[meteorite-list] trips to the Moon (Moon bases and meteorite recovery)

From: Michael Gilmer <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:43:37 -0400
Message-ID: <BANLkTi=SsWbQamCNZAbzK+S-ZDgr_PqOCQ_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi Edwin, Sterling, and List,

I love a good science-fiction, science-fact, trip into speculation
land. It reminds me of the old pulp sci-fi novels from the 50's and
60's that I have read, with rocketships and moon bases.

Cosmic rays are not the only threat, there are also micro-meteorites
and meteorites. The Late Heavy Bombardment is long over, but there is
still a lot of debris peppering the Earth and Moon on a regular basis.
 With no atmosphere, the lunar surface is basically naked to incoming
impactors. A base facility on the lunar surface would be subject to
high-velocity impacts on a random basis.

Now we can all imagine how the lunar surface is probably littered with
plentiful meteorites. The Apollo astronauts were not meteorite
hunters, nor did they have any specific mission or training involving
meteorites. The first meteorite recovery team to be stationed on the
Moon would be the very first people to hunt the surface - the opposite
of being "hunted out". The problem is the lethal environment
involved. It would be a death-trap full of meteorites if not handled
properly. The Apollo astronauts could not stay out for the extended
periods necessary to walk a grid or do a meaningful amount of
searching for suspect rocks. Although we have made some advancements
since then, the lunar surface is still the most hostile, alien, and
lethal environment that an Earthly meteorite hunter could imagine.
Our modern day meteornauts on the Moon would have to rely on radar,
remote rovers, and man-operated rovers.

To have any permanent presence on the Moon, the surface would need a
warning system for incoming impactors. We can assume an early-warning
detection system, partially automated, that consists of satellites and
surface-based radars, telescopes, and other sensors. This warning
system would detect potential impactors that are large enough to
damage facilities or personnel. So, we could have a lunar rover that
could carry a small team of 2 individuals over a long distance with a
meaningful duration (say, several hours, or even "overnight" in some
cases.). These individuals would be dispatched to retrieve
large/heavy meteorites that smaller unmanned rovers could not pick up.
 They could safely travel the surface (relatively speaking) and they
could be warned to evade/avoid a potentially deadly strike by the
warning system. They would still have to worry about the rare fluke
micro-meteorite or one that slips through the detection system, but it
would be slightly better odds than a crap-shoot.

The bulk of the searching and retrieval would be accomplished by
robust remote-operately rovers. These would be larger than the
current Mars rovers we know so well (thanks for the always reliable
updates Mr. Baalke!), but small enough to be produced on a low to
modest budget. Essentially it would be a "wander and grab" rover with
a sophisticated optical system than can scan the lunar surface in high
resolution and provide a "first person" view to the rover operator who
is located miles away in an underground facility. It's main
attributes would be quickness (to cover larger amounts of real estate
in a much shorter time span than today's rovers), keen eyes (cameras),
and economy of travel (able to stay afield for extended periods of
time).

The rover would also have a robotic arm and a collection bin than can
be hermetically sealed. The operator would use the rover to locate
and retrieve all meteorites within the operating range of the rover.
Those meteorites which are too large, too heavy, or too numerous for
the rover to recover, would be assigned to a manned rover mission to
recover the specimens.

I don't think there would be a lunar base built just to retrieve
meteorites. However, one can envision a scientific base that is an
all-purpose facility to house a number of teams that are based there
for extended periods of time and are rotated in and out. Astronomers,
chemists, physicists, geologists....the potential uses for a lunar
surface facility would be many and varied, and meteorites could be one
of those missions.

Instead of ANSMET, we could have MOONMET - now who is going to apply
for the first expedition?

Best regards,

MikeG

-- 
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On 6/27/11, Edwin Thompson <etmeteorites at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> http://www.space.com/1111-private-moon-trips-forecast.html
>
>
> Dear fellow listers, for only 100 million dollars you can go to the moon and
> gather your own Lunar specimens. It could be a very profitable enterprise.
> But the rumor mill has it that China will be going to the Moon next. If you
> go there be sure to dodge those nasty cosmic rays.
>
> There is a society of brainiacs that has designed a substantial Moon base.
> Sadly that facility must be built beneath the Lunar surface in a volcanic
> cavern to shield the inhabitants from cosmic ray exposure.
>
>
> Cheers, E.T. 		 	   		
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Received on Mon 27 Jun 2011 08:43:37 PM PDT