1 of 77

The Exploration and Potential Uses of Lunar Lava Tubes

M.Thangavelu

Dept. of Astronautical Engineering,

Viterbi School of Engineering and the School of Architecture

University of Southern California

mthangav@usc.edu

2 of 77

Lunar Lava Tube Habitability

Krafft Ehricke - Selenopolis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZuSnPgHnjs
F.Horz in Wendell Mendell’s Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21^st Century
https://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/books/lunar_bases/

3 of 77

Why Lava Tube Habitat ?

4 of 77

Protection from �Harsh Lunar Surface Environment

GCR & Solar Particle Radiation
300 degree Celsius Thermal Cycling
Micrometeoritic showers
Meteoritic impacts

5 of 77

Lunar Temperature Profile

6 of 77

Advantages

Safety from lunar surface weather
Constant temperature(-20C)
Very large, unobstructed interior volumes
Strong, very stable structures predicted

7 of 77

Lunar Lava Tube Dwelling - 1999

8 of 77

Selene- Kaguya October 2007 insertion

9 of 77

Kaguya - Selene Discovery May 20, 2008

Marius Hills

10 of 77

LRO – LROC 2009

11 of 77

LROC Imagery Marius Hills

12 of 77

Marius Hills Pit

65m diameter
80-88m deep

13 of 77

14 of 77

King Crater Bridge

15 of 77

Lunar Pits, Skylights

16 of 77

LRO Imagery of Pits

17 of 77

Mars Pit

18 of 77

LROC - Tycho Peak

19 of 77

GRAIL Mission Ebb&Flo - 2012

20 of 77

21 of 77

22 of 77

LADEE Mission 2013 – LLCD Payload

23 of 77

24 of 77

25 of 77

Lava Tube 2010

26 of 77

27 of 77

Potential Uses

Habitats
Agriculture
Storage
Transportation
Logistics
Utilities Including Communications

28 of 77

USC Architecture Posters

29 of 77

�Lunar Habitat

30 of 77

31 of 77

32 of 77

33 of 77

34 of 77

35 of 77

36 of 77

37 of 77

38 of 77

39 of 77

40 of 77

41 of 77

…fun, fun, fun, to fly like a bird in the mall !

42 of 77

Lunar Transportation

43 of 77

44 of 77

45 of 77

46 of 77

47 of 77

48 of 77

�Lunar Landing Pad

49 of 77

50 of 77

51 of 77

52 of 77

53 of 77

54 of 77

55 of 77

56 of 77

57 of 77

BASIC FORM

To make the 3d form, some squares will be added. There would be 6 squars and 8 hexagons to form the basic module. The module is both vertically and horizontally symmetical.

58 of 77

ACCESS

Except top and bottom surface, the square surface will give access to public space, while hexagon surface is access to private space.

59 of 77

MODULE DETAIL

The idea for my project to grow and support my module is to use a round core at the center of the unit to give support as well as circulations in vertical direction. And there would be other utilities run inside the core, which is also easy for management.

With 13-feet-storey-height, the first floor is 13 ㎡, which is good for a HVAC space of the household.

The second floor is 95 ㎡ and the third is 88 ㎡. Mainly the second floor is for communal use and the third is for private like bedroom.

The total of one module is 196 ㎡ and it's good for a small family. For bigger family, it can combine several.

60 of 77

MODULE DETAIL

There can be public module connected to residential one. It can be mall, office or just public rest area.

61 of 77

EVOLUTION - Step 6

Once the whole “neighborhood” in the lava tube finished, considering more convenient mobility and more stability of the structure, build horizontal core which connect the units and vertical core with each other.

These horizontal one will pile into surrounding lava tube, giving a resistance of latteral load and more accessibility between the whole lava tube community.

62 of 77

63 of 77

Oh Look !, there’s Newton settlement….Port of Entry

64 of 77

65 of 77

66 of 77

67 of 77

Norman Cousins

68 of 77

��Spiritual Bath

69 of 77

ARCH 599 – Space Architecture

Spring 2018 – Professor Madhu Thangavelu

Pornpavee Mungrueagsakul

Lunar Bath and Spiritual Nexus

With the advancement in Technology, human has accomplished many missions to further our civilization.

One aspect of human nature that is often given less priority in this rapid development is of our mental and spiritual health.

A small number of isolation facilities here on earth has been established to test the limit of how human would or could become a multi-planet specie.

All analogous evidence from deep isolation facilities here on Earth indicate that human beings are indeed the fragile, weak link in the otherwise resilient hard technology driven architectures that are proposed for such activity”�

As part of my contribution to our collective Space Architecture: Lunar Habitat class, I proposed a spiritual facility as a place of contemplation and reflection. This spiritual space is a critical element for a long term human need and survival. Since the beginning of time, human across cultures has established a spiritual connection to the moon, and such connection should not be diminished, rather it should be strengthen as we have come to reach .... the moon.�

70 of 77

Is there water in the moon?

