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Full Resolution Digital Print: $10.00
Orders can be placed at wblack42@sbcglobal.net
See my profile page for details.
Concept visualization created for my Orion's Arm future history setting. Selene (Greek Σελήνη [selɛ̌ːnɛː] meaning 'moon'): the core of Sinclair’s lunar city, built over the span of a generation, imaged here 100 years post founding.
From my journal entry, Luna: Thaddeus Sinclair’s deal brokered with the Martian’s secured his clan’s escape to the lunar surface. Operating freight terminals on the surface of Earth servicing the enormous nuclear-pulse heavy lifters of the Martian Uplift Operation and trading for Martian technologies increases Clan Sinclair’s wealth and power on Earth and maintains a copious flow of supplies and resources, which Sinclair pours into the Lunar settlement. A generation later as the axis of powers brought into alignment by Thaddeus Sinclair solidifies (via the brutal pogrom of the Unification War) into a singular state (the Alliance) —a new deal brokered by Frederick Sinclair pours money into the Lunar economy. The program to construct and operate a vast network of Earth-Orbit defense platforms along with an associated system of Solar Power Stations (each the size of Manhattan Island) fuels additional expansion of the Lunar holdings. Emergence of the Alliance as a global power effectively ends the Martian Uplift program.
A Timeline Graph is to be found here: Timeline.
Lunar ISRU
Large scale lunar settlements will extensively utilize in situ resource utilization. Over twenty different methods have been proposed for oxygen extraction on the moon. Aluminum can be produced from materials found in lunar regolith, iron ore and other metals are present, including concentrations of the titanium-based mineral ilmenite.
The lunar highland material anorthite, is similar to the earth mineral bauxite, which is an aluminum ore. Smelters can produce pure aluminum, calcium metal, oxygen and silica glass from anorthite. Raw anorthite is also good for making fiberglass and other glass and ceramic products.
Oxygen is often found in iron rich lunar minerals and glasses as iron oxide. The oxygen can be extracted by heating the material to temperatures above 900 °C and exposing it to hydrogen gas. The basic equation is: FeO + H₂ → Fe + H₂O.
Lunar Regolith for Radiation Shielding
Chronic exposure to highly ionizing ions in the galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) and sporadic acute exposures to solar protons (resulting from solar particle events (SPE’s) or solar storms) are serious hazards that can be mitigated by using lunar regolith as radiation shielding.
A study of the radiation transport and dose reduction properties of lunar regolith, using samples returned by the Apollo missions and several types of synthetic regolith and regolith simulant, was undertaken and the results can be found here:
RADIATION SHIELDING PROPERTIES OF LUNAR REGOLITH AND REGOLITH SIMULANT
The study shows that fairly modest amounts of regolith would stop most of the protons resulting from SPE’s. 100 MeV protons stop in approximately 5 cm of regolith packed at a density of 19gm/cm3; for 200 MeV protons, about 18 cm is needed.
To evaluate the effectiveness of lunar regolith against galactic cosmic radiation, sixteen different samples of regolith and simulant at areal densities between 6 and 13 gm/cm2 were exposed to a beam 400 MeV/u 10B ions. In this case the beam is almost completely attenuated after 25 gm/cm2 regolith (approximately 15 cm assuming a density of approximately 1.9gm/cm3).
Lunar materials may also be valuable for other uses. It has also been proposed to use lunar regolith as a general construction material, through processing techniques such as sintering, hot-pressing, liquification, and the cast basalt method. Cast basalt is used on Earth for construction of, for example, pipes where a high resistance to abrasion is required. Cast basalt has a very high hardness of 8 Mohs (diamond is 10 Mohs).
Glass and glass fibre are straightforward to process on the moon, and it has been argued that the glass is optically superior to that made on the Earth because it can be made anhydrous. Successful tests have been performed on earth using two lunar regolith simulants MLS-1 and MLS-2. Basalt fibre has also been made from lunar regolith simulators.
Note the rather large grader-type regolith scoop mining rig [Right middle-distance in image] for a sense of scale the smaller vehicle preceding it is approximately the size of a city-bus.
Selene follows many conventions of Martian design, primary power systems are nuclear reactors of Martian design and construction as is the ECLSS.
About the Composition
The work is a blend of 3D terrain modeling, 3D modeling and photo painting, original composition inspired as homage to Robert McCall’s iconic poster art created for 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Crescent Earth is a modification of AS08-16-2593, original image courtesy NASA/JPL.
Parts of the crater floor are cropped from (a very large number of) NASA/JPL images. Foreground figures, lunar city, foreground lunar terrain, crater central peak and distant background are models constructed in Bryce 7.1.
Acknowledgements
I’ve been reworking the original concept over the past several months and I would be remiss not to acknowledge the valuable insight and suggestions received as a result of conversation hosted by Winchell Chung (NyrathWiz on deviantART) on his G+ page.
Thanks goes to Constantine Thomas for his valuable insights in regards to correct phase-angle and lighting on airless bodies, and special thanks to Ron Fischer who made the rather brilliant suggestion of adding vehicular tracks, sparking inspiration leading to a series of modifications to the image which, I believe, have elevated the realism of the scene by several orders of magnitude.
Additions to the scene include corrected lighting, enhanced lighting of the habitat structures, illuminated vehicular airlocks, personnel transports, a large-scale grader-type regolith scoop mining rig, vehicle tracks, and numerous bolder fields and other surface features.
