Sverdrup-Henson crater: A candidate location for the first lunar South Pole settlement
Summary: Robotic and manned exploration of the Moon is the next target in Solar System exploration. The availability of in situ resources such as water ice, iron oxides, helium-3, and rare earth elements, combined with permanently sunlit areas, provides the opportunity for the first settlement, eith...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:94e11734c7744e14bf35a63659e5da1d 2023-11-12T04:26:22+01:00 Sverdrup-Henson crater: A candidate location for the first lunar South Pole settlement Giovanni Leone Caitlin Ahrens Jarmo Korteniemi Daniele Gasparri Akos Kereszturi Alexey Martynov Gene Walter Schmidt Giuseppe Calabrese Jari Joutsenvaara 2023-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107853 https://doaj.org/article/94e11734c7744e14bf35a63659e5da1d EN eng Elsevier http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004223019302 https://doaj.org/toc/2589-0042 2589-0042 doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.107853 https://doaj.org/article/94e11734c7744e14bf35a63659e5da1d iScience, Vol 26, Iss 10, Pp 107853- (2023) Space sciences Astronomy Multidisciplinary design optimization Science Q article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107853 2023-10-29T00:35:14Z Summary: Robotic and manned exploration of the Moon is the next target in Solar System exploration. The availability of in situ resources such as water ice, iron oxides, helium-3, and rare earth elements, combined with permanently sunlit areas, provides the opportunity for the first settlement, either human or robotic, on the Moon. We used several selection criteria (abundance of water ice, the slope of terrain, usable energy sources, communications, and base expandability) to identify a suitable area for a future base in the southern polar crater Sverdrup-Henson. Due to the higher abundance of water ice, we found that the Sverdrup-Henson site is better suited to host a base than the nearby craters de Gerlache and Shackleton. The crater floor is partly in permanent shadow and exhibits numerous signatures of water ice. Since water ice is essential for rocket fuel production and human survival, its presence is necessary for a first settlement. Sverdrup-Henson has a flat floor ideal for building and safe traversing, is accessible from the surrounding intercrater plains, and has nearby locations suitable for communications and solar power production. Thus, the Sverdrup-Henson site holds great potential for future missions. We propose further exploration of this area through in situ measurements to better constrain available resources. Article in Journal/Newspaper South pole Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles De Gerlache ENVELOPE(-62.333,-62.333,-64.500,-64.500) Gerlache ENVELOPE(99.033,99.033,-66.500,-66.500) Henson ENVELOPE(-168.350,-168.350,-84.833,-84.833) Shackleton South Pole iScience 26 10 107853 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Space sciences Astronomy Multidisciplinary design optimization Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Space sciences Astronomy Multidisciplinary design optimization Science Q Giovanni Leone Caitlin Ahrens Jarmo Korteniemi Daniele Gasparri Akos Kereszturi Alexey Martynov Gene Walter Schmidt Giuseppe Calabrese Jari Joutsenvaara Sverdrup-Henson crater: A candidate location for the first lunar South Pole settlement |
topic_facet |
Space sciences Astronomy Multidisciplinary design optimization Science Q |
description |
Summary: Robotic and manned exploration of the Moon is the next target in Solar System exploration. The availability of in situ resources such as water ice, iron oxides, helium-3, and rare earth elements, combined with permanently sunlit areas, provides the opportunity for the first settlement, either human or robotic, on the Moon. We used several selection criteria (abundance of water ice, the slope of terrain, usable energy sources, communications, and base expandability) to identify a suitable area for a future base in the southern polar crater Sverdrup-Henson. Due to the higher abundance of water ice, we found that the Sverdrup-Henson site is better suited to host a base than the nearby craters de Gerlache and Shackleton. The crater floor is partly in permanent shadow and exhibits numerous signatures of water ice. Since water ice is essential for rocket fuel production and human survival, its presence is necessary for a first settlement. Sverdrup-Henson has a flat floor ideal for building and safe traversing, is accessible from the surrounding intercrater plains, and has nearby locations suitable for communications and solar power production. Thus, the Sverdrup-Henson site holds great potential for future missions. We propose further exploration of this area through in situ measurements to better constrain available resources. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Giovanni Leone Caitlin Ahrens Jarmo Korteniemi Daniele Gasparri Akos Kereszturi Alexey Martynov Gene Walter Schmidt Giuseppe Calabrese Jari Joutsenvaara |
author_facet |
Giovanni Leone Caitlin Ahrens Jarmo Korteniemi Daniele Gasparri Akos Kereszturi Alexey Martynov Gene Walter Schmidt Giuseppe Calabrese Jari Joutsenvaara |
author_sort |
Giovanni Leone |
title |
Sverdrup-Henson crater: A candidate location for the first lunar South Pole settlement |
title_short |
Sverdrup-Henson crater: A candidate location for the first lunar South Pole settlement |
title_full |
Sverdrup-Henson crater: A candidate location for the first lunar South Pole settlement |
title_fullStr |
Sverdrup-Henson crater: A candidate location for the first lunar South Pole settlement |
title_full_unstemmed |
Sverdrup-Henson crater: A candidate location for the first lunar South Pole settlement |
title_sort |
sverdrup-henson crater: a candidate location for the first lunar south pole settlement |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107853 https://doaj.org/article/94e11734c7744e14bf35a63659e5da1d |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-62.333,-62.333,-64.500,-64.500) ENVELOPE(99.033,99.033,-66.500,-66.500) ENVELOPE(-168.350,-168.350,-84.833,-84.833) |
geographic |
De Gerlache Gerlache Henson Shackleton South Pole |
geographic_facet |
De Gerlache Gerlache Henson Shackleton South Pole |
genre |
South pole |
genre_facet |
South pole |
op_source |
iScience, Vol 26, Iss 10, Pp 107853- (2023) |
op_relation |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004223019302 https://doaj.org/toc/2589-0042 2589-0042 doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.107853 https://doaj.org/article/94e11734c7744e14bf35a63659e5da1d |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.107853 |
container_title |
iScience |
container_volume |
26 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
107853 |
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