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NASA NTRSDate not supplied

3GPP Telecommunications Technology on the Moon

Under NASA’s Artemis program, NASA is planning to send astronauts back to the Moon in the next couple of years. Near term missions will be analogous but much more sophisticated versions of the last couple of Apollo missions. However, unlike Apollo, this time NASA intends to put the infrastructure in place to support long term human presence and eventual industrialization of the Moon. To make this vision a reality, NASA plans to collaborate with commercial and international partners as much as possible as opposed to developing, building, and operating equipment on its own. Lunar infrastructure will eventually be built over time by many organizations, public and private, to support sustained human exploration, science, and industrial activities. Obviously, this vision for the future will be impossible without a robust lunar communications and navigation system that can support many users with varying degrees of services. On Earth, most people are very familiar with the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) 5G mobile telecommunications technology. NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation office would like to see a lunar communications and navigation network with similar capabilities to the cellular communication networks most of us enjoy today. Building such a network will require participation by many organizations. This paper will provide an overview of NASA’s interest in using 5G and beyond on the lunar surface; it will also describe current work based on 3GPP standards within NASA or funded by NASA, such as Nokia’s upcoming Tipping Point demonstration of 4G / LTE on the lunar surface.

Bernard Edwards↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Characterization of Volatiles from Simulated Lunar Highland Melts Under Vacuum

As part of the Artemis program that returns humans to the Moon for sustained presence, the in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) pilot plant is developing hardware to test systems in relevant lunar environments. As this evolves, the ever-growing field of interest requires in-depth understanding of the environment for operations. Lunar regolith contains compounds that can be harvested as resources such as fuel, or life support and construction feedstocks. Therefore, this necessitates an understanding of its constituents and processed by-products under some of the extreme conditions imposed for resource extraction.

Oxygen Extraction↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

New Topographic Products for the Lunar South Pole from the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA)

Due to the Moon’s low obliquity and highly cratered topography, its polar environments host regions of extreme illumination conditions. Multiple lines of evidence indicate the presence of geologically stable ice and other volatiles on or below the surface within polar permanently shadowed regions (PSRs). These regions are valuable targets for science and exploration as they hold clues to the history of water in the inner solar system and may hold sufficient reserves for in-situ resource utilization. Standing high above the PSRs, peaks of long-duration sunlight are oases where landed assets can easily generate power and communicate. For these reasons, the lunar south pole is the target of many upcoming missions including NASA’s Artemis program. The Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) provides the global geodetic framework with which past, present, and future missions can accurately geolocate their data. Laser altimeters like LOLA are unaffected by shadows and, therefore, provide the most direct measurements of topography within PSRs. Here we present the latest work to improve LOLA’s polar topographic maps and resulting derived products, such as PSR maps, which are crucial tools for science and exploration of the polar regions

Michael K Barker↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

VO 2 -based Thermochromic Variable Emittance Coating

As NASA’s Artemis program requirements become increasingly challenging for thermal control, novel passive thermal control solutions are needed to enable lunar surface and lunar transit operations. A thermochromic coating which changes its heat rejection with temperature could eliminate the need for dual loop thermal control architecture in human spacecraft and could reduce or eliminate the need for survival heaters in robotic spacecraft. The variable heat rejection is accomplished by incorporating a vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ) layer into a multilayer coating stack up. Intrinsically, VO 2 changes from an insulator to a metal at 68 °C, so a tungsten dopant is introduced to reduce the transition temperature to room temperature or below. This project is focused on developing a process for doping the VO 2 to achieve the desired transition temperature

Sydney Taylor↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Architecture Robustness in NASA’s Moon to Mars Capability Development – FY23 Data Results

In preparation for humanity’s return to the Moon, it is important to advance technologies and capabilities that will allow for sustainability on the lunar surface and prepare for human missions to Mars. As charged in Space Policy Directive-1, NASA’s Artemis program will advance and develop technologies on the lunar surface that can be leveraged towards a safe and successful human round-trip mission to Mars. NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Capabilities Integration Team (ESDMD CIT) is advancing a continuous effort to identify and map gaps between capabilities and anticipated human spaceflight architecture elements. As upcoming exploration missions approach, the architectural design tradespace increasingly narrows. This paper provides an updated exploration of certain architectural and element design choices for upcoming missions to the Moon and Mars, comparing and contrasting capability gaps and classes of capability gaps that are architecture robust with those that are not. In doing so, we identify certain capabilities as relevant, and therefore robust, across varying architectural possibilities while identifying other capabilities as only applicable to specific architectural pathways. Capabilities that are applicable to multiple elements across the architecture have more architectural breadth because of their increased likelihood of remaining relevant even if changes are made to some elements they are mapped to. Correspondingly, capabilities that are applicable to specific elements across the architecture but are necessary under almost any eventuality have more architectural depth because of their increased likelihood of remaining relevant even if architecture changes are made. One of the key analyses in this paper is an exploration of architecture robustness as a function of capability area, as defined by the NASA Technology Taxonomy. These results are then evaluated and analyzed across human spaceflight architecture elements to gain a greater understanding of the relationships between exploration capabilities and the systems that will eventually be implemented. Additional insights regarding investment strategies are also considered. General conclusions about these relationships are drawn.

