Team Leader
Hunter Singh
Texas A&M University
Aerospace
starhunterceo@tamu.edu
Project Type
Research
Who Can Join
Faculty, Staff/Postdoctoral Scholars, Graduate Students, Masters Students, Undergraduate Students
Project Description
It is the year 2035, and a thriving lunar economy exists on the Moon. How did we get there? Certainly no one organization achieves this vision by itself. Instead, an integrated framework of shareable, scalable, resource-driven systems that can operate jointly are required. Creating monetizable services for future lunar users in a mass effcient manner heads towards that vision and supports establishing a long-term presence on the Moon, as is the goal of NASA’s Artemis Plan. Given a physical lunar presence, mobility across spatially separated sites becomes a key required shareable service and may take shape in many forms. This project explores the economic and engineering basis for the concept of a Lunar Rail Network Infrastructure to meet this service need as well as other service needs that align well with what the Lunar Rail Network Infrastructure mobility service infrastructure requires. The relevant lunar environmental conditions and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) capabilities are applied to conceptual design and analysis of construction and maintenance equipment, rail route infrastructure, integrated rail vehicles, rail station infrastructure, system interfaces, and a system scaling plan including minimum viable experiment (MVE) phases expanding into a Pilot Rail Network and eventually a full-scale Operational Network. In previous years students have completed requirements, conops and parametric trades. This current phase of the project will drill down on design and supplier definitions.
Team Needs
Robotics, Chemists, Statisticians, Mechanical with Thermal Emphasis, Aerospace with Orbit Emphasis, Biochemist, Aerospace with Habitat focus, Software, Electrical, Civil with HVAC, Civil with Plumbing, Agricultural with Hydroponics, Communications and Marketing, Accounting, Business Development
Special Opportunities
Team has won several NASA challenges and participates with local industry. Offers opportunities to present at national and international conferences with published papers.