THE FEASIBILITY OF USING SOLAR OPTICS IN REDUCED-G ENVIRONMENTS

THE INNOVATION INVESTIGATED IN THIS PROJECT IS THE USE OF DIRECT SUNLIGHT AND ALBEDO FOR TASK AND GENERAL ILLUMINATIONIN REDUCED-G ENVIRONMENTS. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE WILL BE TO DESIGN CONCEPTUALLY A SOLAR-OPTIC SYSTEM FOR A LUNAR BASE, AND TO DETERMINE ITS POWER, MASS, COST, AND PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS. THE DESIGN WILL BE COMPARED WITH A CONVENTIONAL FLUORESCENT-LIGHTING SYSTEM. THE DELIVERABLE WILL BE A TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION FOR PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT IN PHASE II. SOLAR OPTICS IS AN APPROACH TO THE TRANSMISSION OF LIGHT TO REMOTE INTERIOR SPACES. IT IS CHOSEN AS THE BASIS FOR THIS PROJECT BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY USED IN TERRESTRIALAPPLICATIONS AND IS UNIQUELY SUITED FOR ADAPTATION TO REDUCED-G ENVIRONMENTS. SOLAR ILLUMINATION OFFERS AN EFFICIENT ALTERNATIVE TO ELECTRICALLY GENERATED ILLUMINATION; IT CAN BE TWICE AS EFFICIENT AS OTHER LIGHT SOURCES. POWER REQUIREMENTS FOR A COMBINED SOLAR/ARTIFICIAL-LIGHTING SYSTEM ARE EXPECTED TO BE A SMALL FRACTION OF THOSE FOR ALL ELECTRIC SOURCES. SUPPLEMENTAL ELECTRIC LUMINARIES CAN BE SAFELY ISOLATED FROM OCCUPIED AREAS, AND EFFECTIVE, LIGHTWEIGHT OPTICAL MATERIALS ARE AVAILABLE. THE INNOVATION INVESTIGATED IN THIS PROJECT IS THE USE OF DIRECT SUNLIGHT AND ALBEDO FOR TASK AND GENERAL ILLUMINATIONIN REDUCED-G ENVIRONMENTS. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVE WILL BE TO DESIGN CONCEPTUALLY A SOLAR-OPTIC SYSTEM FOR A LUNAR BASE, AND TO DETERMINE ITS POWER, MASS, COST, AND PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS. THE DESIGN WILL BE COMPARED WITH A CONVENTIONAL FLUORESCENT-LIGHTING SYSTEM. THE DELIVERABLE WILL BE A TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION FOR PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT IN PHASE II. SOLAR OPTICS IS AN APPROACH TO THE TRANSMISSION OF LIGHT TO REMOTE INTERIOR SPACES. IT IS CHOSEN AS THE BASIS FOR THIS PROJECT BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFULLY USED IN TERRESTRIALAPPLICATIONS AND IS UNIQUELY SUITED FOR ADAPTATION TO REDUCED-G ENVIRONMENTS. SOLAR ILLUMINATION OFFERS AN EFFICIENT ALTERNATIVE TO ELECTRICALLY GENERATED ILLUMINATION; IT CAN BE TWICE AS EFFICIENT AS OTHER LIGHT SOURCES. POWER REQUIREMENTS FOR A COMBINED SOLAR/ARTIFICIAL-LIGHTING SYSTEM ARE EXPECTED TO BE A SMALL FRACTION OF THOSE FOR ALL ELECTRIC SOURCES. SUPPLEMENTAL ELECTRIC LUMINARIES CAN BE SAFELY ISOLATED FROM OCCUPIED AREAS, AND EFFECTIVE, LIGHTWEIGHT OPTICAL MATERIALS ARE AVAILABLE.