A Water-Ice Phase-Change Buffer Smoothing Peak Thermal Loads at a Lunar Habitat

This study sizes a water-ice phase-change buffer that shaves an 8 kilowatt thermal peak lasting 6 hours: the buffer must absorb 173 megajoules, requiring 0.52 tonnes of ice with a volume of 0.57 cubic metres at the stated utilisation. Sizing follows from computed thermal budgets derived in the study. This is a computed study with no targeting or weapon application. The work is simulated and computed from stated assumptions, not measured.