Gaps↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Kinematic Navigation and Cartography Knapsack (KNaCK) LiDAR System: Overview and Applications.

Improved terrain characterization and navigation sensors and methods are needed to enhance crew safety, ISRU return, and scientific understanding of future landing sites. Specific to the Artemis Program and sustained exploration at the lunar South Pole, extreme low-angle solar illumination conditions pose significant challenges to existing photogrammetry-based robotic navigation. Additionally, a major challenge for navigation on the Moon and other planetary surfaces is the lack of Global Positioning and Navigation Systems (GPS or GNSS). Thus, there is a need for an alternative to image-based navigation that allow for precise and accurate mapping in GPS-denied environments on any planetary body. Here, we describe the Kinematic Navigation and Cartography Knapsack (KNaCK) LiDAR system; a backpack-mounted, mobile navigation and terrain mapping system that uses a velocity-sensing coherent light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system based on a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) technique, contains minimal moving parts, and employs sophisticated positioning algorithms. During a traverse, this instrument emits light pulses to continually scan a scene to build a three-dimensional point cloud representation of topography. A measure of the Doppler-velocity at each of millions of range points sampled per second allows for a 6 degree of freedom (6- DoF) estimate of the sensor’s position and the development of novel position-from-velocity mapping and positioning algorithms for loop-closure in GPS denied environments. Included with paper is the video presentation for the Figure 2: FMCW-LiDAR sensor on Kinematic Navigation and Cartography Knapsack (KNaCK) (Aeva Aeries 1)

M. Zanetti↗

NASA NTRS2023

Radiation Shielding Plasma Sprayed Coatings Heads to International Space Station for MISSE-17 Experiments

NASA's Artemis program aims to return to the moon in search of scientific discoveries and establish a habitat using in-situ resource utilization. However, the past lunar explorations presented challenges, such as thermal cycles, solar and intergalactic cosmic radiation, and severe abrasive interaction of sharp lunar regolith particles[1]–[4].Dust mitigation and radiation shielding have become the most important concerns for lunar structural components and rovers which can fail abruptly without a protective solution. To counter these threats, Plasma Forming Laboratory(PFL) at Florida International University (FIU), in collaboration with NASA, has developed a novel multi-functional coating to protect the components synergistically against abrasion, erosion ,and radiation. The titanium-boron nitride composite coatings were prepared using the atmospheric plasma spray technique from engineered composite powders [5], [6].The coatings were subjected to extensive characterization and tribological study with lunar mare simulant JSC-1A, which shows tremendous improvement in the wear performance. The coatings subjected to neutron radiation shielding experiments at NASA Langley Research Center exhibited significantly improved neutron attenuation capacity compared to the substrate. The coating is selected to undergo radiation exposure on the International Space Station as a part of MISSE-17 (Materials International Space Station Experiment).

Thermal Spray↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration: Laser Driven Reaction in a Thermal-Vacuum Environment and Project Status

Introduction: Lunar regolith is approximately 45% oxygen by mass. The majority of the oxygen is bound in silicate minerals. The carbothermal reduction process has been proven to be effective at removing oxygen from lunar regolith simulants [1]. The Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration (CaRD) project aims to increase the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of a combined solar concentrator and carbothermal reduction systemin order to demonstrate this technology on the lunar surface. The CaRD project is divided into two design cycles, a brass board and prototype. The status of both design cycles will be discussed, as well as concepts for how this technology can be applied to the Artemis program in the future. Brassboard Vacuum Test: For the brassboard demonstration, a 2 kW Nd-YAG laser was used to heat lunar regolith simulant within a carbothermal reactor developed by Sierra Space. The reactor was placed inside of a 15 ft thermal vacuum chamber at the Johnson Space Center. The resulting reaction products were analyzed using both a gas chromotograph and mass spectrometer provided by Kennedy Space Center. Thermal data was also collected. Prototype Design: For the prototype, the CaRD team will perform another thermal vacuum test at JSC using the same interfaces and assets developed for the brassboard but will test a new carbothermal reactor design that Sierra Space is developing through the Carbothermal Oxygen Production Reactor (COPR) Tipping Point project that will include a means to autonomously move regolith in and out of the reactor. In addition, a deployable solar concentrator is being developed by Glenn Research Center using mirrors produced by Carbon Mirror Applications. The solar concentrator will be used to deliver solar energy into a carbothermal reactor to melt regolith and extract oxygen. Avionics and software for the concentrator are being developed by Kennedy Space Center. Future Concepts: An ongoing task within the CaRD project is to update models that can be used to determine the mass, power, and size of In-Situ Resource Utilization concepts at various scales. These models can now be used to analyze alternatives for future applications based on the latest available data.

A J Paz↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Flexible User Radio for Lunar Missions

NASA’s Artemis program and other lunar exploration and development programs are planning over 40 lunar missions before 2030. Lunar missions, both crewed and uncrewed, include orbiters, landers, rovers, and surface stations. All these missions require communications with Earth, either via Direct to Earth (DTE) links or through relays in lunar orbit. Multiple DTE options are available among existing and planned ground stations: Deep Space Network (DSN), European Space Agency, and others. Relay options include the planned Lunar Gateway, LunaNet compliant relays, and some lunar landers propose to launch dedicated orbiters. The dilemma for lunar system designers is to identify a communication link which meets mission requirements but does not have issues of limited access (e.g. DSN is in high demand supporting deep space missions with high priority and some with inflexible schedules), system impacts (high power Radio Frequency (RF) for DTE links), cost (dedicated relay), or operational date. To avoid this difficult decision, a Flexible Radio for Lunar Missions is proposed, which will enable system designs to proceed prior to any final decision on the communication network to be used, by enabling compatibility with any of multiple DTE or orbital relay communication systems. The Flexible Radio will support the necessary frequency, bandwidth, modulation, and power requirements to interoperate with the majority of known or planned DTE or relay systems, and can be designed into a lunar mission without prior knowledge of which link will ultimately be used. Furthermore, the link being used can be changed as needed during the mission, in near real time. The Flexible Radio design will leverage work already completed at NASA in the areas of Wideband RF, Software Defined Radio, Adaptive Coding and Modulation, and Phased Array antennas. The Flexible Radio requires sufficient bandwidth to cover the allocated frequencies for both the operation of links in cislunar space and for space-to-Earth links; the flexibility to support multiple modulations, data rates, and coding schemes; the ability to identify available relays, detect and recognize the signals of those relays, and adapt its own frequency, modulation, symbol rate, and code rate to operate with the detected relay (or DTE station); and finally, it requires appropriate software to support network configuration and interoperability with the detected network. The Flexible Radio can be designed in a sufficiently small, lightweight, and low-power package to be used in a wide variety of lunar systems. The initial implementation, as proposed, will focus on the Ka-band, supporting up to 2 GHz bandwidth around the 27 GHz frequency for return links, and 23 GHz for forward links. Other frequency bands are under consideration for future configurations. The software defined modem will support OQPSK, BPSK, and NASA-defined modulations which also support two-way ranging with data. For near-real time adaptation, the Flexible Radio will scan the sky for available relays, using a phased array antenna with Adaptive/Cognitive Communications. It will then configure for network interoperability supporting DTN and other protocol options. The Flexible Radio will support scheduled connections and on-demand use when available.

Lunar Space Communications↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Designing A Lunar Terrain Vehicle: Thermal Challenges

The Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) is an unpressurized rover that will be used to transport astronauts on the South Pole of the moon under the Artemis Program. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will be partnering with an American industry partner to develop the LTV. This paper discusses the thermal challenges faced when designing a crewed lunar vehicle concept and shares a concept that addresses these constraints. One of the most difficult aspects of the design is surviving the cold lunar night on the South Pole which includes permanently shadowed regions (PSR) that can have an extended lunar night duration of 125 hours. Other challenges are critical component temperature limits and programmatic constraints.

Zaida Y. Hernandez↗

NASA NTRS2023

B 4 C-Al Metal Matrix Composites for Extreme Space Environments

Extreme space environments such as space vacuum, radiation, thermal extremes and cycles, jagged lunar dust, microgravity, micrometeoroids and orbit debris (MMOD), thrust plume ejecta, and their synergistically-adverse effects are difficult challenges for safe and sustainable space exploration to outer planets and satellites. Prolonged space radiation exposure embrittles materials and structures and abrasive jagged dust particles aggressively wear and erode moving parts leading to premature failure. To counter or even alleviate such potential failures, robust and exceptional materials are needed to make NASA missions including Artemis program sustainable with minimum service and repair needs. This study reports that boron-containing inclusion, B 4 C, can improve wear resistance and radiation shielding/resistance of aluminum alloy (Al6061) significantly to extend the service life in extreme space environments. With increasing B 4 C inclusions, the tensile strength increased up to 20 vol% at both room temperature and an elevated temperature (200˚C) while thermal conductivity decreased gradually as a function of B 4 C concentration. The neutron shielding effectiveness increased more than 110 times when 50 vol% B 4 C is incorporated in Al6061 when compared with the pristine Al6061. The shielding effectiveness under galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and solar particle events (SPE) was also studied computationally using on-line tool for the assessment of radiation in space (OLTARIS). By adding B 4 C, the adverse effect caused by secondary radiation through the Al6061 matrix was effectively suppressed to improve the shielding effectiveness against GCR and SPE. The presence of boron in B 4 C was the main reason for the enhanced radiation shielding capability against neutron, GCR, and SPE environments.

Sang-Hyon Chu↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of the Advanced Regolith Ground Operations (ARGO) Test Bed – A Robotic Excavation and Construction Test Facility with Simulated Lunar Environments

NASA’s Artemis Program is working towards developing a sustained presence on the Moon and eventually Mars. To achieve this goal, robotic excavation, site preparation and construction technologies are under development to establish the capability to construct infrastructure such as launch/landing pads and radiation protection shelters. Technologies must be proven in simulated Lunar conditions prior to surface demonstration missions. To that end, the Relevant Additive Construction Technology (REACT) Announcement of Collaboration Opportunities (ACO) project with AI Space Factory and the NASA Kennedy Space Center’s (KSC) Granular Mechanics and Regolith Operations Laboratory (a.k.a. Swamp Works) has developed the Advanced Regolith Ground Operations (ARGO) Test Bed. ARGO includes a ~1.5m x 1.5m x 1.2m (~5x5x4ft) vacuum chamber, cryogenically cooled thermal shroud, 3-axis robotic positioning system, and regolith bin. For the REACT project, a pellet extruder, feed hopper, and heated 600mm x 600mm (23.6x23.6in) build plate have been installed on ARGO to advance the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of regolith-polymer composite Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) additive construction systems, processes, and materials. This paper will focus on the design and operational characteristics of the ARGO Test Bed with pellet extruder.

regolith↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration (CaRD)

Introduction: Lunar regolith is approximately 45% oxygen by mass. The majority of the oxygen is bound in silicate minerals. The carbothermal reduction process has been proven to be effective at removing oxygen from lunar regolith simulants. The Carbothermal Reduction Demonstration (CaRD) project aims to increase the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of a combined solar concentrator and carbothermal reduction systemin order to demonstrate this technology on the lunar surface. The CaRD project is divided into two design cycles, a brass board and prototype. The status of both design cycles will be discussed, as well as concepts for how this technology can be applied to the Artemis program in the future. Brassboard Vacuum Test: For the brassboard demonstration, a 2 kW Nd-YAG laser was used to heat lunar regolith simulant within a carbothermal reactor developed by Sierra Space. The reactor was placed inside of a 15 ft thermal vacuum chamber at the Johnson Space Center. The resulting reaction products were analyzed using both a gas chromotograph and mass spectrometer provided by Kennedy Space Center. Thermal data was also collected. Prototype Design: For the prototype, the CaRD team will perform another thermal vacuum test at JSC using the same interfaces and assets developed for the brassboard but will test a new carbothermal reactor design that Sierra Space is developing through the Carbothermal Oxygen Production Reactor (COPR) Tipping Point project that will include a means to autonomously move regolith in and out of the reactor. In addition, a deployable solar concentrator is being developed by Glenn Research Center using mirrors produced by Carbon Mirror Applications. The solar concentrator will be used to deliver solar energy into a carbothermal reactor to melt regolith and extract oxygen. Avionics and software for the concentrator are being developed by Kennedy Space Center. Future Concepts: An ongoing task within the CaRD project is to update models that can be used to determine the mass, power, and size of In-Situ Resource Utilization concepts at various scales. These models can now be used to analyze alternatives for future applications based on the latest available data.

