Spacecraft-module habitats and bases
OwnerJerome Drexlerinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Establishing and growth of a lunar or planetary surface base involves continuing to use landing spacecraft as docked modules of the base for habitation and work. A first spacecraft is landed at a specified surface site then doubles as first module of the base. A second (and later third and subsequent) spacecraft is landed at the site a safe distance from the existing base modules then moved over the surface into a side-by-side position to dock with selected base modules. At least some of the landing, surface transport, and operational electric power is supplied by micro-fusion using ambient cosmic rays and muons interacting with deuterium-containing particle fuel material to generate energetic reaction products.
Claims21
A method of establishing and growing a lunar or planetary surface base making use of the presence of ambient flux of cosmic rays, comprising:
- landing a first spacecraft at a specified site on a lunar or planetary surface, the first spacecraft doubling as a first module of the lunar or planetary surface base;
- landing a second spacecraft at the specified site at a safe distance nearby the first module;
- moving the second spacecraft over the lunar or planetary surface into a side-by-side position relative to the first module, then docking the second spacecraft to the first module, the second spacecraft doubling as a second module of the lunar or planetary surface base;
- and
- landing third and subsequent spacecraft at the specified site at a safe distance nearby the surface base, each spacecraft doubling as a module of the surface base when moved into side-by-side position and docked with at least one existing module of the surface base;
- wherein at least one of the landings and movings of the spacecrafts and operation of the surface modules being powered by interaction of the ambient flux of cosmic rays and muons generated from the cosmic rays with a localized cloud of deuterium-containing particle fuel material exposed to the cosmic rays and muons to produce energetic reaction products.
A lunar or planetary surface base making use of the presence of ambient flux of cosmic rays, comprising:
- first module of the lunar or planetary surface base formed from repurposed spacecraft landed upon a lunar or planetary surface;
- a second module of the lunar or planetary surface base formed from a second repurposed spacecraft landed upon the lunar or planetary surface and moved into a side-by-side position relative to the first module, the second module docked with the first module;
- third and subsequent modules of the lunar or planetary surface base formed from repurposed additional spacecraft landed upon the surface a safe distance nearby the surface base then moved into side-by-side position and docked with at least one existing module of the surface base;
- and
- a set of micro-fusion-driven turbine electricity generators, each generator comprising a source of deuterium-containing micro-fusion particle fuel material, a reaction volume directed upwards from the lunar or planetary surface, a flue coupled to the source and reaction volume for dispersing fuel material into the reaction volume as a localized cloud that reacts with incoming cosmic rays and muons to produce energetic reaction products, a set of turbines arranged around the reaction volume to receive and be driven by the energetic reaction products, a set of electrical generators coupled to the respective turbines to convert mechanical motion of the driven turbines into electricity, and one or more electrical power lines from the generators coupled to modules of the surface base, whereby operation of the surface modules are powered at least in part by interaction of the ambient flux of cosmic rays and muons generated from the cosmic rays with a localized cloud of deuterium-containing particle fuel material exposed to the cosmic rays and muons to produce energetic reaction products.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.