Russia And Europe Hunt For Lunar Ice - Alternative View

Russia And Europe Hunt For Lunar Ice - Alternative View
Russia And Europe Hunt For Lunar Ice - Alternative View

Video: Russia And Europe Hunt For Lunar Ice - Alternative View

Video: Russia And Europe Hunt For Lunar Ice - Alternative View
Video: The WORST NEIGHBOURHOOD in Russia (feat. Yeah Russia) 2024, March
Anonim

The European Space Agency (ESA) and Russia are working together to explore the resources of the moon - in particular, water ice and other volatiles at the lunar poles.

ESA is developing a drilling and sample analysis suite called PROSPECT, which will go to the moon aboard the Russian spacecraft on the Luna 27 mission in 2022 or 2023.

Image
Image

A huge impact crater at the Moon's South Pole, shown here in false color based on data from the lunar laser altimeter installed on board the reconnaissance

According to officials from the European Space Agency, the PROSPECT system is designed to assess the potential reserves of resources on the moon and help develop technologies that can be used to extract these resources in the future. This project will enter its final phase, known as Phase C, in early 2019.

On August 10 ESA issued an “Invitation to Participation” for those wishing to become members of the PROSPECT research group. This opportunity will be available to scientists working in ESA member countries.

The Luna-27 mission is organized by the Russian federal space agency Roscosmos. Luna-27 includes a lander that is supposed to reach the surface of the South Pole Basin-Aitken crater, an unexplored area on the far side of the Moon.

The PROSPECT drilling rig, known as ProSEED, will collect subsurface samples expected to contain water ice and other chemicals that could be found in the cold South Pole-Aitken Basin. The temperature below the surface of the moon in this place usually reaches minus 240 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 150 Celsius), and in some areas it can drop below minus 330 degrees Fahrenheit, that is, minus 200 degrees Celsius.

Promotional video:

These samples will then be transferred to an onboard chemistry lab called ProSPA and heated to 1000 degrees Celsius to extract the frozen volatiles. Volatile substances are substances that easily pass from a solid or liquid state to a vapor state. This will be the primary test of processes that can be used in the future to extract natural resources.

The frozen volatiles at the Moon's poles are potential resources for development and give scientists an idea of the volatiles in the solar system. However, so far scientists know little about the origin, abundance and possibilities of extraction of these substances, as well as about the processes that keep volatile substances within the Earth-Moon system in general.

The PROSPECT system is part of a global program to coordinate prospecting at the lunar poles, where extreme cold conditions favor water retention. Space strategists believe that these resources have the potential to become the basis for sustainable development of space resources in the not too distant future.

Luna 27 is one of a number of orbital vehicles, descent modules and rock sample collection spacecraft developed by Roskosmos.

According to some reports, the Russian Space Agency intends to launch an earlier version, Luna-25, very soon, possibly next year. ESA's contribution to the Luna 25 mission includes the PILOT-D, a demo model for surface navigation. It is the prototype of the PILOT device, a navigation, detection and elimination system included in the Luna-27 mission. In addition, a number of expeditions to the moon are currently planned: Luna-26 in 2022, Luna-28 in 2024, as well as Luna-29, Luna-30 and Luna-31 in 2026 year.

Recommended: