HR: 0800h
AN: P51B-0485    [Abstracts]
TI: Polar Lunar Regions: Exploiting Natural and Augmented Thermal Environments
AU: Ryan, R E
EM: robert.e.ryan@nasa.gov
AF: Science Systems and Applications, Inc., Building 1105 Stennis Space Center, Stennis, MS 39525,
AU: McKellip, R C
EM: rodney.d.mckellip@nasa.gov
AF: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Building 1100 Stennis Space Center, Stennis, MS 39525,
AU: Brannon, D P
EM: david.p.brannon@nasa.gov
AF: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Building 1100 Stennis Space Center, Stennis, MS 39525,
AU: * Underwood, L W
EM: lauren.w.underwood@nasa.gov
AF: Science Systems and Applications, Inc., Building 1105 Stennis Space Center, Stennis, MS 39525,
AU: Russell, K J
EM: kristen.j.russell@aero.org
AF: The Aerospace Corporation, 15049 Conference Center Drive, CH3-230, Chantilly, VA 20151,
AB: In polar regions of the Moon, there are areas within craters that are permanently shadowed from solar illumination, which can reach temperatures of 100K or less. These regions could serve as cold traps, capturing ice and other volatile compounds. These potential ice stores have many applications for lunar exploration. Within double-shaded craters, even colder regions exist, with temperatures never exceeding 50K in many cases. Temperatures observed in theses regions suggest that they could enable equivalent liquid nitrogen cryogenic functions. These permanently shaded polar craters also offer unprecedented high vacuum cryogenic environments, which in their current state could support cryogenic applications. The unique conditions at the lunar poles, besides ice stores, harbor an environment that provides an opportunity to reduce the power, weight and total mass that needs to be carried from the Earth to the moon for lunar exploration and research. Reducing the heat flux of geothermal, black body radiation can have significant impacts on the achievable temperature. With a few man-made augmentations, permanently shaded craters located near the lunar poles achieve temperatures even lower than those that naturally exist there. Our analysis reveals that lightweight thermal shielding, within shaded craters, could create an environment several Kelvin above absolute zero. The temperature ranges of naturally shaded craters and thermally augmented ones could enable the long-term storage of most gases, low temperature superconductors for large magnetic fields, devices and advanced high speed computing instruments. Augmenting thermal conditions in these craters could then be used as a basis for the development of an advanced thermal management architecture that would support a wide variety of cryogenically based applications. Lunar exploration and habitation capabilities would significantly benefit if permanently shaded craters, augmented with thermal shielding, were to be used to facilitate the operation of near absolute zero instruments, including wide variety of cryogenically based propulsion, energy, communication, sensing and computing devices. Potentially, the required burden of carrying massive life-supporting components from the Earth to the moon for lunar exploration and research could be reduced.
DE: 5422 Ices
DE: 5462 Polar regions
DE: 5470 Surface materials and properties
DE: 5494 Instruments and techniques
DE: 6250 Moon (1221)
SC: Planetary Sciences [P]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting