Thermal Wadis in Support of Lunar Science & Exploration

Abstract

Challenges associated with the exploration of the Moon include both the high cost of bringing hardware from Earth (perhaps at costs of $50,000 to $100,000 per kilogram), which therefore places a high economic burden on bringing consumables and technologies from Earth, and providing power and heat for outposts and other systems that must survive the extreme cold of the two-week lunar night. However, it should be possible to develop thermal energy reservoirs using in-situ lunar materials, as systems that can store energy for use during periods of darkness on the Moon. In this paper, we discuss the potential to emplace one or more thermal wadis – engineered sources of heat and power – on the lunar surface in support of lunar science and exploration. These systems can provide a substantial architectural advantage to robotic systems, teleoperated from Earth and/or from a manned lunar outpost.