Is lunar oxygen an ion thruster propellant?

[paul_klinkman]

<p>1.&nbsp; Lunar oxygen might possibly be cheap someday.</p><p>2.&nbsp; Ion propulsion is a mass-efficient way to get nonperishable freight from low earth orbit to lunar orbit, or from geosynchronous orbit to Martian orbit.&nbsp; It's slow but it's economical, and with nonperishables a low price counts.&nbsp; Ion thruster engines work now.&nbsp; The Russian Space Agency has used them since the 1980s.</p><p>I heard one person's opinion that lunar oxygen (or any other extraterrestrial source of oxygen) will possibly work in a Hall-effect ion thruster.&nbsp; </p><p>Any confirmations?&nbsp; Is this idea possible? </p><p>I suspect that there's an efficiency penalty between xenon and oxygen.&nbsp; How much is the penalty? If Xenon gas from earth cost $25,000/kg delivered to low lunar orbit and lunar oxygen cost, say, $5,000/kg, which gas would you prefer to use? How much work would need to be done to an off-the-shelf Hall thruster to get it to thrust with oxygen?&nbsp; </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

 

[kelvinzero]

<p>Hi Paul,</p><p>I dont know how easy oxygen would be to ionise but I think it would have the problem of being highly reactive and eating through the delicate filaments these devices tend to have.</p>

 

[michaelmozina]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>1.&nbsp; Lunar oxygen might possibly be cheap someday.2.&nbsp; Ion propulsion is a mass-efficient way to get nonperishable freight from low earth orbit to lunar orbit, or from geosynchronous orbit to Martian orbit.&nbsp; It's slow but it's economical, and with nonperishables a low price counts.&nbsp; Ion thruster engines work now.&nbsp; The Russian Space Agency has used them since the 1980s.I heard one person's opinion that lunar oxygen (or any other extraterrestrial source of oxygen) will possibly work in a Hall-effect ion thruster.&nbsp; Any confirmations?&nbsp; Is this idea possible? I suspect that there's an efficiency penalty between xenon and oxygen.&nbsp; How much is the penalty? If Xenon gas from earth cost $25,000/kg delivered to low lunar orbit and lunar oxygen cost, say, $5,000/kg, which gas would you prefer to use? How much work would need to be done to an off-the-shelf Hall thruster to get it to thrust with oxygen?&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; <br /> Posted by paul_klinkman</DIV></p><p>Oxygen isn't a particularly "heavy" ion by ion thruster standards, and as others have noted it's also typically highly reactive with other elements.&nbsp; More importantly however, an ion thruster is typically a low thrust, long duration type of process, and it is unclear how one would attempt to harvest oxygen from the moon and put it on board the thruster.&nbsp; Due to it's gravity, and due to the low thrust performace characteristics of a ion thruster, I doubt that any type of ion thruster is capable of lifting itself off from the moon. </p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> It seems to be a natural consequence of our points of view to assume that the whole of space is filled with electrons and flying electric ions of all kinds. - Kristian Birkeland </div>