Solar Thermal Power for Lunar Materials Processing |
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Authors: | Takashi Nakamura Constance L Senior |
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Affiliation: | 1Area Manager, Space Exploration Technologies, Physical Sciences Inc., 2210 Omega Rd., Ste. D, San Ramon, CA 94583. E-mail: nakamura@psicorp.com 2Manager, Engineering R&D, Reaction Engineering Int., 77 W. 200 S., Salt Lake City, UT 84101. E-mail: senior@reaction-eng.com
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Abstract: | Lunar in situ resource utilization (ISRU) processes require thermal energy at various temperatures. Chemical recovery processes (pyrolysis, gas-solid reactions, gas-liquid or three-phase reactions and desorption) require thermal energy at temperatures from 1,000?K?to?2,500?K. Manufacturing processes (hot liquid processing, sinter forming, composite forming, welding, etc.) can be accomplished with thermal energy at temperatures 1,200?K–1,800?K. For these materials, process applications or solar thermal power can be effectively utilized. Physical Sciences Inc. has been developing an innovative solar power system in which solar radiation is collected by the concentrator, which transfers the concentrated solar radiation to the optical waveguide transmission line made of low loss optical fiber. In this paper, we will review our work on the development of the solar thermal power system and its application to a lunar ISRU process. |
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Keywords: | Solar energy Fiber optics Thermal energy Oxygen Manufacturing Space exploration Space colonies Moon |
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