SPACEPHOTOS

A painting of a lunar supply base which was displayed during the NASA-sponsored Ninth Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston. A study entitled Lunar Resources Utilization for Space Construction is being conducted at the Johnson Space Center (JSC). The study is funded by the NASA Office of Aeronautics and Astronautics. One possible approach to developing industry in space is to use moon soil as a source of raw materials. Lunar soil contains many major elements which provide the basis for industry and life on earth. A base being constructed to supply lunar materials to chemical plants in space is depicted here during the second day of construction. These four large horizontal cylinders contain the base habitat, maintenance facility, soil-packaging plant and loading facility for the lunar mass driver, which is in effect an electromagnetic cannon designed in this particular schemes to eject four-kilogram packages of lunar soil from the Moon to a point in deep space where the packages will be collected and then transferred to a chemical plant nearer the Earth. Solar cell array (left) being deployed will be used to power the base and mass driver. Some 25 persons would work four months to emplace the large base. An operating crew of 10 persons would stay on the lunar surface to provide necessary maintenance.