Small Lunar Base Camp and In Situ Resource Utilization Oxygen Production Facility Power System Comparison

A nuclear fission-based power generation source with Stirling technology is proposed as an alternative to solar power.

“Instead, a nuclear fission-based power generation source with Stirling technology is proposed as an alternative to solar power [9], [50].”

The Clementine mission identified continuously illuminated locations on the rim of the Peary crater near the Moon's North Pole.

“In 1994, the Clementine mission identified continuously illuminated locations on the rim of the ''Peary crater'' near the Moon's North Pole [9].”

A lunar base includes different power-consuming units such as habitat, life support system, laboratories, in-situ resource utilisation, and electrical rovers and vehicles.

“A lunar base includes different power-consuming units such as habitat, life support system (LSS), laboratories, insitu resource utilisation (ISRU) to utilize lunar resources for an extended stay, as well as electrical rovers and vehicles [8], [9], [10].”

Nuclear fission-based kilopower reactors need specific shielding and must be installed at an appropriate distance from the base to reduce the crew's exposure to nuclear radiation.

“Nevertheless, nuclear kilopower reactors need specific shielding and must be installed at an appropriate distance from the base to reduce the crew's exposure to nuclear radiation [9].”

Communication systems can have different power requirements depending on the frequency of communication, transmission rate and distance, and bandwidth.

“Communication systems can also have different power requirements depending on the frequency of communication, transmission rate and distance, and bandwidth [9].”

Lithium-ion batteries have high specific energy (~150-200 Wh/kg) and energy density (more than 200 Wh/l) compared to other rechargeable batteries.

“Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries have high specific energy ( ∼ 150 -200 Wh / kg) and energy density (more than 200 Wh / l) compared to other rechargeable batteries [9], [45], [46].”

Solar intensity on Earth varies approximately from 1400 W/m2 to 1308 W/m2 due to the slight variation in the Earth and Moon system orbital eccentricity about the Sun.

“Due to the slight variation in the Earth and Moon system orbital eccentricity about the Sun, the solar intensity ( Is ) on the Earth varies approximately from 1400 W / m 2 to 1308 W / m 2 [9].”

Power generation from PV panels in a lunar base depends on solar intensity, panel orientation, and inclination angle, among others.

“In a lunar base, despite having the advantage of the absence of an atmosphere, the power generation from the PV panels is dependent on the solar intensity, panel orientation, and inclination angle, among others [9].”

The total power required by the habitat depends on the number of crew members and is estimated to be around 10 to 30 kW for approximately 2 to 5 crew members.

“The total power required by the habitat depends on the number of crew members and is estimated to be around 10 to 30 kW for approximately 2 to 5 crew members [9], [10].”

The power required by ISRU can vary from tens to hundreds of kW for both thermal and electrical power and is dependent on the oxygen and propellant's production rate and process.

“The power required by the ISRU can vary from tens to hundreds of kW for both thermal and electrical power and is dependent on the oxygen and propellant's production rate and process [9], [44].”

The power required by the lunar base habitat is estimated to be 28.05kW for six crew members.

“The power required by the lunar base habitat depends on the number of crew, and it is estimated to be 28.05kW for six crew members [9].”

For more than 1kW electrical power, a large amount of isotope is required, making an isotope-based EPS impractical for lunar bases.

“However, for more than 1kW electrical power, a large amount of isotope is required, making an isotopebased EPS impractical for lunar bases [9].”

A minimum distance of 1.15km is required from a 10kW reactor to keep the radiation dose below the limit.

“Therefore, a minimum distance of 1.15km is required from a 10kW reactor to keep the radiation dose below the limit [9].”

Nuclear power is a viable candidate for power generation on the lunar surface.

“Nonetheless, nuclear power is also a viable candidate [9]”

For three and six modules of 10kW reactors, the required separation distance should be 1.99km and 2.81km, respectively.

“For three and six modules of 10kW reactors, the distance should be 1.99km and 2.81km, respectively.”

The specific energy of an RFC system is directly proportional to the operating time at a given power level.

