JPL Summer Job

So today marks the beginning of my 4th week of work (wow, I can't believe I've already worked here for 3 weeks...what have I done with all that time?!!). I'm working in Section 312E - Exploration Systems Concepts. Right now, JPL is trying to get involved in Project Constellation, which is basically the current roadmap for returning people to the Moon.

I'm involved in a few different projects, but mainly I've been working on an ISRU (in situ resource utilization) study, where we would use products found on the Moon to produce propellant or consumables. At JPL, we're looking at the mass savings that would result from using ISRU to produce part or all of the propellant required for the lunar lander and/or Earth return stage, instead of bringing everything we need from Earth. I'm also working with the team here that is studying lunar lander concepts, as well as a group that is attempting a control authority analysis for lunar missions.