College of Engineering Unit:
This project requires us to outline the designed architecture for a long duration simulation of two different missions that will occur at the same time on the Moon. The two missions are as follows: conduct mineral processing via electrolysis on the lunar surface to produce oxygen and separate the metals in the regolith, and test three different organisms in the lunar soil to see if they can survive and grow. This is to help prepare for manned missions to Mars while testing our architecture in a microgravity environment. Our simulation uses Gateway, the space station due for launch in 2025. It will include a 12 month stay in the microgravity environment of Gateway, followed by a 30 day stay on the lunar surface, followed by another 12 month stay on Gateway. This is to simulate the transit to and from Mars which would take at least seven months.
