Lunar Ice Mining Using a Heat-Assisted Cutting Tool

Lunar regolith that has been cemented together by ice has a compressive strength comparable to rocks such as sandstone and limestone. On the other hand, dry regolith is similar to partially consolidated soil that could be excavated by a shovel.nbsp; Removing ice from regolith in the lunar vacuum requires a relatively small energy input. We propose to exploit this qualitative change in character to minimize the energy needed to excavate and process ice-bearing regolith through the use of a Heat-Assisted Cutter (HAC) and accompanying Sierra Lobo Ice-Carving Excavator for Regolith (SLICER).Preliminary calculations indicate that the energy per mass of water produced using this method is lower than existing methods. In Phase I, we will perform a test series to measure the energy needed for a heat-assisted cutter to penetrate regolith simulant with a range of ice concentrations in a simulated lunar environment. While fairly extensive data exists on the mechanical properties of lunar regolith with ice content, there is no data on the energy required to excavate using a heat-assisted cutter.The HAC could be used in conventional surface rovers or in a configuration similar to a tunnel boring machine, with the HAC and a positioning mechanism replacing the cutterhead. During Phase I, basic conceptual design of both of these configuration will be performed to inform testing and development in Phase II.