Experimental Evaluation of Lunar Regolith Settlement Caused by Ice Extraction
Zheng Gong,
Nicholas Barnett,
Jangguen Lee,
Hyunwoo Jin,
Byunghyun Ryu,
Taeyoung Ko,
Joung Oh,
Andrew Dempster,
Serkan Saydam
Affiliations
Zheng Gong
Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Science & Technology (UST-KICT School), ILsanseo-gu, Goyang-si 10233, Republic of Korea
Nicholas Barnett
School of Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia
Jangguen Lee
Department of Future and Smart Construction Research, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT), ILsanseo-gu, Goyang-si 10233, Republic of Korea
Hyunwoo Jin
Department of Future and Smart Construction Research, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT), ILsanseo-gu, Goyang-si 10233, Republic of Korea
Byunghyun Ryu
Department of Future and Smart Construction Research, Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT), ILsanseo-gu, Goyang-si 10233, Republic of Korea
Taeyoung Ko
Department of Energy and Resources Engineering, Kangwon National University, Gangwondaehak-gil, Chuncheon-si 24341, Republic of Korea
Joung Oh
School of Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia
Andrew Dempster
School of Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia
Serkan Saydam
School of Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia
Water resources are essential to human exploration in deep space or the establishment of long-term lunar habitation. Ice discovered on the Moon may be useful in future missions to the lunar surface, necessitating the consideration of in situ resource utilization if it is present in sufficient amounts. Extraction of ice can cause the regolith to settle, which can lead to unintended structural damage. Therefore, any settlement resulting from ice extraction should be understood from a geotechnical perspective. This work reports on experimental investigation of the potential settlement caused by the extraction of ice from lunar regolith simulant containing different textures of ice. The KLS-1 simulant was prepared with different water contents and ice textures. Significant settlement occurred in simulant–ice mixtures with initial water contents of 5–10%.
