Physics
Scientific paper
Aug 1989
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1989stin...9020029v&link_type=abstract
Presented at the Engineering, Construction and Operations for Space, Albuquerque, NM, Apr. 1990
Physics
Fragmentation, Ilmenite, Lunar Soil, Oxygen Production, Alkalies, Basalt, Exposure, Vapors
Scientific paper
Lunar soils or rocks can be mined as sources of ilmenite for producing oxygen. However, separable crystals of loose ilmenite in lunar soils are rare (less than 2 percent) and small (less than 200 microns); most ilmenite in the regolith is locked together with silicate minerals as rock fragments. Since fragmentation of rock sources must be attempted to win appreciable amounts of ilmenite (approximately 10 percent or more), selective collection of high-Ti basalt fragments larger than 1 cm for fragmentation and ilmenite beneficiation may be advantageous over extensive processing of fine lunar soil. Many alternative processing schemes for fragmenting rocks on the Moon have been proposed; one process which was tested early in the Apollo program successfully disaggregated lunar and terrestrial basalts by passive exposure to low-pressure alkali (K) vapor. This process is worthy of reinvestigation.
Heiken Grant H.
Vaniman David T.
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