Early in the next century, humans will return to the surface of the moon for stays of increasingly longer duration. Many civil engineering challenges must be addressed so that these twenty-first century pioneers will have the shelter and life-support systems needed to survive and thrive in a largely benign but, in some ways, hostile environment. Depending on the stage of the lunar presence, different structures and processes will be feasible. Reliance on lunar resources, including manufactured forms such as lunar concrete, will become more important as the base size and maturity grows. It is the task of the universities in these endeavors to provide the basic knowledge to help meet these challenges and to produce enthusiastic and well-prepared graduates who can best continue to develop the solutions needed to support the expansion of humans into space. Educational programs in space civil engineering now undergoing development at Colorado State University under a NASA space grant college program are described. An undergraduate option that supplements the existing civil engineering program through a cluster of classes that can be taken within the existing elective structure is being developed. Concepts for an MS graduate program are also outlined.

Effects of a vacuum environment on properties of hardened mortar made with cement-based materials are discussed. In this study, mortar specimens were exposed to a vacuum environment after various water curing periods. Several characteristics of the specimens, such as weight, strain, porosity, and strength, were measured before and after the vacuum exposure. A significant water loss and shrinkage strain were observed in tested specimens after specific vacuum exposure. Therefore, some measures are required to prevent shrinkage-induced cracks. In some cases, strengths for some vacuum-exposed mortar specimens were higher than water-cured companion specimens. Based on these experimental results, possible applications of concrete on the moon are recommended in this study.

Lunar Concrete is the exciting new symposium volume which explores the production and use of concrete on the moon. Contained within 20 technical papers from well-known authorities on lunar concrete are details on lunar base construction, use of lunar resources, lunar concrete formulation, forming and placing lunar concrete, reinforcing lunar concrete, and environmental effects of lunar concrete, optimizing lunar concrete and much more. It may at first seem outrageous that concrete could be considered as primary material of construction for use on the Moon. However, a small group of scientists and engineers, many of them represented in this collection of papers, have persevered in examining this outrageous premise. Most, perhaps all, of the materials needed to make concrete are naturally present on the lunar surface. Although they have to be extracted and transformed, the energy required to do that, and probably the cost, is much less than that which would be required to bring the same quantity of material from the Earth to use on the Moon. The technology for utilizing these natural materials of the Moon would appear to be straightforward modifications of techniques that have been developed for terrestrial applications. Note: The individual papers are also available as .pdf downloads.. Please click on the following link to view the papers available, or call 248.848.3800 to order. SP125

Presents the concept of Moonbase #1--its objectives, financial structure, facilities, functions, and scientific/engineering merits. In accordance with a Florida state goal of encouraging commercial enterprise, a consortium of corporations is in the proce

The recently established Lunar/Mars Program Office at Johnson Space Center is studying options that include construction of lunar outposts in the early twenty-first century, and subsequent structures for industrial operations. Major industrialization on the moon cannot occur without access to lunar resources. Construction of such structures as large pressurized habitats, launching facilities, lunar surface transportation systems, and liquefied oxygen storage tanks requires enormous volumes of materials. Experiments sponsored by the National Aeoronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and carried out at construction technology laboratories show the following: cements can be made from lunar anorthite and basalt; concrete made with lunar soils as aggregate has strength exceeding 10,000 psi; and a dry mixture of cement and aggregate wetted by injected steam will simplify concreting procedures and minimize needs for water and heavy equipment. In addition, a preliminary analysis of a prestressed precast concrete structure measuring 120 ft in diameter and 72 ft high shows that a properly designed concrete structure can confine atmospheric internal pressure. This project further investigates the effect of lunar temperature extremes on the behavior of precast concrete panels during the construction period. The major work involves calculations of heat flow in concrete panels exposed to the sun on the lunar surface and thermal stresses in the panels caused by the transient heat flow. Computer programs were written for the computations and results are presented.