Autarc Lunar Infrastructures

It is proposed to establish a Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) with the title “Autonomous Lunar Infrastructures (ALI)” at University of Bremen with several cooperating partners close by. Bremen is an important site in Germany where space related activities are concentrated with more than 1500 engineers and scientists working in the fields of development, production, operation and utilisation of orbital and exploration systems, satellites and launchers. Space companies as EADS Astrium, OHB-System AG and a number of university institutions like ZARM together with institutes from DLR and DFKI characterise the consolidation and clustering of space competences in this region. A further interesting partner for cooperation close by is AWI in Bremerhaven where polar and marine research is performed. It is the intention of the proposed Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) in Bremen to strongly interact with the relevant local industry and scientific community, exchange ideas, exploit synergies and prepare future activities by strengthening all partners and players, giving them a decisive advantage over other European competitors.

With regard to the above mentioned scientific tasks, a set of relevant research projects is defined below and thematically combined into five project groups:

          A) Base Construction and Materials

          B) Mobile Infrastructures

          C) Environment and Resources Prospecting/Processing

          D) Energy Supply & Night-time Survival

          E) Communication/Navigation

Excluded from the considerations are:

     transport between Earth and Moon
     medical and sociological aspects of the crew (including life support)
     nuclear energy
     architecture

Within the scope of the planned work key technologies will be developed in each of the project groups up to the level of prototypes (breadboard or down-scaled demonstration hardware) which will be tested in cooperation with AWI in later funding periods under demanding conditions in the Antarctic. Besides the low temperatures and the increased UV radiation due to ozone depletion in the southern hemisphere, the Antarctic winter over nearly half a year without sunlight (partly with temperatures as low as -90°C) serves as an unrivalled challenge for every prototype, which can hardly be found at other places on the earth.

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