ROOM
71
Astronautics
A hard landing
occurs at
a speed of
around 2500-
3000 m/
second. In
effect, it can be
thought of as
a crash during
which the
cargo melts
and partially
evaporates
of years, asteroids that contained metals have
bombarded the Moon’s surface. Essentially there
is no real need to chase asteroids and waste
years on a lengthy trip, it’s enough to simply look
under the regolith surface of the Moon for metal
asteroid fragments – and in order to do that a
base is needed.
The true cost
If the cost of delivering cargo to the Moon
becomes equal to the cost of cargo delivery to
asteroids, the shorter travel distance to the Moon
and, respectively, the quicker returns (100 times
quicker on average), will make mining on the Moon
appealing to investors. Luckily, the technology
that would make this possible already exists
and a method to deliver goods without rocket
deceleration has already been tried successfully.
The first cargo shipment delivered to the Moon
was the metal ‘USSR’ ball, dropped by the Luna-2
soviet spacecraft. The landing was hard but that
made it energetically efficient in comparison to
a soft landing that occurs through rocket engine
deceleration. A hard landing occurs at a speed of
around 2500-3000 m/second. In effect, it can
be thought of as a crash, during which the cargo
melts and partially evaporates. However, a hard
landing is preferential for two simple reasons; the
design allows for an increased storage capacity
over soft-landing by three to five times, thus
decreasing the cost of delivery by 70-80%.
Nonetheless, up until recently and perhaps
to be expected, only soft landings have been
considered for spacecraft despite the higher cost,
as the stored rocket fuel significantly decreases
the available cargo space in the rocket. In addition,
the cost for the landing module needed for such a
delivery system is also high. But how necessary is
it to find a way for soft-landing delivery of cargo
when building a base? Does all cargo that requires
the use of heavy rockets need to be delivered in
this expensive manner? With an outlay of $15-30
billion for the creation of one such rocket, perhaps
a more cost-effective solution can be found.
From the ground up
A lot has changed in the last 50 years with
the appearance of additive technology i.e. the
process in which digital 3D design data is used
to build up a component in layers by depositing
material. This negates the need, as some project
developers claim, to deliver assembled equipment
to space bases.
If the extraction of raw materials is
streamlined, 3D printers will be able to print
habitation and technological modules, rocket
engines, fuel tanks and spacecraft in situ –
wherever that may be in space. Thus the cost of
cargo delivery will decrease. However, in order to
build a base using local materials, equipment that
will be able to extract metal, silicon and oxygen
from the surrounding regolith, must first be
delivered to the Moon.
One way to do this is to transport the necessary
raw components from Earth via the hard-landing
method to provide the materials to be used by
3D printers on the Moon. Once built, resources
extracted from the Moon can then be used to
construct everything else. In this proposal, only
the parts necessary for printing base units and
equipment necessary to receive and collect
materials delivered from Earth would need to
be sent in a controlled soft-landing scenario.
Simple materials such as water and hydrocarbons,
necessary as chemical reductant agents for metals
and rocket fuel, as well as aluminium, titanium and
other metals do not need to be delivered using
this costly method and delivery via a hard landing
would be sufficient.
However, implementing and controlling a hard
landing is not that easy. If the cargo is made up
of spheres, much like the Luna-2 sphere, after
the explosion on impact the cargo would be
dissipated over a large area. As a result, it would
be impossible to collect most of the cargo. It is
possible to prevent this explosive dissipation in
a number of ways and, as long as the materials
are collected and accumulated for future use, the
cheaper delivery option would suffice.
One of the simplest methods used with a hard-
landing involves the use of arrow or rod-shaped
An artist illustration of
the Moon Express MX-1
lunar lander on the
surface of the Moon after
a soft landing. The
California-based company
is one of three selected by
NASA for its Lunar Cargo
Transportation and
Landing by Soft
Touchdown (CATALYST)
initiative to advance
lander capabilities that
will enable delivery of
payloads to the lunar
surface.
Moon Express Inc
