It’s one of the biggest questions asked when we think about the potential of living on the moon: how will we power our new home?
While engineers and scientists have been working on power-generation systems to allow for extended lunar visits, energy infrastructure for long-term stays is still in development.
Over the last few years, groups of Schulich School of Engineering students have been working towards some answers with their fourth-year capstone projects.
At the 2024 Engineering Design Fair in April 2024, the students looked at the technology and controls needed to provide heat in a lunar environment.
“What excited our group the most about this project was having the chance to be involved in the future of space exploration and interplanetary travel,” says Cameron Lamont, BSc (Eng)’24. “Given NASA’s recent proposal to return to the moon and plans to reach Mars, our group was thrilled to investigate what it takes for humans to live in such harsh environmental conditions and the challenges engineers face in meeting those expectations.”
While the team – which also included Aaron Li, BSc (Eng)'22; Alvin St. John, BSc (Eng)'24; Fatin Hossain, BSc (Eng)'24; Jessy Xu, BSc (Eng)'24; and Vinshie Chiew, BComm'24, BSc (Eng)'24 – faced challenges, their work is being applauded by their academic and industry partners.
An out-of-this-world challenge
A major focus of the work being done globally around energy in space is in situ resource utilization (ISRU), as it’s not feasible for all the necessary resources for long-term habitats to be brought from Earth.
So far, the Schulich students have worked on designing systems for the extraction, transportation and treatment of water on the moon.
“The biggest challenge our group faced during this project was being able to effectively set boundary conditions and make assumptions on our engineering design process due to the limited information we have regarding heat transfer and mechanical operation on the moon,” Lamont says.
“Sometimes, our group would fall down a rabbit hole of extensive research into individual components of our system versus looking at the entirety of the system as we had to optimize overall weight, size, cost and efficiency.”
He says the group had to develop solutions for an environment with no atmosphere, one-sixth of Earth’s gravity, and temperate extremes between -270°C and 150°C.
Alberta as a space resources leader
The capstone projects have been done in partnership with Foundation Space Resources (FSR), a Calgary-based company looking to use technology to develop mining plans on other planets.
CEO Sean Mitra says the space industry is looking for engineers with innovative solutions and Schulich students are raising the bar.
“We’re not just teaching these students, we’re also learning alongside them,” he says. “Their questions and ideas often push us to think about problems in new ways, driving innovation in our industry.”
With Alberta’s rich history in energy development, Mitra and his team believe the expertise we have on Earth should make the province a major player in the space resources sector.
“The skills these students bring from their understanding of terrestrial resources is invaluable,” says FSR principal engineer Zac Trolley. “They are taking concepts they have learned from the energy industry and are brilliantly adapting them to lunar conditions.”
He says the students’ work has surpassed expectations and provided valuable insights that will help lay the groundwork for Alberta’s future in space exploration.
FSR will once again be looking to team up with Schulich students for the 2025 Engineering Design Fair, scheduled for April 2025.
