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With all the interest in returning to the Moon to build permanent human habitats, there is the question of what will be used for building materials. The Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Space Research Organization have developed a sustainable process for making bricks on the Moon. It makes use of lunar soil, bacteria and guar beans to consolidate the soil into possible load-bearing structures. These space bricks could eventually be used to create structures for human habitation on the Moon’s surface.
      Aloke Kumar is Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, IISc and one of the authors of two studies recently published in Ceramics International and PLOS One. He said, “It is really exciting because it brings two different fields—biology and mechanical engineering—together.”
     The current cost of sending a pound of payload to outer space is about ten thousand dollars. The process developed by the IISc and ISRO researchers makes use of urea which can be sourced from human urine and lunar soil as raw materials for constructions on the lunar surface. This would decrease expenditures for lunar construction a great deal. The process also has a lower carbon footprint because it uses guar gum instead of cement for support. The guar beans could be grown in greenhouses on the Moon.
     Some micro-organisms can produce minerals. Sporosarcina pasteurii is a bacterium which produces calcium carbonate crystals through a metabolic pathway called the ureolytic cycle. Calcium and urea are consumed and crystals form as a byproduct of this metabolic pathway. Kuman says, “Living organisms have been involved in such mineral precipitation since the dawn of the Cambrian period, and modern science has now found a use for them.”
      The IISc and the ISRO teamed up to exploit this bacterium.  First, they mixed the Sporosarcina pasteurii bacterium with a simulated lunar soil. Then they added the urea and calcium sources along with gum extracted from locally-sourced guar beans. The guar gum increased the strength of the material by functioning as a scaffold for the precipitation of carbonate. The mixture was incubated for a few days. After that time, it was found to have significant strength and machinability.
      Koushik Viswanathan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at IISc and another author of the published articles. He said, “Our material could be fabricated into any freeform shape using a simple lathe. This is advantageous because this completely circumvents the need for specialized molds—a common problem when trying to make a variety of shapes by casting. This capability could also be exploited to make intricate interlocking structures for construction on the moon, without the need for additional fastening mechanisms.”
      The PLOS One study was conceived by Rashmi Dikshit who is a DBT-BioCARe Fellow at the IISc. The study also investigated the use of other locally available soil bacteria to replace the Sporosarcina pasteurii. Following tests on different soil samples in Bangalore, the researchers found an ideal candidate with similar properties. This bacterium is Bacillus velezensis. A small vial of Sporosarcina pasteurii costs almost seven hundred dollars while a vial of Bacillus velezensis is under seventy dollars.
     The authors of the studies believe that this is the first significant step toward the constructions of building in space. Kumar said, “We have quite a distance to go before we look at extra-terrestrial habitats. Our next step is to make larger bricks with a more automated and parallel production process,” says Kumar. “Simultaneously, we would also like to further enhance the strength of these bricks and test them under varied loading conditions like impacts and possibly moonquakes.”

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     According to a new paper published in Nature Communications, a team of European researchers think that they have found a solution to the tracking problem. Michael Steindorfer is a space debris researcher from the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the leader of a research team. They have discovered a way to visualize space debris during daylight against a blue sky background. They do not measure reflected sunlight the way that current laser tracking systems do. Instead, the new daylight technique uses a specialized filter, telescope, and camera system to observe stars in the sky during daylight when stars are ten times more difficult to see. This gives the observer a background that contasts with the space junk. The debris reflect light more brightly since they are closer to the Earth than the stars. The team designed new software that automatically corrects object location prediction in real time more accurately than previous systems.
     The team tested out this new ‘daylight system” during the daytime on the bodies of four different rockets moving in orbit just over six hundred miles above the surface of the Earth. The altitudes of the four objects were determined with in one yard. They later validated the accuracy of their system through the observation of forty other objects in orbit. The researchers believe that their new daylight system can make a laser ranger system much more accurate for between six and twenty two hours a day depending on the season of the year. It should be easy for a tracking station to set up and use such a system.
     There are some problems with tracking observation in daylight. Steindorfer admits that reflections from other objects could easily interfere with debris tracking. Both the hardware and software will need to be improved to reduce inaccurate predictions. He argues that his whole system should be considered as a continuing work in progress. Frueh, who did not work on the new study, has also pointed out that daylight tracking is already possible with radar. Daylight optical observations have been used to detect the movement of bright space junk.
