fut-lnr_v_bw_o_n (ca. 1961, unnumbered prob. GE press photo)
“LUNAR IGLOO
NEW YORK: An artist’s conception shows astronauts building a lunar “igloo” with equipment described October 9th to members of the American Rocket Society. One astronaut is operating a machine that mixes lunar dust and rock with binder to form a semi-liquid, quick-hardening material. The second astronaut (left) is carrying part of an airlock which will be fitted over the side of the building. Germano Di Leonardo, of General Electric’s Missile and Space Vehicles Department, said in a technical paper presented to the A.R.S. that the system would offer easy, rapid construction and require a minimum of material transported from Earth.”
And, per “Advances in Space Sciences and Technology, Volume 7, 1965”, edited by Frederick I. Ordway, III:
“B. Use of Local Materials
A rigid lunar shelter could be built up from lunar material by sintering process. The vast amount of dust and porous rock estimated to exist on the surface of the Moon makes available great quantities of raw material suitable for the construction of surface structures. Rapid and simple constructional methods would dictate a castable material that exists in semifluid state (like concrete) while it is being handled. This is especially necessary for essentially automatic methods.
It is desirable, therefore, to employ binding agents to solidify the granular material into usable forms. These forms could be, for instance, building blocks, or the entire structure itself. Once suitable binding processes are available, the material must be formed into the desired structural configuration.
Figure 5 illustrates a schematic method of automatically forming structural shells of revolution, which utilizes material in a viscous state having the property of being able to solidify in a very short time. The container moves along the horizontal arm which pivots spirally around the center post. All the motions are preprogrammed in order to get the desired structure.
The mechanism for building a lunar “igloo” using automated equipment could consist of a mixer which sinters lunar dust with a binder to form a semifluid, quick hardening material. This material is forced through a hose to the automatic building rig seen extending through the top of the nearly-completed “igloo”. The building material enters the base of the horizontal arm, which is hollow; and, as the arm pivots spirally around the center post, the material flows out through a dispenser at the end, building up the structure in layers. The only material transported from the Earth to construct the structure may be an alkali to sinter the pumiceous dust covering the outer skirt of the crust. [1] An air-tight membrane can be inflated inside the shell so that the atmosphere will not be lost.
Sintering is a process widely used by the ceramic and metallurgical industries to fabricate oxide, nitride, carbide, silicate, and metal powders into various shapes. The process is equally applicable to either simple or complex shapes, and final rigidity of the mass is reached upon application of thermal energy for a given time.
The forming or shaping process on the Moon may present serious problems as opposed to terrestrial techniques. Controlled solar radiation, nuclear power, or solar thermal energy, should be able to provide the heat source for sintering. The energy necessary to produce the desired thermochemical changes during sintering should thus be readily available, and it appears quite reasonable to consider “modified conventional” ceramic fabrication techniques for building lunar structures.
Pumice is a finely divided siliceous material of volcanic origin and may be closely akin to the “lunar dust” reported by many observers. Samples of pumice taken from different locations throughout the United States exhibit a range in melting temperatures from 1050 to 1225°C. Although this reflects compositional variability, the wide melting range and siliceous nature of material coupled with its similarity to the lunar crust qualifies pumice as a good choice for experimental purposes.
[1]: Drawing upon the current estimates of the composition of the lunar crust, a considerable amount of material should be available on the Moon for construction purposes.”
Note the vertigo-inducing length/height of the lunar lander’s ladder.
7” x 9”. I’m nearly certain by Roy Scarfo.
In color:
Credit: Rudolf Ža/Pinterest
fut-lnr_v_bw_o_n (ca. 1961, unnumbered prob. GE press photo)
“LUNAR IGLOO
NEW YORK: An artist’s conception shows astronauts building a lunar “igloo” with equipment described October 9th to members of the American Rocket Society. One astronaut is operating a machine that mixes lunar dust and rock with binder to form a semi-liquid, quick-hardening material. The second astronaut (left) is carrying part of an airlock which will be fitted over the side of the building. Germano Di Leonardo, of General Electric’s Missile and Space Vehicles Department, said in a technical paper presented to the A.R.S. that the system would offer easy, rapid construction and require a minimum of material transported from Earth.”
And, per “Advances in Space Sciences and Technology, Volume 7, 1965”, edited by Frederick I. Ordway, III:
“B. Use of Local Materials
A rigid lunar shelter could be built up from lunar material by sintering process. The vast amount of dust and porous rock estimated to exist on the surface of the Moon makes available great quantities of raw material suitable for the construction of surface structures. Rapid and simple constructional methods would dictate a castable material that exists in semifluid state (like concrete) while it is being handled. This is especially necessary for essentially automatic methods.
It is desirable, therefore, to employ binding agents to solidify the granular material into usable forms. These forms could be, for instance, building blocks, or the entire structure itself. Once suitable binding processes are available, the material must be formed into the desired structural configuration.
Figure 5 illustrates a schematic method of automatically forming structural shells of revolution, which utilizes material in a viscous state having the property of being able to solidify in a very short time. The container moves along the horizontal arm which pivots spirally around the center post. All the motions are preprogrammed in order to get the desired structure.
The mechanism for building a lunar “igloo” using automated equipment could consist of a mixer which sinters lunar dust with a binder to form a semifluid, quick hardening material. This material is forced through a hose to the automatic building rig seen extending through the top of the nearly-completed “igloo”. The building material enters the base of the horizontal arm, which is hollow; and, as the arm pivots spirally around the center post, the material flows out through a dispenser at the end, building up the structure in layers. The only material transported from the Earth to construct the structure may be an alkali to sinter the pumiceous dust covering the outer skirt of the crust. [1] An air-tight membrane can be inflated inside the shell so that the atmosphere will not be lost.
Sintering is a process widely used by the ceramic and metallurgical industries to fabricate oxide, nitride, carbide, silicate, and metal powders into various shapes. The process is equally applicable to either simple or complex shapes, and final rigidity of the mass is reached upon application of thermal energy for a given time.
The forming or shaping process on the Moon may present serious problems as opposed to terrestrial techniques. Controlled solar radiation, nuclear power, or solar thermal energy, should be able to provide the heat source for sintering. The energy necessary to produce the desired thermochemical changes during sintering should thus be readily available, and it appears quite reasonable to consider “modified conventional” ceramic fabrication techniques for building lunar structures.
Pumice is a finely divided siliceous material of volcanic origin and may be closely akin to the “lunar dust” reported by many observers. Samples of pumice taken from different locations throughout the United States exhibit a range in melting temperatures from 1050 to 1225°C. Although this reflects compositional variability, the wide melting range and siliceous nature of material coupled with its similarity to the lunar crust qualifies pumice as a good choice for experimental purposes.
[1]: Drawing upon the current estimates of the composition of the lunar crust, a considerable amount of material should be available on the Moon for construction purposes.”
Note the vertigo-inducing length/height of the lunar lander’s ladder.
7” x 9”. I’m nearly certain by Roy Scarfo.
In color:
Credit: Rudolf Ža/Pinterest