VELOX – A Demonstration Facilility for Lunar Oxygen Extraction in a Laboratory Environment

The ultimate goal of a permanent human presence on the Moon is discussed intensively within the global lunar community. Obviously, such an effort poses stringent demands not only on the technology but also on logistics, especially considering the important aspects of masses and volume for materials and replenishments of consumables. On-site propellant production (i.e. liquid oxygen) is one of the main needs and would lead to more efficient return-to-Earth or further exploration missions. Additionally, the supply of breathable air and water for the survival of the crew on the lunar surface is also a major aspect. Thus, large effort is put into the development and research of technologies for in-situ resources utilization (ISRU) to drastically reduce the required supply from Earth and to increase the level of autonomy of a lunar outpost. The major resource on the Moon for such a purpose is regolith, which covers the first meters of the lunar surface and contains about 45% of mineralogically bounded Oxygen in terms of mass. By using adequate processing methods of this material, one could be able to extract valuable minerals and volatiles for further utilization. At DLR Bremen a compact and flexible lab experimenting facility has been developed, built and tested, which shall demonstrate the feasibility of the process by extracting oxygen out of lunar regolith, respectively soil simulants and certain minerals in the laboratory case. For this purpose, important boundary conditions have been investigated such as temperatures during the process, chemical reaction characteristics and material properties for the buildup of the facility, which shall be analyzed within this paper. Since it is one of the most elaborated chemical processes regarding ISRU and has comparably low temperature and energy constraints it has been primarily concentrated on the Hydrogen-reduction process which reduces the iron oxide component of Ilmenite (FeTiO3) within the lunar regolith. Based on the obtained results, a first line-out of a planned superior test set-up and infrastructure with pre- and post-processing units such as feeding and extraction is also presented, as well as an analysis of reaction products with common methods. This paper will present the first results of DLR efforts regarding these topics. Finally, important aspects of the future development of the processes and technologies are discussed with special consideration of lunar applicability and with respect to environmental conditions as well as mass and energy constraints

A small satellite with a dual-frequency heterodyne spectrometer for the detection of atomic oxygen in the atmosphere of Earth

A first step towards realization, a small satellite study for OSAS (Oxygen Spectrometer for Atmospheric Science) has been performed based on Concurrent Engineering methods

Solar magnetism eXplorer (SolmeX)

The magnetic field plays a pivotal role in many fields of Astrophysics. This is especially true for the physics of the solar atmosphere. Measuring the magnetic field in the upper solar atmosphere is crucial to understand the nature of the underlying physical processes that drive the violent dynamics of the solar corona—that can also affect life on Earth. SolmeX, a fully equipped solar space observatory for remote-sensing observations, will provide the first comprehensive measurements of the strength and direction of the magnetic field in the upper solar atmosphere. The mission consists of two spacecraft, one carrying the instruments, and another one in formation flight at a distance of about 200 m carrying the occulter to provide an artificial total solar eclipse. This will ensure high-quality coronagraphic observations above the solar limb. SolmeX integrates two spectro-polarimetric coronagraphs for off-limb observations, one in the EUV and one in the IR, and three instruments for observations on the disk. The latter comprises one imaging polarimeter in the EUV for coronal studies, a spectro-polarimeter in the EUV to investigate the low corona, and an imaging spectro-polarimeter in the UV for chromospheric studies. SOHO and other existing missions have investigated the emission of the upper atmosphere in detail (not considering polarization), and as this will be the case also for missions planned for the near future. Therefore it is timely that SolmeX provides the final piece of the observational quest by measuring the magnetic field in the upper atmosphere through polarimetric observations

OVERVIEW OF THE NEW CONCURRENT ENGINEERING FACILITY AT DLR

In October 2008, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) inaugurated a new Concurrent Engineering Facility (CEF) in Bremen which is used mainly for design studies at the new DLR Institute of Space Systems. The CEF consists of a main conferencing room for twelve disciplines and up to seven experts or guests, and two smaller rooms for splinter meetings. So far, several one week studies have been carried out, two were dedicated to the DLR compact satellite program. As it is planned to use the CEF not only for phase 0/A studies but also during later phases of the system development cycle, the Concurrent Engineering (CE) process as well as the technical infrastructure have to meet additional requirements, related to dynamic simulations and remote collaboration. Software projects have been initiated at DLR with the objective to create a next-generation CEF infrastructure that will meet those requirements. This paper gives an overview of the facility infrastructure and the ongoing CEF-related software projects at DLR. The AsteroidFinder project served as a first test case for the CE process. Details of first CE sessions carried out for this project and lessons learned are presented. Finally, an outlook on planned future enhancements is given

