Excavation Forces in Reduced Gravity Environment

When we return to the moon we will likely do so on limited budgets that will necessitate small, low-cost missions. Since the cost of transportation to the moon consumes upwards of 50% of the cost of an entire mission, one way to reduce mission cost is to use lunar resources to the greatest extent practical. This will reduce the amount of material transported to the moon, translating directly and linearly into cost savings. The most obvious …