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US 2022/0090500 A1Published application
Systems and methods for radiant gas dynamic mining of permafrost
AssigneeTrans Astronautica Corporation
InventorJoel C. Sercel
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and apparatus are disclosed for mining the permafrost at the landing sites using radiant gas dynamic mining procedures. The systems can comprise a rover vehicle with an integrated large area dome for cryotrapping gases released from the surface and multi-wavelength radiant heating systems to provide adjustable heating as a function of depth. Various antenna arrays and configurations are disclosed, some of which can cooperate for a specific aiming or targeting effect.
Claims22
A method for mining lunar polar permafrost to extract gas propellants, comprising:
- providing a rover vehicle for mining permafrost from a landing site, the rover vehicle configured to combine radio frequency (RF), microwave, and infrared radiation to heat the permafrost at a depth control heating profile;
- lowering a dome from the rover vehicle to a surface of the landing site, the dome having a conformable skirt configured to increase gas collection efficiency and a plurality of infrared heaters configured to warm the surface of the mining location, the interior surface of the skirt having arranged thereon a plurality of phased wire dipole antennas arranged in a plurality of broadside arrays;
- deploying from the rover vehicle a plurality of drilling devices configured to enable subsurface RF heating;
- sublimating ice at a predetermined depth, using a combination of radiation sources, to cause water vapor to migrate upward and out of the permafrost;
- using a rotating belt to capture cryogenic vapors;
- and
- storing the vapor as a liquid in one or more water storage tanks.
4 more elements
A rover vehicle for mining permafrost, comprising:
- a dome configured to be lowered from the rover vehicle to a surface of a landing site, the dome having a conformable skirt configured to increase gas collection efficiency and a plurality of infrared heaters configured to warm the surface of the mining location, the interior surface of the skirt having arranged thereon a plurality of phased wire dipole antennas arranged in a plurality of broadside arrays;
- a plurality of drilling devices configured to be deployed to enable subsurface radio frequency (RF) heating;
- a rotating belt configured to capture cryogenic vapors sublimated from ice at a predetermined depth within the landing site using a combination of radiation sources;
- and
- one or more water storage tanks configured to store the vapor as a liquid.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.