WCSAR-TR-AR3-9201-3 Apollo 11 Ilmenite Revisited [prepared for Space 92, The Third International Conference on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space, 31 May-4 June 1992, Denver CO]
نویسنده
چکیده
Various investigations have shown (1) that lunar regoliths are extremely complex materials, (2) that ilmenite is a minor component (8 to 10%) of highTi regoliths, and (3) that most of the ilmenite is interlocked with other minerals or glass in regolith particles. A review of polished sections of Apollo regolith samples that I studied in 1970 in general confirms these findings. Beneficiation of regolith will not be easy; there is no certainty that a high-grade ilmenite concentrate can be produced. Magnetic and electrostatic separation have promise for removing much of the roughly one-third of the regolith particles that contain little or no ilmenite. However, further beneficiation by these methods can only be effective if confined to the finest size fractions. Sizing of regolith to remove coarser fractions will therefore be of paramount importance. The problems of large-scale beneficiation need to be addressed, beginning with tests on kilogram-size samples of actual regolith. In view of the critical importance of lunar oxygen production to lunar development, acquisition of large samples of high-Ti regolith should be a top priority for the next lunar mission.
منابع مشابه
WCSAR-TR-AR3-9201-1 In-situ Release of Solar Wind Gases from the Lunar Soil [prepared for Space 92, The Third International Conference on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space, 31 May-4 June 1992, Denver CO]
A concept is described which has the potential to perform the in-situ heating of the lunar regolith in order to release the solar wind gases. The poor thermal conductivity of the lunar soil is increased approximately 100fold by the introduction of an artificial hydrogen atmosphere at 1 atm pressure enclosed in an inflatable structure. The leakage rate of H2 through the soil is minimal because o...
متن کاملWCSAR-TR-AR3-9201-5 Environmental Aspects of Lunar Helium-3 Mining [prepared for Space 92, The Third International Conference on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space, 31 May-4 June 1992, Denver CO]
Three potential detrimental effects of lunar 3He mining have been identified; visual changes, atmospheric contamination, and solid waste disposal. The removal of small craters (<20 m diameter) and the change in the albedo of the surface may cause a slight darkening of the regolith. However, it is not expected that this change will be visible from the Earth even with powerful telescopes. The rel...
متن کاملWCSAR-TR-AR3-9201-2 Lunar He-3 Mining: Improvements on the Design of the UW Mark II Lunar Miner [prepared for Space 92, The Third International Conference on Engineering, Construction, and Operations in Space, 31 May-4 June 1992, Denver CO]
One of the minor constituents of the solar wind which has been implanted in the lunar regolith over its several billion year history, is helium 3 (He-3), a rare isotope of helium which has two protons and a single neutron in its nucleus. Helium 3 is a potential fuel that can be used in near-aneutronic advanced nuclear fusion reactors for generating electric power on earth in a safe and environm...
متن کاملWCSAR-TR-AR3-9311-1 Remote Sensing of Astrofuel [Prepared for Space 94, The 4th International Conference and Exposition on Engineering, Construction and Operations in Space, and The Conference and Exposition/Demonstration on Robotics for Challenging Environments, February 26 - March 3, 1994, Albuquerque NM]
A direct, high-resolution measurement from lunar orbit of the location of high concentrations of 3He in the lunar regolith is needed for the initiation of cost-effective mining operations on the moon. Gamma-ray spectroscopy has been successfully used to map the abundances and distributions of certain elements present in planetary regoliths. Helium-3 is unique among these elements since the gamm...
متن کامل