“Therefore, the specific energy of the RFC system is directly proportional to the operating time at a given power level [9].”

During the lunar night, the specific energy of an RFC system was about 456 Wh/kg when only the survival power need of the loads was supplied.

“While it was about 456Wh/kg when only the survival power need of the loads was supplied.”

All components of an RFC are designed for a fixed maximum output power except the storage tanks and reactants.

“This is because all the components of the RFC are designed for a fixed maximum output power except the storage tanks and reactants.”

For nuclear fission-based kilopower reactors, a significant distance is needed to reduce shielding requirements and harmful radiation.

“However, this might be possible in case of solar PV-based generation, while in the case of nuclear fission-based kilopower reactor, a significant distance is needed to reduce the shielding requirements and harmful radiation [9].”

The specific energy of the RFC system in both normal and survival power demand cases was more than the specific energy of 200 Wh/kg for the battery.

“The specific energy of the RFC system in both cases (with normal and survival power demand) was more than the specific energy of 200Wh/kg for the battery.”

During the lunar night, the specific energy of an RFC system was more than 830 Wh/kg when all loads were supplied at normal power levels.

“During the lunar night, the specific energy of RFC system was more than 830Wh/kg when all the loads were supplied at normal power levels.”

For long discharge durations, RFCs have an advantage over rechargeable batteries in terms of mass and specific energy.

“In general, for long discharge duration, RFCs are shown to have an advantage over the rechargeable batteries in terms of mass and specific energy [9], [58], [67], [68].”

For a production rate of about 1.63kg/hr, the ISRU plant needs 9.3kW of electrical power and 16.5kW of thermal power.

“It is estimated that for a production rate of about 1.63kg/hr, the plant needs 9.3kW of electrical power and 16.5kW of thermal power [9].”

A HCS is proposed for a lunar base, composed of reactive controllers at the lowest level, subsystem controllers in the middle, and the topmost manager layer.

“In [74], a HCS is proposed for a lunar base, which is composed of reactive controllers (at the lowest level), subsystem controllers in the middle, and the topmost manager layer as shown in Fig. 3.”

The topmost layer deals with faults that stem from multiple subsystems, denoting a system-level incident out of the scope of subsystem-level controllers.

“The topmost layer deals with the faults that stem from multiple subsystems, denoting a system-level incident that is out of the scope of subsystem-level controllers.”

Space MG control and operation management involve scheduling resources, planning loads and their operating modes, communicating vital information, coordinating resources, ensuring timely occurrence of missions, and detecting, identifying, isolating, and recovering from faulty conditions.

“In general, space MG control and operation management involve scheduling resources, planning the loads and their operating modes (active or survival), communicating vital information, coordinating resources, ensuring the timely occurrence of missions, and detecting, identifying, isolating, and recovering from faulty conditions among others [73], [74].”

Information, measurements, and control actions correspond solely to the subsystem each controller corresponds to, while the topmost control layer has the system's global perspective.

“Information, measurements, and control actions correspond solemnly to the subsystem each controller corresponds to, while the topmost control layer has the system's global perspective.”

The catalyzed hydrogen reduction reaction of ilmenite is performed inside the reactor, and water is electrolyzed to produce oxygen.

“The catalyzed hydrogen reduction reaction of the ilmenite is performed inside the reactor, and water is electrolyzed to produce oxygen [4].”

The required power of power-consuming units depends on their operation mode or operation rate.

“However, the required power of the power-consuming units depends on the operation mode or operation rate of their subsystems. For example, the rate of photosynthetic photon flux (PPF), the oxygen consumption rate of the plants in the biomass subsystem [14], and the rate of oxygen and water production by the ISRU [4].”

The power consumption of ISRU and the oxygen and water production rates are directly proportional to the rate at which the reactor is replenished with ilmenite (V_ir), varying from 0 to 1.

“It can be observed in Fig. 2 that the power consumption of the ISRU and the oxygen and water production rates ( M O and M W , respectively) are directly proportional to the rate at which the reactor is replenished with ilmenite ( V ir ), varying from 0 to 1 [4].”