As the race for a sustained human presence on the Moon intensifies, the development of reliable physical infrastructure becomes paramount. Among the most critical components are self-deploying lunar towers, capable of supporting a wide array of essential equipment, from solar panels to communications arrays. Researchers at North Carolina State University and NASA’s Langley Research Center have delved into the intricacies of these towers, exploring the optimal structural setup and the most suitable materials. This blog post delves into the findings, shedding light on the promising technologies that could shape the future of lunar exploration. The Moon and lunar colonization present unique challenges that must be addressed to ensure the success of long-term human presence.
Rollable Tubular Boom for Corrugated Lines: A Highly adaptable Solution
Two of the most promising materials uncovered by scientists from North Carolina State University and NASA’s Langley Research Center for building lunar towers include corrugated rollable tubular booms (COROTUB) and collapsible tubular masts (CTM). COROTUB is a patented technology that has been used mainly in recent years in the deployment of large antennas stored within small satellites. This is a natural progression of the technology and opens up the possibility of developing deployable boom masts that can be used for various payloads in the lunar environment.
The greatness of COROTUB system is the whole roll to rolled up for compact size, so it can easily be transported and deployed on lunar surface. The tower holds the weight of multiple humans and offers a place where important equipment and instruments can be securely placed once it is unfurled. That versatility is a key component in the flourishing and resilient lunar infrastructure.
Foldable Tubular Mast – Streamlined Solution
The second material studied is the commercially available collapsible tubular mast (CTM) from Opterus. The CTM system is flat rolling rather than lowering, unlike COROTUB. Once installed it can support a payload at the mast head. COROTUB employs a more sophisticated design than the CTM but, in fact, the two materials are roughly as strong.
The elements of this lunar tower building material that makes all the difference is the supporting structure; these are cables. The telescoping boom in the image above that held X-ray instruments had support cables (not shown) — lines that effectively were counteracting forces applied by the instruments at the top, keeping them from sagging to one side. Some of their designs added such supporting cables while others did not. Results have been dramatically improved in all respects by this cable-supported structure, enabling the tower to be made steady and robust against lunar environments.
Overcoming Moon-specific challenges
That unique environment has its own set of challenges, as a new study by researchers from MIT demonstrates with an analysis relying on the Rayleigh-Ritz method (a suite of mathematical computation techniques used to estimate the load that is expected to be applied on structures). These self-deploy jackets are initially delivered easily on a rocket, but as the Moon has no atmosphere and low-gravity conditions, they still require support to be stable and functional.
In addition, the towers must be able to withstand the large temperature oscillations in lunar lighting, with temperatures that vary greatly between different parts of the Moon’s surface illuminated by sunlight or not. Even though the temperature variations were not taken into account in the present analysis, they are significant and must be considered in the final design and implementation of these lunar towers.
The researchers’ discoveries are not the only bright spots in this field One of the most ambitious ideas from Honeybee Robotics is their 100-meter-tall masts called LUNARSABER, an innovative solution to lunar infrastructure challenges. The fact that several agencies are investigating self-erecting lunar structures shows just how integral such a technology could potentially be in the future of lunar exploration and habitation.
