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| The Regolith and Environmen |
Kennedy Space Center - Central Florida News 13 (Orlando) NASA is undertaking a possible rover mission which will hunt for large quantities of water on the lunar surface. Tuesday at the Kennedy Space Center, a lunar rover and drill were unveiled, designed to prospect for water and ice on the moon.
Much of the proposed mission springboard off a recent moon mapping mission which detected thick pockets of water ice in areas which are never exposed to the sun.
Water is essential to produce oxygen to breathe and cool spacecraft and equipment.
"Seventy-five percent or more of the vehicle is propellant. And if I didn't have to take all of that with me, I can save an awful lot on launch costs. Not having to carry the mass of the water with you everywhere you get is really important. It would reduce the mass and size of our launch vehicles, and thereby drop the cost of the missions," explained NASA project manager William Larson.
The Regolith and Environment Science and Oxygen and Lunar Volatile Extraction, or RESOLVE (pdf), consists of a lunar rover and drill provided by the Canadian Space Agency to support a NASA payload that is designed to prospect for water, ice and other lunar resources. RESOLVE also will demonstrate how future explorers can take advantage of resources at potential landing sites by manufacturing oxygen from soil.
Much of the proposed mission springboard off a recent moon mapping mission which detected thick pockets of water ice in areas which are never exposed to the sun.
Water is essential to produce oxygen to breathe and cool spacecraft and equipment.
"Seventy-five percent or more of the vehicle is propellant. And if I didn't have to take all of that with me, I can save an awful lot on launch costs. Not having to carry the mass of the water with you everywhere you get is really important. It would reduce the mass and size of our launch vehicles, and thereby drop the cost of the missions," explained NASA project manager William Larson.
The Regolith and Environment Science and Oxygen and Lunar Volatile Extraction, or RESOLVE (pdf), consists of a lunar rover and drill provided by the Canadian Space Agency to support a NASA payload that is designed to prospect for water, ice and other lunar resources. RESOLVE also will demonstrate how future explorers can take advantage of resources at potential landing sites by manufacturing oxygen from soil.
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