, http://www.chewonkih2.org/docs/PEM%20vs%20Alkaline.pdf, (accessed 2004, November 20) Feldman, W C et al, Polar Hydrogen deposits on the Moon, Journal of Geophysical Research, vol 105, 4175-4195, 2000 Heiken G.; Vaniman D.; French B Lunar Sourcebook – A Users Guide to the Moon Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1991 McKay, David S.; Allen, Carleton C., Hydrogen Reduction of Lunar Materials for Oxygen Extraction on the Moon, AIAA meeting papers, paper 96-0488, 1996 Neubert, J., Lunar Lander Propellant Production for Multiple Site Exploration Mission, MIT Masters Thesis, 2004 Ogiwara, Sachio et al, Study on a Hydrogen-reduced Reactor Design for Lunar Water Production, Space 2000, American Society of Civil Engineers, 2000 Rice, Eric E.; Hermes, Paul A.; Musbah, Omran A., Carbon Based Reduction of Lunar Oxides for Oxygen Production, AIAA meeting papers, paper 97-0890, 1997 Taylor, Lawrence A.; Carrier, W David, Oxygen Production on the Moon: An Overview and Evaluation, Resources of Near Earth Space, pp 69, University of Arizona Press, 1993 Van Vliet, K J., Prchlick, L., and Smith, J F Direct Measurement of Indentation Frame Compliance Private Publication, 1-7, 2003 37 .. .Proposal Cover Page for the 2004-05 ISRU University Design Competition from the MIT LunarDREEM Team (Lunar Demonstration of Resource Extraction from Extraterrestrial Material)... MIT team through an end of the year presentation 28 SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION About the Student Team The student team participating in the ISRU University Design Competition is a part the LunarDREEM. .. experiment design For Fall 2004 and Spring 2005, LunarDREEM has expanded its project scope to enter the 2004-05 NASA ISRU University Design Competition The team is comprised of members from diverse