      Steindorfer is more optimistic about the impact of the new daylight system for tracking space debris. He believes that it could help establish a more organized network of debris tracking station around the world. These stations could work together in a way that “significantly improves orbital predictions and provides better warnings of possible collisions, or even inform future space debris removal missions.” In view of how bad the space junk problem is getting, any new solutions are important to explore.
     One idea that may help with optical tracking systems would be to coat launch vehicle components with materials that are highly reflective. This would increase the amount of light reflected. In addition, it may be possible to design the coating material in such a way that it will alter the reflected beam and increase the ability of the system to positively identify an object as definitely a piece of space debris.

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      I have blogged before about space junk. There is a huge shell of debris surrounding the Earth left over from decades of the space race. More than half a million pieces are being tracked by radar. These pieces are the size of a baseball or larger. There are millions of pieces that are too small to track with current technology. This junk is whizzing around the world at over twenty-two thousand miles per hour. At that speed, even a bolt can put a hole in a spacecraft.
     There have been predictions that if we do not find a way to diminish the amount of junk accompanying a launch and/or remove the junk already in orbit, the day may come when it is no longer possible to get a spacecraft into orbit without it being riddled by the debris in orbit. One major concern is that if the pieces of space junk collide with each other, they may start a chain reaction of collision and multiplication of fragments.
     More satellites are being launched every year. There are only a couple thousand operational satellites in orbit now but there are plans to launch tens of thousands of satellites in the near future.
     The current way that space junk is being tracked is with radar or lasers. Lasers can be bounced off bits of debris and the returned light analyzed to measure the distance to the object. Earth ground crews can measure how long that it will take them to get where they are going and alert the crew to possible collisions with pieces debris. This laser tracking approach has been used for tracking operation satellites for years.
     Carolin Frueh is an astrodynamics expert at Purdue University. She said, “… with tracking space debris, the situation is different. Space junk doesn’t stay in a stable orbit. It will start to tumble and pick up potentially rapid attitude motion, so it is not well oriented.” Laser detections will appear a lot more random for space debris that for satellites. More continuous observations are needed to really predict where the debris is going.
      Laser ranging can only give you a location window that is up to several thousand miles in distance. In order to obtain better predictions, debris trackers can also measure the reflection of sunlight which allows analysts to narrow the window to a few yards. However, these sunlight reflections are only observable around dawn or twilight when the ground stations are still in the dark but the satellites are illuminated by the rising sun.
      A new approach to tracking space debris must be found soon if we are to be able to continue to launch spacecraft into Earth orbit and beyond. Beyond tracking, ways must be found to deorbit or burn up space debris. There are a number of research projects about how to do this. Some of these have been tested and more are on the way but none of them have been selected for wide implementation. Regardless of ultimate solutions to the space debris problem, accurate tracking will be critical.
Please read Part 2 next

Spaceflight Inc. has announced that it will launch a new Orbital Transfer Vehicle called the Sherpa-FX on a dedicated rideshare mission on a SpaceX Falcon rocket. This is the first of a planned next-generation of transfer vehicles being develop by Spaceflight Inc. The Sherpa is a next-generation transfer vehicle capable of multiple deployments which provide independent deployment telemetry. It also features a flexible payload interface. It is based on the design of the Sherpa payload adapter which was utilized on the SSO-A in December of 2018. On this mission, it successfully delivered sixty-four different spacecraft to Earth orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
     The Sherpa vehicle allows multiple small and micro satellites to be deployed simultaneously into multiple Earth orbits. The Sherpa-FX is the first member of Spaceflight’s Sherpa-Next Generation program which will ultimately comprise a whole family of new space vehicles. 
     The Sherpa-FX will be launched on a fully dedicated rideshare mission on a Falcon 9 rocket. This Sherpa mission, dubbed SXRS-3, will carry sixteen spacecraft for a variety of different organizations. Customers include iQPS Inc, Loft Orbital, HawkEye 360, NASA, Astrocast, and the University of South Florida. The Shepa will also carry multiple hosted payloads for customers including Celestis Inc, NearSpace Launch, Keplerian Technologies, Tiger Innovations, and Space Domain Awareness Inc.  Many of these hosted payloads are intended to be technology demonstrations that are designed to help identify and track spacecraft that have been previously deployed. There technologies will assist Spaceflight customers to mitigate space congestion and provide the foundation for effective and responsible space  traffic management.
      Grant Bonin is the senior vice president of business development for Spaceflight Inc. “Spaceflight is committed to providing unmatched launch flexibility for customers — whether that’s re-manifesting on a different vehicle due to delays, deployments to exotic or special orbits, or the ability to fly and operate hosted payloads.”
