Resource availability at Taurus-Littrow

Early lunar technologies will probably use a common lunar material as ore. They will be robust to minor fluctuations in feedstock composition and will not require appreciable feedstock beneficiation such as rock grinding or mineral concentration. Technologies using unprocessed soil and indifferent to its composition will have the advantage. Nevertheless, the size and grade of the ore body must be confirmed for even the most indiscriminate process. Simple uses such as heaping unprocessed lunar soil for thermal insulation or radiation shielding onto a habitat require that we know the depth of the regolith, the size distributions of its soils, the locations of large boulders, and the ease of excavation. Costs of detailed site surveys trade against restrictions on site selection and conservative engineering design to accommodate unknown conditions of a poorly explored site. Given the above considerations, we consider briefly some abundant lunar materials, their proposed uses, and technologies for their preparation, with particular attention to the Taurus-Littrow site

Oxygen and iron production by electrolytic smelting of lunar soil

Oxygen, present in abundance in nearly all lunar materials, can theoretically be extracted by molten silicate electrolysis from any known lunar rock. Derivation of oxygen by this method has been amply demonstrated experimentally in silicate melts of a variety of compositions. This work can be divided into three categories: (1) measurement of solubilities of metals (atomic) in silicate melts; (2) electrolysis experiments under various conditions of temperature, container material, electrode configuration, current density, melt composition, and sample mass (100 to 2000 mg) measuring energy required and character of resulting products; and (3) theoretical assessment of compositional requirements for steady state operations of an electrolysis cell

Oxygen and iron production by electrolytic smelting of lunar soil

Work during the past year involved two aspects: (1) electrolysis experiments on a larger scale than done before, and (2) collaboration with Carbotek Inc. on design for a lunar magma electrolysis cell. It was demonstrated previously that oxygen can be produced by direct electrolysis of silicate melts. Previous experiments using 50-100 mg of melt have succeeded in measuring melt resistivities, oxygen production efficiencies, and have identified the character of metal products. A series of experiments using 1-8 grams of silicate melt, done in alumina and spinel containers sufficiently large that surface tension effects between the melt and the wall are expected to have minor effect on the behavior of the melt in the region of the electrodes were completed. The purpose of these experiments was to demonstrate the durability of the electrode and container materials, demonstrate the energy efficiency of the electrolysis process, further characterize the nature of the expected metal and spinel products, measure the efficiency of oxygen production and compare to that predicted on the basis of the smaller-scale experiments, and identify any unexpected benefits or problems of the process. Four experimental designs were employed. Detailed results of these experiments are given in the appendix ('Summary of scaling-up experiments'); a general report of the results is given in terms of implications of the experiments on container materials, cathode materials, anode materials, bubble formation and frothing of the melt, cell potential, anode-cathode distance, oxygen efficiency, and energy efficiency

Unsigned letter (likely from B. R. Colson) to J. J. Freeze

Unsigned letter (likely from B. R. Colson) to J. J. Freeze in Inverness, Florida. The letter is dated January 8, 1913 and details the preparations that were being made for Dixieland College

Letter from B. R. Colson to C. E. Allen

Letter dictated by B. R. Colson to C. E. Allen. The one-page typewritten note is dated 27 February 1912

Unsigned letter (likely from B. R. Colson) to J. McGhee Whitner

Unsigned letter, likely from B. R. Colson, to J. McGhee Whitner. The letter is dated 8 January 1913 and describes the land that to become Dixieland College

Letter from B. R. Colson to Gainesville Gas and Electric Light Company

Letter dictated by B. R. Colson to the Gainesville Gas and Electric Light Company dated 11 May 1911, Dixieland College Material (3), Theophilus Brown Larimore Papers, 1907-1935. Center for Restoration Studies MS #6. Abilene Christian University Special Collections and Archives, Brown Library. Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX

Letter from B. R. Colson to J. H. Baker

Letter dictated by B. R. Colson to J. H. Baker. The one-page typewritten note is dated 16 May 1912

Letter from B. R. Colson to W. B. Treadway

Letter dictated by B. R. Colson to W. B. Treadway. The one-page typewritten note is dated 3 May 1912