Related Images
Ascent
On-Station
Point of Divergence
Orders can be placed at wblack42@sbcglobal.net
See my profile page for details.
Concept visualization created for my Orion's Arm future history setting. Selene (Greek Σελήνη [selɛ̌ːnɛː] meaning 'moon'): the core of Sinclair’s lunar city, built over the span of a generation, imaged here 100 years post founding.
From my journal entry, Luna: Thaddeus Sinclair’s deal brokered with the Martian’s secured his clan’s escape to the lunar surface. Operating freight terminals on the surface of Earth servicing the enormous nuclear-pulse heavy lifters of the Martian Uplift Operation and trading for Martian technologies increases Clan Sinclair’s wealth and power on Earth and maintains a copious flow of supplies and resources, which Sinclair pours into the Lunar settlement. A generation later as the axis of powers brought into alignment by Thaddeus Sinclair solidifies (via the brutal pogrom of the Unification War) into a singular state (the Alliance) —a new deal brokered by Frederick Sinclair pours money into the Lunar economy. The program to construct and operate a vast network of Earth-Orbit defense platforms along with an associated system of Solar Power Stations (each the size of Manhattan Island) fuels additional expansion of the Lunar holdings. Emergence of the Alliance as a global power effectively ends the Martian Uplift program.
A Timeline Graph is to be found here: Timeline.
Lunar ISRU
Large scale lunar settlements will extensively utilize in situ resource utilization. Over twenty different methods have been proposed for oxygen extraction on the moon. Aluminum can be produced from materials found in lunar regolith, iron ore and other metals are present, including concentrations of the titanium-based mineral ilmenite.
The lunar highland material anorthite, is similar to the earth mineral bauxite, which is an aluminum ore. Smelters can produce pure aluminum, calcium metal, oxygen and silica glass from anorthite. Raw anorthite is also good for making fiberglass and other glass and ceramic products.
Oxygen is often found in iron rich lunar minerals and glasses as iron oxide. The oxygen can be extracted by heating the material to temperatures above 900 °C and exposing it to hydrogen gas. The basic equation is: FeO + H₂ → Fe + H₂O.
Lunar Regolith for Radiation Shielding
Chronic exposure to highly ionizing ions in the galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) and sporadic acute exposures to solar protons (resulting from solar particle events (SPE’s) or solar storms) are serious hazards that can be mitigated by using lunar regolith as radiation shielding.
A study of the radiation transport and dose reduction properties of lunar regolith, using samples returned by the Apollo missions and several types of synthetic regolith and regolith simulant, was undertaken and the results can be found here:
RADIATION SHIELDING PROPERTIES OF LUNAR REGOLITH AND REGOLITH SIMULANT
The study shows that fairly modest amounts of regolith would stop most of the protons resulting from SPE’s. 100 MeV protons stop in approximately 5 cm of regolith packed at a density of 19gm/cm3; for 200 MeV protons, about 18 cm is needed.
To evaluate the effectiveness of lunar regolith against galactic cosmic radiation, sixteen different samples of regolith and simulant at areal densities between 6 and 13 gm/cm2 were exposed to a beam 400 MeV/u 10B ions. In this case the beam is almost completely attenuated after 25 gm/cm2 regolith (approximately 15 cm assuming a density of approximately 1.9gm/cm3).
Lunar materials may also be valuable for other uses. It has also been proposed to use lunar regolith as a general construction material, through processing techniques such as sintering, hot-pressing, liquification, and the cast basalt method. Cast basalt is used on Earth for construction of, for example, pipes where a high resistance to abrasion is required. Cast basalt has a very high hardness of 8 Mohs (diamond is 10 Mohs).
Glass and glass fibre are straightforward to process on the moon, and it has been argued that the glass is optically superior to that made on the Earth because it can be made anhydrous. Successful tests have been performed on earth using two lunar regolith simulants MLS-1 and MLS-2. Basalt fibre has also been made from lunar regolith simulators.
Note the rather large grader-type regolith scoop mining rig [Right middle-distance in image] for a sense of scale the smaller vehicle preceding it is approximately the size of a city-bus.
Selene follows many conventions of Martian design, primary power systems are nuclear reactors of Martian design and construction as is the ECLSS.
About the Composition
The work is a blend of 3D terrain modeling, 3D modeling and photo painting, original composition inspired as homage to Robert McCall’s iconic poster art created for 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Crescent Earth is a modification of AS08-16-2593, original image courtesy NASA/JPL.
Parts of the crater floor are cropped from (a very large number of) NASA/JPL images. Foreground figures, lunar city, foreground lunar terrain, crater central peak and distant background are models constructed in Bryce 7.1.
Acknowledgements
I’ve been reworking the original concept over the past several months and I would be remiss not to acknowledge the valuable insight and suggestions received as a result of conversation hosted by Winchell Chung (NyrathWiz on deviantART) on his G+ page.
Thanks goes to Constantine Thomas for his valuable insights in regards to correct phase-angle and lighting on airless bodies, and special thanks to Ron Fischer who made the rather brilliant suggestion of adding vehicular tracks, sparking inspiration leading to a series of modifications to the image which, I believe, have elevated the realism of the scene by several orders of magnitude.
Additions to the scene include corrected lighting, enhanced lighting of the habitat structures, illuminated vehicular airlocks, personnel transports, a large-scale grader-type regolith scoop mining rig, vehicle tracks, and numerous bolder fields and other surface features.
Related Images
Ascent
On-Station
Point of Divergence
Image size
3084x2443px 3.21 MB
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