     “In-space transportation is essential to meeting our customer’s specific needs to get their spacecraft delivered to orbit exactly when and where they want it. If you think of typical rideshare as sharing a seat on a train headed to a popular destination, our next-generation Sherpa program enables us to provide a more complete ‘door-to-door transportation service.’”
      The SXRS-3 mission is the third of three planned SpaceX rideshare missions that were announced in April of 2019. The first mission, SXRS-1 will launch a pair of BlackSky Earth Observation satellites with the tenths batch of the Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral, Florida after July of this year. A multiple launch agreement between Spaceflight and SpaceX was announced in June of this year which is the second of the SXRS missions.
     The SXRS-3 mission will fly on the SpaceX SSO-1 launch no earlier than December of this year. SSO-1 is the first of many dedicated rideshare mission to Sun Synchronous Orbit that SpaceX is launching under their rideshare program. This program allows low-cost rides to space on a Falcon 9 rocket. There will be missions to both SSO and secondary payloads on Starlink missions to Low Earth Orbit.
    Curt Blake is the president, and CEO of Spaceflight. “We aim to make getting to space easier, faster, and with more reliability than ever before. To do that, we have to build flexibility into everything we offer — from our contracting practices to integration processes that enable spacecraft to move seamlessly between launch vehicles, to providing customers with a wide range of mission services. Now we’re solving some of the industry’s most pressing challenges by providing greater spacecraft management awareness and customized orbital delivery. We couldn’t be more excited to expand our comprehensive suite of launch services to support our customers’ mission needs.”

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    Bodily fluids will also behave differently while in space or on the surface of the Moon or Mars. The blood circulating in veins may adhere to surgical instruments because of surface tension. Floating droplets of body fluids may form streams that could block the surgeons view of the surgical field. Circulating air present in an enclosed cabin may also raise the risk of infection. Surgical bubbles for procedures and blood-repelling surgical tools may be the best solution.
    Researchers have already developed and tested a variety of surgical enclosures in microgravity environments. NASA has evaluated a closed system consisting of a surgical clear plastic overhead canopy with ports for the surgeons arms which would prevent contamination.
     When in orbit or settled on Mars, we would need a “traumapod” which would include radiation shielding, surgical robots, advanced life support and restraints. This would be a dedicated module with a filtered air supply and a dedicated computer that would be able to aid in diagnosis and treatment.
    The surgeries that have been carried out in space so far have indicated that a large amount of equipment will be necessary. This might be a luxury that a crew of astronauts would not have on a virgin voyage to Mars. You cannot take much equipment on a rocket. It has been suggested that a solution to this problem may be the use of a 3-D printer that could use native materials found on the surface of Mars to construct required surgical tools.
     Tools that have been 3-D printed have already been successfully tested by a crew with no prior surgical experience. A task was performed that was similar to surgery by cutting and suturing materials instead of an actual body. It turned out that there was no substantial difference between the time to completion with conventional surgical tools as opposed to the time required for 3-D printed surgical instruments such as towel clamps, scalpel handles and toothed forceps.
     Robotic surgery is another option that is routinely practiced on Earth and has been tested for manned planetary excursions. There is an underwater habitat called Aquarius located in the Florida Keys and operated by NASA. During a series of missions dubbed NEEMO 7 in the Aquarius habitat, a robot surgeon controlled remotely from another lab was used to successfully remove a gallbladder and kidney stone from a fake human body. However, operations performed on space mission by robots controlled by human surgeons on Earth may encounter difficulties due to communication lag times. A better option would be to have robot surgeon that were autonomous.
     There is a great deal of research and preparation for the possible event of a surgical emergency on a mission to Mars. However, there are many unknowns, especially when considering diagnostics and anesthesia. In the end, prevention is better than surgery. Selecting healthy crew members and developing the necessary engineering solutions that will be required to protect them in space will be critical.

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     Earlier this year, it was reported that an astronaut in orbit had developed a blood clot in his neck that was potentially life threatening. Doctors on Earth suggested a medication that solved the problem, so surgery was not necessary. Space agencies and private space companies have committed to landing human beings on the Moon and in Mars in the near future. There may come a time when it is necessary to carry out surgical procedures in space or on other bodies in the solar system such as Mars.
    Emergencies that require surgery are considered to be one of the main challenges when it comes to humans in space. Space researchers have been developing a varieties of ideas that could assist such surgeries from surgical robots to 3-D printers.