Fig 5. A Nasa Spacecraft explores the moon’s permanent shadows

71 of 77

Prep Room

Arrival

Congregation

Preparation

Social Interaction/Pool

Contemplation

Earth Viewing Platform

Exterior Landscape

Water Tank

Section A

72 of 77

Bathing Space – View to the Earth

73 of 77

Congregation Space – View to the Earth

74 of 77

Next Steps

Lunar Lava Tube Exploration – Red Whittaker

Explore and characterize different sites
Ease of access, proximity to resources

Confirm lunar lava tubes structurally sound
Science and Technology for the immediate benefit of all Humanity
Science and Commerce
Globally Shared Values - Cosmopolitanism

75 of 77

T.S.Eliot

76 of 77

77 of 77

References

Blair, D.M., Chappaz, L., Sood, R., Milbury, C., Bobet, A., Melosh, H.J., Howell, K.C. and Freed, A.M., (2017). The structural stability of lunar lava tubes. Icarus, 282, pp.47-55.
Burke, J.D.(2018) Cosmic impact risk and protection for a Moon Village, Geophysical Research Abstracts,Vol. 20, EGU2018-19, 2018, EGU General Assembly 2018
Coombs, C.R. and Hawke, B.R.A.Y., (1992) September. A search for intact lava tubes on the Moon: Possible lunar base habitats. In Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century. ed.Wendell Mendell, LPI, Houston, Texas.https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL074998
Cousins, N.(1980) Readers Digest
Cushing, G. E., Titus, T. N., Wynne, J. J.,Christensen, P. R.(2007).THEMIS observes possible cave skylights on Mars. Geophysical Research Letters, 34(17).
Ehricke, Krafft(1985) : “Lunar Industrialization & Settlement—Birth of Polyglobal Civilization, In Lunar bases and space activities of the 21st century, ed.Wendell Mendell, LPI, Houston, Texas.
Ehricke, Krafft(1984) : “Lunar Industrialization & Settlement—Birth of Polyglobal Civilization, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZuSnPgHnjs
Eliot, T. S. (1943). Four quartets. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Haruyama, J., Hioki, K., Shirao, M., Morota, T., Hiesinger, H., van der Bogert, C.H., Miyamoto, H., Iwasaki, A., Yokota, Y., Ohtake, M. and Matsunaga, T., (2009). Possible lunar lava tube skylight observed by SELENE cameras. Geophysical Research Letters, 36(21).
Horz, F., (1985). Lava tubes-potential shelters for habitats. In Lunar bases and space activities of the 21st century (pp. 405-412).
Lawrence, S. J., Stopar, J. D., Hawke, B. R., Greenhagen, B. T., Cahill, J. T., Bandfield, J. L., ... & Bussey, D. B. J. (2013). LRO observations of morphology and surface roughness of volcanic cones and lobate lava flows in the Marius Hills. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 118(4), 615-634.
Kaku, T., Haruyama, J., Miyake, W., Kumamoto, A., Ishiyama, K., Nishibori, T., … Howell, K. C. (2017). Detection of intact lava tubes at Marius Hills on the Moon by SELENE (Kaguya) lunar radar sounder. Geophysical Research Letters, 44, 10,155–10,161.
Mendell, W. W. (1985). Lunar bases and space activities of the 21st century. https://www.lpi.usra.edu/publications/books/lunar_bases/
Robinson, M. S., Ashley, J. W., Boyd, A. K., Wagner, R. V., Speyerer, E. J., Hawke, B. R., ... & Van Der Bogert, C. H. (2012). Confirmation of sublunarean voids and thin layering in mare deposits. Planetary and Space Science, 69(1), 18-27.
Rosen, Stan(1976) Mind in Space, Medical Service Digest, United States Air Force, Vol .XXVll No.1, https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/#search/stan+rosen/162a3211ad64c2b4?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1
Schrunk, D., Sharpe, B., Cooper, B.L. and Thangavelu, M., (2007). The Moon: Resources, future development and settlement. Springer Science
Spudis, P.D., McGovern, P.J. Kiefer, W.S., 2013. Large shield volcanoes on the Moon. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 118(5), pp.1063-1081.
Spudis, P.D.,(2012) The Lunar Surface – What Lies Beneath, Air & Space Magazine, Smithsonian
Thangavelautham,Jekanthan , Mark S. Robinson, Alexander Taits, Tyler McKinney, Sean Amidan, Adam Polak(2017) Flying, Hopping Pit-Bots for Cave and Lava Tube Exploration on the Moon and Mars, Cornell Library, https://arxiv.org/abs/1701.07799
Thangavelu, M. (2012). Living on the Moon. Encyclopedia of Aerospace Engineering.
Thangavelu, M.,(2014) Planet Moon:The Future of Astronaut Activity and Settlement, Architectural Design, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ad.1828
Read more at https://www.airspacemag.com/daily-planet/the-lunar-surface-what-lies-beneath-157095818/#ZEqKJgldSX7SGUPH.99
Wagner, R.V. and Robinson, M.S., (2014). Distribution, formation mechanisms, and significance of lunar pits. Icarus, 237, pp.52-60.
Whittaker, W. etal.,(2014) Exploration of Planetary Skylights and Tunnels, NASA NIAC Phase ll report
White, F. (1998). The Overview Effect: Space exploration and human evolution. AIAA.
Zuber, M.T., Smith, D.E., Watkins, M.M., Asmar, S.W., Konopliv, A.S., Lemoine, F.G., Melosh, H.J., Neumann, G.A., Phillips, R.J., Solomon, S.C. and Wieczorek, M.A., (2013). Gravity field of the Moon from the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission. Science, 339(6120), pp.668-671.