Thursday, July 1, 2010

Radiation effects on materials on the Moon

Rojdev, O'Rourke & Koontz, et.al.
NASA Johnson Space Center

NASA is focused on developing technologies for extending human presence beyond low Earth orbit. These technologies are to advance the state-of-the-art and provide for longer duration missions outside the protection of Earth's magnetosphere.

One technology of great interest for large structures is advanced composite materials, due to their weight and cost savings, enhanced radiation protection for the crew, and potential for performance improvements when compared with existing metals. However, these materials have not been characterized for the interplanetary space environment, and particularly the effects of high energy radiation, which is known to cause damage to polymeric materials. Therefore, a study focusing on a lunar habitation element was undertaken to investigate the integrity of potential structural composite materials after exposure to a long-term lunar radiation environment. An overview of the study results are presented, along with a discussion of recommended future work.

NASA Scientific and Technical Information knowledge base
National Space and Missile Materials Symposium
Scottsdale, Arizona, June 28, 2010

View the presentation slides (PDF) HERE.

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