    When Mars is closest to Earth, it is still over thirty-four million miles away. For comparison, the International Space Station in Earth orbit is only about two hundred and fifty miles from the surface. If a medical emergency develops in the ISS, the current procedure is to stabilize the patient and return them to Earth. Telecommunication between the ISS and the Earth provides support for this procedure. However, if there is an emergency on Mars, evacuation to Earth could take years and there is a telecommunication time lag of more than  twenty minutes between the Earth and Mars which would impede assistance from experts on Earth.
    The transit to and from Mar will include microgravity, high radiation levels and an enclosed pressurized cabin or suit. These factors are tough on the bodies of astronauts and take time for adaptation. We have already learned that space travel has an effect on the cells in astronauts’ bodies, blood pressure regulation and heart performance. It also affects the distribution of fluids in the human body and weakens muscles and bone. Considering surgery, an injured or ill astronaut would already have a physiological disadvantage.
    How likely is it that an astronaut would actually need surgery? For a crew of seven people, there have been estimates that there will be on average, one surgical emergency every two and half years during a Mars mission. The main probable causes of the need for surgery include injury, appendicitis, gallbladder inflammation or cancer.  When astronauts are selected, they receive extensive medical screening. However, surgical emergencies can occur in very health people and might be exacerbated in the extreme environment that exists in space.
     Surgery is microgravity has already been tested but not yet on humans. Astronauts have managed to repair the tails of rats and perform laparoscopy on animals while in microgravity. Laparoscopy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that can be used to perform examinations and repairs on the organs inside the abdomen. These experimental surgeries have already led to new innovations and improvements. Magnetized surgical tools have been developed that will stick to the operating table and restraints for the astronaut performing the procedures and the patient.
     One problem that has been found is that when the body cavity is opened, the intestines would float around, blocking complete view of the surgical field. One solution to this would be to opt for minimally invasive surgical techniques such as keyhole surgery. In this type of procedure, work is carried out through small incisions using a camera and instruments.
     A laparoscopy was recently carried out on a model of a human abdomen during a parabolic “zero gravity” flight in which surgeons were able to successfully stop traumatic bleeding. But the surgeons did warn that it would be psychologically difficult to carry out such a procedure on a crew mate on an actual space mission.
Please read Part 2 next

     NASA has funded massive projects to get us into space. But they also fund much smaller projects to help flesh out a major new private space industry sector. NASA has just announced that they intend to fund more than four hundred ideas from small businesses that are aimed at developing technologies ranging from toilets for use on the Moon to AI-based medical assistants for astronauts on Mars.
     These contracts will distribute about fifty-one million dollars to three hundred twelve small businesses in forty four states and Washington, D.C. They will support the development of technologies that could be very useful for space exploration or Earth-based applications.
     Jim Reuter is the associate administrator for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. He said in a press release, “NASA depends on America’s small businesses for innovative technology development that helps us achieve our wide variety of missions. Whether we’re landing Artemis astronauts on the Moon, sending rovers to Mars or developing next-generation aircraft, our small business partners play an important role.”
      Six businesses in the state of Washington are among the recipients of the Phase 1 contracts under the umbrella of NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program. Two more teams consisting of pairings of businesses and universities will receive Phase 1 contracts from NASA’s Small Business Technology Transfer program. Each contract is worth up to one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars. The SBIR contracts last for six months. The STTR contracts last for thirteen months. Depending on their progress, the companies in Phase 1 could obtain additional support during follow-up SBIR/STTR phases.
      Here are the SBIR Washington State projects:
     Jeeva Wireless in Seattle is developing protocols for an ultra-low-power backscatter networking platform. This platform will be able to synchronize timestamping on a scale of microseconds between sensors and a wireless hub/aggregator. This system could be useful for flight tests and avionics, medical monitoring and other application where time synchronization is critical.
     Off Planet Research in Lacy is developing a self-cleaning dustproof fitting that could be used to transfer gas or fluids on the Moon, Mars or other worlds. This type of fitting would be well-suited for use in ultra-cold, permanently shadowed regions of the Moon. They could also be used as leakproof plumbing fixtures for the processing of hazardous chemicals, oil or gas in dusty locations on Earth.
     Okean Solutions in Seattle is creating a compact software package with reliable and robust fault management capabilities. This system is called the Model-based Off-Nominal State Identification and Detection program. This software could be used to manage the flow of propellants in cryogenic test labs or high-pressure gas facilities, or for space propulsion systems.
