Power Requirements for the Construction and Operation of a Lunar Oxygen Plant

AbstractConstruction work and machines required to build lunar facilities including an oxygen plant were specified, and power requirements for the construction and operation of these facilities were estimated based on a proposed evolutional scenario. Individual components of lunar facilities such as habitat/laboratory modules, corridor modules, and connection/evacuation modules were designed, and specifications of lunar construction machines were determined. A realistic oxygen plant was also designed by referring to the experimental and analytical results of hydrogen reduction of ilmenite processes. The energy required for soil work is estimated to exceed the energy for a construction facility, and the covering of facilities with regolith is expected to be the most energy-consuming work. Estimated power demands for construction in the evolutional Phases 1, 2, and 3 were 75, 75, and 155 kW, whereas those for operation of the oxygen plant were 2.3, 31, and 761 kW, respectively.