• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.5-17
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• 2021

The Moon has been an attractive planet as an outpost for deep space exploration since He-3 and water ice which can be used as energy resources were discovered. In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) construction material fabrication method is required for sustainable space planet exploration. In this paper, the possibility of microwave sintering technology for construction material fabrication was evaluated using lunar regolith that can be easily collected from the Moon surface. Experimental assessment of the influence factors on microwave sintering was conducted using a hybrid sintering system for efficient processing. The heat distribution in the furnace was observed using thermal paper that is coated with a material formulated to change color when exposed to heat. Based on this result, sintered cylindrical KLS-1s with a diameter of 1 cm and a height of 2 cm were fabricated. Densities were measured for the sintered KLS-1s under rotating turntable conditions that have an effect of microwave dispersion. The more dielectrics were arranged, the more microwaves were dispersed reducing the heat concentration, and thus a uniformity of sintered KLS-1s was enhanced.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.45 no.7
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• pp.558-565
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• 2017

Recently, there has been a tendency to lead the private sector in the launch vehicle market, and as the market has become saturated, efforts are being made to reduce the launch cost. Advanced countries in space development have promoted manned long-range space exploration plans. As oxygen/methane is more efficient, lower cost, and eco-friendly than typical propellants, and can be produced locally on an alien planet, it is the most suitable next-generation propellant to meet this trend. Now methane engine development is accelerating due to changes in international conditions and corporate environment. It is also expected to develop a methane engine in order to survive in this global trend and to keep up with the launch vehicle market in the future.

• Journal of Satellite, Information and Communications
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.50-56
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• 2010

Most mission trajectory design technologies for space exploration have been utilized the Patched Conic Approximation which is based on Hohmann transfer in two-body problem. The Hohmann transfer trajectory is basically an elliptic trajectory, and Patched Conic Approximation consists of Hohmann transfer trajectories in which each trajectory are patched to the next one. This technology is the most efficient method when considering only one major planet at each patch trajectory design. The disadvantages of the conventional Patched Conic Approach are more fuel (or mass) needed and only conic trajectories are designed. Recent space exploration missions need to satisfy more various scientific or engineering goals, and mission utilizing smaller satellites are needed for cost reduction. The geometrical characteristics of three-body dynamics could change the paradigm of the conventional solar system. In this theoretical concept, one can design a trajectory connecting around the solar system with comparably very small energy. In this paper, the basic three-body dynamics are introduced and a spacecraft mission trajectory is designed utilizing the three-body dynamics.

• Journal of Space Technology and Applications
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.206-220
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• 2022

There are various systems that allow humans to safely maintain their space exploration missions and lives in completely different environments, such as the International Space Station, the Moon (the closest celestial body to Earth), and Mars (the only planet in the solar system for manned mission in the 2030s). Among them, when it comes to maintaining the basic breathing of humans, the human life support air management system is a key device system. Such an air management system can be used not only for space exploration but also for undersea bases and submarines on Earth where humans reside. The air management system basically consists of an oxygen generation system, a carbon dioxide removal system, and a harmful substance removal system. In this paper, in order to develop an air management system that can be used in an underwater residential platform, the development requirements of a ground test module to be used as an experimental facility were analyzed.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.373-387
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• 2023

Scientific exploration of extraterrestrial planets has gripped human imagination since the advent of space travel. Human missions to Mars could produce insight into the essential questions of how, when and where life began on Earth. Such missions would only be feasible using local space resources materials, a concept called in situ-resource utilization (ISRU). The purpose of this paper is to provide a thorough review of the currently available Mars soil simulants and to determine those with geotechnical properties most appropriate for vehicle mobility studies. Sourcing and processing are considered since full-scale studies require bulk quantities of material on the order of tens of tons. This review identifies the simulants with the highest fidelity to Mars wind drift soils. In addition, recommendation guide for mars soil simulant development made.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.79-85
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• 2018

The demand for the development of atmospheric entry vehicles, dealing with reentry and solar-system planet exploration, is increasing. Generally, atmospheric drag and heating accompany the entry into atmospheric air. Accordingly, the selection of the thermal protection materials and the design and application of the thermal protection system are very important. In this paper, the atmospheric entry environment and the type and characteristics of the thermal protection materials are discussed. The design and application status of a thermal protection system for spaceplanes are described.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Military Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.516-523
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• 2009

Recently, the applications of unmanned robots are increasing in various fields including surveillance and reconnaissance, planet exploration and disaster relief. To perform their missions with success, the robots should be able to evaluate terrain's characteristics quantitatively and identify traversable regions to progress toward a goal using mounted sensors. Recently, the authors have proposed techniques that extract terrain information and analyze traversability for off-road navigation of an unmanned robot. In this paper, we examine the use of 3D world models(terrain maps) to classify obstacle and safe terrain for increasing the reliability of the proposed techniques. A world model is divided into several patches and each patch is classified as belonging either to an obstacle or a non-obstacle using three types of metrics. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified on real terrain maps.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.909-915
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• 2008

Recently, the interests in the development and application of unmaned robots are increasing in various fields including surveillance and reconnaissance, planet exploration, and disaster relief. Unmaned robots are usually controlled from distance using radio communications but they should be equipped with an autonomous travelling function to cope with unexpected terrains and obstacles. This means that they should be able to evaluate terrain's characteristics quantitatively using mounted sensors so as to traverse harsh natural terrains autonomously. For this purpose, this paper presents a method for extracting terrain information, that is, slope and roughness from elevation maps as a prior step of traversability analysis. Slope is extracted using the curve fitting based on the least squares method and roughness using three metrics and their weighted average. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified on both a fractal map and the world model map of a real terrain.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.233-236
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• 2008

Recently, the development and application of unmaned robots are increasing in various fields including surveillance and reconnaissance, planet exploration and disaster relief. Unmaned robots are usually controlled from distance using radio communications but they should be equipped with autonomous travelling function to cope with unexpected terrains and obstacles. This means that unmanned robots should be able to evaluate terrain's characteristics quantitatively using mounted sensors so as to traverse harsh natural terrains autonomously. For this purpose, this paper presents an algorithm for extracting terrain information from elevation maps as an early step of traversability analysis. Slope and roughness information are extracted from a world terrain map based on least squares method and fractal theory, respectively. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is verified on both fractal and real terrain maps.

• Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.428-428
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• 2002

The scientific objectives of PACRIM (Pacific Rim) are to advance the understanding of polarimetric and interferometric radar and to promote its application in environmental research designed to detect and quantify changes found in both the physical and humanly dominated ecosystems on the earth's surface. The information derived is used to more readily identify environments at risk; improve environmental decision making and the management of resources and thereby lead to the implementation of more effective and sustainable land use practices. PACRIM is a collaborative research project was organized by NASA's Mission to Planet Earth, Airborne Sciences Program; the Jet Propulsion Laboratory; CSIRO-COSSA and the Centre for Remote Sensing and GIS at the University of New South Wales. A decade of working with AIRSAR data (1993-2003) in the Australia-Asian-Pacific region has provided the opportunity for more than 400 investigators from 20 countries to collect, analyse, interpret and apply state-of-the-art radar data to earth-science studies. This has been achieved by scientists working within seven broad research themes; o Forestry and vegetation o Geology and tectonic processes o Interferometry o Disaster management o Coastal analysis o Agriculture o Urban and regional development. This paper presents an overview of the three data acquisition missions (1993,1996 and 2000) and the science research outcomes achieved from analyzing high quality radar data.