Description

Context and Issues:

Future lunar and Martian space missions will require autonomous energy systems capable of producing heat in situ, without relying on an atmosphere. Pyrotechnic compositions—energetic materials that can burn without atmospheric oxygen—offer a promising solution, but their development for space applications is currently limited by two scientific challenges:

1.Understanding the physico-chemical mechanisms governing the ignition and combustion of iron/regolith mixtures, especially in the condensed phase.

2. The lack of predictive models for designing controlled combustion systems suited to the constraints of long-duration missions.

Scientific Objectives:

This thesis aims to (i) experimentally characterize the combustion of composite iron/lunar regolith pellets, investigating the influence of various parameters on combustion rate (porosity, particle size, potential additives such as Mg), (ii) d...