MASCOT - A Lightweight Multi-Purpose Lander Platform

The Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout (MASCOT) is a small box shaped ~ 9 kg lander, developed to support and enhance larger S/C's scientific possibilities. Its P/L compartment includes currently 3 experiments of in total 3 kg. Further a mobility mechanism is on board which allows hopping manoeuvres on the asteroid. The system consist of two structures, a lander unit and a mechanical I/F structure. Both are designed as framework structures made of solid CFRP and CFRP-foam sandwich respectively. By designing consequently under the use of the materials orthotropic properties and additional design features (e.g. insertless) a very lightweight and stiff structure has been realised. With respect to a fully aluminium design a save of 75% structural mass for the lander unit was achieved and the structure is ready to enter Phase C. Being part of JAXA's Hayabusa 2 mission the launch date will be in December 2014 heading to the C-class asteroid 1999JU3

Die Simultan-Entwurfseinrichtung des DLR: Ein Instrument für effektives Systems Engineering

Systems-Engineering-Prozesse in der Raumfahrt beanspruchen im Allgemeinen viel Zeit, Kosten und Aufwand, hervorgerufen durch komplexe Zusammenhänge zwischen einzelnen Subsystemen und den extremen Bedingungen und Anforderungen im All. Um eine hohe Effi-zienz bezogen auf Qualität, Zeit und Kosten beim Entwurf von Systemen und Missionen ge-währleisten zu können, entsteht derzeit im DLR-Institut für Raumfahrtsysteme in Bremen eine Simultan-Entwurfseinrichtung (SEE). Diese ist nach dem Prinzip einer „Concurrent Engineering Facility“ (CEF) aufgebaut und besteht aus 12 Arbeitsplätzen für Spezialisten verschiedener Disziplinen, sowie weiteren Plätzen für Kunden, Besucher und Experten in einem Raum ausgestattet mit modernster Infrastruktur und Medientechnik. Das vorliegende Dokument gibt einen Überblick über den laufenden Entwicklungsstatus und die Visionen der SEE am DLR-Standort Bremen

Open Source Missions for Public Engagement in Space Exploration

The name “Open Source Mission” (OSM) is derived from the software development community. The open source concept refers to a development methodology, which enables the general public to contribute to designing and developing a software application by having access to its source code. Today, the open source principles and practices are commonly applied to the development of source code for software that is made available for public collaboration, and the results are usually released as open source software. Our team proposes a similar approach for space exploration mission design: the OSM Project

FormSat, a Scalable Formation Flying Communication Satellite System

The competitive and evolving nature of the commercial communications satellite market sector, combined with the limited number of allocations in geosynchronous orbit, have led to a steady increase in the complexity, size and weight of satellites. Satellite manufacturers in the sector have suffered from increased non-recurring engineering costs and low rate production, leading to insufficient profit margins. This paper identifies an opportunity to capitalize on the overcrowding of prime geosynchronous orbit slots and provides satellite service providers with a scalable space system solution that fulfills their need to follow market evolution. The proposed space system, FormSat, is based on standardized medium power satellites flying in formation in the geosynchronous orbit. The system will consist of transparent communication satellites connected via intersatellite links to a hub satellite, which carries the processing and routing functionality of the communication satellites in the formation, allowing management and optimization of in-orbit resources. FormSat allows gradual increase of capacity by adding additional communication satellites in the same formation. This system architecture is integrated with attractive services using a new payload hosting business model. Satellite service providers can reduce upfront investment, and are able to gradually deploy and expand to new applications or commercial markets with reduced risks. The FormSat architecture will provide a profitable and sustainable business for satellite manufacturers with low upfront investment and additional new value added for satellite service providers