     Retrocausal in Redmond is incorporating machine learning and computer vision into a system that can automatically build computational models of a complex physical task. The system could act as “an extra pair of trained eyes” to assist astronauts on Mars with medical operations or other procedures, or for training physicians or nurses when learning procedures on Earth.
     Sequoia Scientific in Bellevue is assessing the feasibility of a new submersible imaging device for analyzing ocean color and biogeochemistry. The hyperspectral absorption spectrophotometer could provide greater accuracy and resolution than existing in-water sensors. It may provide validation for future NASA ocean-color missions.
     Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation – Space in Seattle is developing a next-generation insulator for nuclear thermal propulsion systems. In addition to the space propulsion application, the technology could be used in nuclear reactors in space on in remote regions in Earth.
      Here are the STTR Washington State projects:
      Convergent Manufacturing Technologies US in Seattle is partnering with the University of Washington on a process simulation tool for thin-ply composites. This technology could be used to optimize the process of creating composites for a wide range of structures on Earth and in space.
      CubCrafters in Yakima is partnering with Oregon State University on an electric short-takeoff-and-landing technology. This system combines leading-edge slats with a series of small electric ducted fans that accelerate the air between the slat and the airfoil. The technology could be used on CubCrafter aircraft or other STOL air vehicles.

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    The more complex an object in orbit is, the harder it is estimate or understand what the object looks like with the use of light curves. The results of analysis can be ambiguous. Part of a satellite could be casting a shadow on another part which might show up in the analysis as damage. It so mathematically complex to identify and characterize man-made objects in space that most researchers do not use this technique to examine satellites.
    Researchers do use this technique to study asteroids. Asteroids are natural bodies and have less diverse materials on their surfaces than satellites. They also have fewer sharp edges. This makes the math simpler than the math needed for satellite analysis. However, even partial answers from light curve analysis could provide valuable information about the condition of a satellite.
    In 2015, Freuh’s lab observed a mysterious object that was named WT1190F using the Purdue Optical Ground Station telescope. She and her team found from their analysis of the light curves and associated modeling that the object must be man-made and that it might be a piece of a missing Apollo 10 lunar module. That mission had been part of a test run prior to the Apollo 11 landing in 1969. A team of astronomers confirmed the findings of Freuh’s team that the object was, indeed, a piece of the Apollo 10 lunar module. This successful identification and other tests suggest that light curves could be used to improve space object identification.
    Freuh said, “It matters when we can say with 80% certainty what an object is, even though getting that answer can be extremely difficult. It would be far less helpful, but easier, to give a hundred different answers for what an object is, all with about 1% probability.” Freuh’s lab is working to improve the success rate of light curve identification and characterization of both simple and complex objects in space.
     Their goal is that in five to ten years, their technique could reliably assist a satellite operator by providing full shape and rotation models even if there is no other information about the object being studied. These models should more clearly show the different materials on the surface of the object which will make them easier to identify. Funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Freuh is developing ways to utilize light curves to increase knowledge of man-made objects in the absence of any information from a satellite operator.
    Information that light curves provide about satellites could also improve how satellites are designed in the future. Freuh’s laboratory has identified objects in orbit around the Earth that appear to the gold foil of satellites flaking off over time. These flakes could create tiny objects that would pose dangers to satellites and be extremely difficult to track. Freuh said, “The whole idea is improving space situational awareness.”
    The new techniques of light curve analysis developed by Freuh and her team will be a welcome addition to researchers who are tracking and analyzing objects in orbit around the Earth.

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   Carolin Frueh a professor at Purdue University’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics. She is one of only a few researchers who are working with a complex technique that can diagnose problems with satellites from thousands of miles away based on the way that sunlight is reflected from the satellite. She says, “While you’re driving a car, you can’t get out of the car to check if something has fallen off or gotten damaged. But you know that there might be a problem. An operator might notice that a satellite is unstable or not charging properly. An outside perspective can tell if it’s because something broke off, or if a panel or antenna is not properly oriented, for example.”
    When a satellite develops a problem, failure to recognize there is a problem and diagnose it increases the possibility of losing contact or not being able to reestablish communication with the satellite. If communication is lost permanently, the satellite could disintegrate and become a cloud of debris that might stay in orbit for hundreds of years or even indefinitely if not removed. This space junk is a major danger to other spacecraft. There are over a hundred thousand pieces of debris that are bigger than a penny currently orbiting the Earth. The U.S. Strategic Command maintains a database of these pieces of debris.
