Masten Space Systems is working on a way to protect future lunar landers from regolith.
What is the essence of the problem
Most of the Moon's surface is covered with regolith,which consists of small dust grains and larger grains formed as a result of the Moon being hit by meteorites for billions of years. In the absence of water or atmosphere, these particles have a sharp, jagged shape, making them extremely tough on anything – from mechanisms to spacesuits.
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It was quite difficult at the time“Apollo”, when the regolith caused equipment to wear out faster than expected, and also posed a danger to the astronauts' lunar module and the experiments they left on the surface. This happens because the explosion from the spacecraft's engine turns each particle into a fragment flying through the vacuum at a speed of 3000 m/s.
That's bad enough for a lunar moduleApollo, which weighed 15 tons when fueled, but landers planned for future missions will weigh between 20 and 60 tons. They would require more powerful engines with much more thrust, meaning that when the rocket explodes a deep crater in the surface, the dust released would be much more dangerous over a much larger area.
And what's the solution
The obvious solution to this problem would beconstruction of landing sites, similar to those and runways used at ground airports, to prevent damage from jet kickback. Unfortunately, this is one of those situations where you cannot land until you build a pad, but you cannot build a pad until you land.
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Developed in collaboration with HoneybeeRobotics, Texas A&M University and the University of Central Florida as part of the Phase 1 NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts award, the In-Flight Alumina Spray Technique (FAST) project has completed a year-long preliminary concept study.
FAST Ceramic Alumina Particlesare injected into the rocket plume during descent. These particles cover the surface, consolidating the regolith into a solid pillow of impressive thickness, which is highly resistant to heat and heat. This protects the vehicle not only during descent, but also during re-takeoff to return to lunar orbit.
Masten says the next step istesting the concept in a lunar environment. If successful, it could significantly reduce the cost of lunar exploration and development, paving the way for new missions not only to the Moon, but also to Mars and other places in the solar system.
Source: masten.aero
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