XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3 333
designed and deployed on the Moon is focused on scientific
explorations. This style of equipment will need to be scaled
up to develop commercial mines, or significant redesigns
and new prototype testing may be required.
As mentioned, the temperatures in PSR are extremely
cold, some of the coldest regions in the universe. Material
selection for robotic equipment will require multiple trade
studies and physical experiments. “Warm blooded” robots,
those that heat themselves, are an obvious choice. The
ground contacting tools, cutter drums, drills, bucket teeth,
etc. will require careful study to minimize maintenance and
repair. The extremely low temperatures on the Moon also
make the use of hydraulic cylinders for suspensions, and
tool manipulation impossible, as the hydraulic fluid would
freeze.
PSRs are very dark. This will influence the design
of remote operations systems, either tele-operated or
fully autonomous. Profound darkness, depending on the
method of illumination, may impact the precision of video
guidance systems.
In addition to PSR related environmental issue equip-
ment design must also consider all those unique effects
found anywhere on the surface of the Moon. This includes:
• hard vacuum (no atmosphere)
• aggressive dust
• reduced gravity (1/6th of Earth gravity)
• extreme temperature range
• micro-meteor impact
• high levels of ionizing radiation
• no magnetic field
• electrostatic effects
The first four of the effects listed will have a distinct impact
on lunar equipment design. A few examples of these are
discussed below.
The lack of a lunar atmosphere will affect heat ejection
from any ore extraction or processing equipment. When
there is no atmosphere, convective cooling cannot take
place. This limits heat removal to radiant cooling, which
must be considered in equipment design.
The Apollo missions highlighted the impact of lunar
dust on surface operations on the Moon. The iconic photo
of Apollo 17 Commander Eugene Cernan,14 Figure 6,
shows the results of less than 24 hours of working on the
Moon. The dust is extremely angular with barbed shapes,15
as shown in Figure 6, making it detrimental to exposed
equipment as well as humans.
Reduced gravity may have both beneficial and detri-
mental affects on equipment design. For hauling and lift-
ing activities reduced gravity may prove to be a benefit.
However, for extraction, a reduced gravity means lower
break out forces by the ground contacting tool. Reduced
gravity also results in lower traction between wheels and/or
tracks during vehicle maneuvering.
The geology of the PSR deposit will also affect the effi-
ciency of ore extraction. The geology of the Moon is influ-
enced by two primary processes, vulcanism and meteor
impact. The age of volcanic activity ended many millions
of years ago and will not be a consideration in character-
izing the ore deposits in PSRs. Meteor impact is the domi-
nant geological process. Meteors provide much if not all
of the water ice to be found in a PSR. They also produce
blankets of impact ejecta which will be layered in with the
Figure 5. Phase diagram for water
designed and deployed on the Moon is focused on scientific
explorations. This style of equipment will need to be scaled
up to develop commercial mines, or significant redesigns
and new prototype testing may be required.
As mentioned, the temperatures in PSR are extremely
cold, some of the coldest regions in the universe. Material
selection for robotic equipment will require multiple trade
studies and physical experiments. “Warm blooded” robots,
those that heat themselves, are an obvious choice. The
ground contacting tools, cutter drums, drills, bucket teeth,
etc. will require careful study to minimize maintenance and
repair. The extremely low temperatures on the Moon also
make the use of hydraulic cylinders for suspensions, and
tool manipulation impossible, as the hydraulic fluid would
freeze.
PSRs are very dark. This will influence the design
of remote operations systems, either tele-operated or
fully autonomous. Profound darkness, depending on the
method of illumination, may impact the precision of video
guidance systems.
In addition to PSR related environmental issue equip-
ment design must also consider all those unique effects
found anywhere on the surface of the Moon. This includes:
• hard vacuum (no atmosphere)
• aggressive dust
• reduced gravity (1/6th of Earth gravity)
• extreme temperature range
• micro-meteor impact
• high levels of ionizing radiation
• no magnetic field
• electrostatic effects
The first four of the effects listed will have a distinct impact
on lunar equipment design. A few examples of these are
discussed below.
The lack of a lunar atmosphere will affect heat ejection
from any ore extraction or processing equipment. When
there is no atmosphere, convective cooling cannot take
place. This limits heat removal to radiant cooling, which
must be considered in equipment design.
The Apollo missions highlighted the impact of lunar
dust on surface operations on the Moon. The iconic photo
of Apollo 17 Commander Eugene Cernan,14 Figure 6,
shows the results of less than 24 hours of working on the
Moon. The dust is extremely angular with barbed shapes,15
as shown in Figure 6, making it detrimental to exposed
equipment as well as humans.
Reduced gravity may have both beneficial and detri-
mental affects on equipment design. For hauling and lift-
ing activities reduced gravity may prove to be a benefit.
However, for extraction, a reduced gravity means lower
break out forces by the ground contacting tool. Reduced
gravity also results in lower traction between wheels and/or
tracks during vehicle maneuvering.
The geology of the PSR deposit will also affect the effi-
ciency of ore extraction. The geology of the Moon is influ-
enced by two primary processes, vulcanism and meteor
impact. The age of volcanic activity ended many millions
of years ago and will not be a consideration in character-
izing the ore deposits in PSRs. Meteor impact is the domi-
nant geological process. Meteors provide much if not all
of the water ice to be found in a PSR. They also produce
blankets of impact ejecta which will be layered in with the
Figure 5. Phase diagram for water