    The vacuum of space immediately puts stress on any satellite that is launched. The constant transition between the deep cold of the shadow of the Earth and the extreme heat of direct sunlight also cause damage as time passes.
    Freuh says, “You know everything about a satellite when it’s on the ground. But that configuration changes because, to carry the satellite up, parts of it need to be folded in. Once in space, you want the panels unfolded, stably oriented toward the sun and the antenna pointed toward Earth. The longer a satellite is out there, the less you know about it.”
    Satellites are almost always in direct sunlight and are only shaded by the Earth for short periods. It turns out that light reflected by the satellite can help reveal possible solutions to structural malfunctions. The method depends on the use of telescopes on Earth to collect the light reflected by the whole satellite or one specific part. Satellites are very distant from the telescopes and usually appear as just a dot in the sky. Changes in the brightness of a satellite are recorded as light curves. These light curves are then subjected to processing software and information about the appearance of the satellite or its rotational state is revealed.
    Radar has been used in the past to examine satellites and, if conditions are just right and the satellite is in low orbit, radar can provide a lot of information. Light curves could become a cheaper and more practical way to identify problems with satellites. Light curves can provide useful information regardless of the distance of the satellite from the telescope. Light curves passively rely on reflected sunlight where radar has to actively illuminate the satellite it is examining.
Please read Part 2 next

There is a lot of water on Earth although in some countries, it is getting harder to access. Water will be needed for many things in the exploration and exploitation of space including drinking water, hydroponic agriculture, and splitting into oxygen and hydrogen for rocket fuel. It is expensive to launch anything into space at this stage of our launch technology. A source of water that is already in space would be a boon.
    The Moon holds a lot of frozen water in various deposits. This is one of the main motivations for a return to the Moon being planned by space-faring nations including the U.S. The push is on to establish a permanent manned lunar base.
     Jim Bridenstine is the administrator of NASA, the U.S. space agency. Earlier this week, he spoke about how the U.S. was planning on accessing lunar water. He tweeted that “for the Artemis Moon base, NASA will establish a cost per ton delivered and once again let private companies innovate.”
     The current goal of NASA is to get astronauts back to the Moon for a limited mission by the end of 2024 but skeptics say that this is unlikely. The viability of the dream of lunar settlement also depends on exactly how the ice is distributed on the Moon. So far, ice on the Moon has only been identified by remote sensors.
    Multiple space faring nations have plans to land a series of lunar rovers on the Moon in the next few years. One of their tasks is to directly explore ice deposits. Today, NASA announced that a U.S. company named Astrobotic has just received a two hundred-million-dollar grant to transport a NASA lunar rover called Volatile Investigating Polar Exploring Rover to the Moon in 2023.
    The chemicals now being used to propel rockets are widely available on Earth but getting them into low Earth orbit raises their costs. Getting them all the way out to geosynchronous orbits pushes their price even higher. Taking fuels to a Lagrange point between the Earth and Moon where a future space station is being planned or all the way to the Moon makes them very expensive.
    If fuels could be obtained on the Moon, they could be moved to Earth orbits relatively cheaply. If there was a market for lunar propellants, it would make it less expensive and more efficient to operate large satellites and space station by refueling them in space instead of having them carry fifteen years’ worth of propellant with them when they are launched. Such a system would yield many benefits for life on Earth. These include improved satellite internet and navigation services, better remote sensing of weather patterns, monitoring climate change and economic activities. There is also the prospect for the manufacture of new substances and materials made possible by zero gravity. It could also reduce the cost of operating the International Space Station, enable permanent lunar bases and make missions to Mars a lot cheaper.
    The Space Resources Round Table carried out an analysis that offers a suggestion of how much it costs to produce and transport liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to various points. The challenge will be in getting the market set up. The capital investment needed to create the infrastructure to extract water from lunar ice will be enormous and there are no buyers at present.
     If NASA follows through with Bridenstine’s plans by stating that they will pay $X for propellant delivered to location Y, that might supply hypothetical lunar mining entrepreneurs with the market that they require to get their businesses off the ground. It would also encourage private propellant buyers to make their own plans to utilize these resources.
    This model would be an adaptation of the commercial crew program that just saw SpaceX carry astronauts to the ISS on the cheapest spacecraft ever constructed in the U.S. The model consists of telling the market what you need and letting the market provide it rather than developing a one-shot super expensive NASA-led program. It has proven to be a very effective strategy for replicating past NASA accomplishments quickly and efficiently. Hopefully it can help us develop refueling stations in space.