Aaron Paz↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Update On NASA ISRU Plans, Priorities, and Activities

Introduction: In 2022, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States of America (US) Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) released the In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Envisioned Future Priorities (EFP), along with other discipline EFPs, to the public in April for comment. The ISRU EFP is a ‘strategic’ level document to provide guidance to NASA, industry, academia, and international space agencies on the long-term vision for ISRU, as well as the goals, objectives, state of the art, gaps, and near-term priorities to achieve the vision. Since the release, a significant number of comments have been received through a Request for Information, and interactions at meetings and conferences. Based on comments received, as well as changes to the NASA budget, the release of the NASA Moon to Mars (M2M) Objectives at the International Aeronautical Congress (IAC) in Paris, and evolving plans for the Artemis program, an updated version of the ISRU EFP was created and released in March, 2023.

ISRU↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

LANDO: Developing Autonomous Payload Offloading Capabilities for Lunar Surface Operations

Introduction: The Lightweight Surface Manipulation System (LSMS) AutoNomy capabilities Development for surface Operations and construction (LANDO) project is an Early Career Initiative selected for funding by NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate. LANDO is developing a general-purpose autonomy framework applicable to serial and tension-actuated manipulation agents, that will be validated using an existing prototype of the LSMS-L35 (35-kg wrist lift capacity on the lunar surface [Fig. 1], sized for a Commercial Lunar Pay-load Services (CLPS) mission). The autonomous LSMS-L35 will be used to demonstrate autonomous payload handling capabilities for Lunar and other planetary surfaces, directly addressing STMD capability gaps in autonomous excavation and construction operations, advanced robotics and spacecraft autonomy technologies, and technologies supporting emerging space industries including the In-Space Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing national strategy. LSMS: The LSMS is a tension actuated robotic agent that is scalable (reach and lifting capacity in different gravity environments), versatile (types of surface operations), and reusable. Compared to serial arms, the LSMS provides significantly higher structural efficiency and mechanical advantage, enabling a greater payload lift capacity at a lower system mass. The LSMS is envisioned to be a crucial part of the excavation and construction portfolio, capable of supporting a variety of activities on the lunar surface. Autonomous payload handling is one of the first activities the LSMS can support that develops capabilities that are extensible to other surface operations. Payload handling is required to: remove payloads from a lander; place payloads on mobile agents for transport from a lander to construction site/assembly point; emplace payloads in their operational configuration, and aggregate components to create an asset. As an example of this critical gap, manifested CLPS missions do not currently have a ubiquitous payload offloading capability; payloads (excluding rovers) are designed to remain on the lander. Why Autonomy? Autonomous robotic systems capable of carrying out excavation and construction operations are a fundamental and critical capability required for realizing the NASA Artemis program vision to “emplace and build the infrastructure, systems, and robotic missions that can enable a sustained lunar surface presence.” While teleoperation is still feasible for lunar surface operations, increased latency at Mars will require validated supervised autonomous technologies capable of operating with minimal human involvement (human-on-the-loop) unless an unexpected event occurs requiring human intervention. Autonomy reduces operator burden, allows operations to continue during uncrewed periods, in-creases the safety of operations by automatically detecting and handling faults, and allows operating in high latency environments. Development Activities: LANDO is extending critical autonomous operations to the manipulation domain and creating an integrated system, based on reusable software modules, that is capable of planning and executing payload handling and autonomous surface operations without requiring hu-man intervention beyond a supervisory role. The priority features under development are 1) autonomously offload payloads from a tilted lander deck without buckling the LSMS; 2) sensing whether a payload is safe to lift and handle; and 3) integrate with Astrobotic’s CLPS lander. The poster presentation will highlight current development activities over the past year on LSMS-L35 prototype hard-ware design, and autonomy software.

in-space assembly↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Lunar Dust and Dust Mitigation Testing

Lunar dust was one of the most persistent problems for the Apollo astronauts due to its’ abrasiveness and strong adherence to surfaces. With the Artemis program, NASA is planning longer stays on the lunar surface, with more activities that have the potential to put the astronauts and equipment in contact with greater quantities of lunar dust. The success of these missions will depend on our understanding of material interactions with lunar dust and the development of ways to mitigate dust effects. This is particularly true in cases where exposure to dust will lead to failure of components, unacceptable loss of power or thermal control, unacceptable loss of visibility, or health issues. Lunar dust, issues with lunar dust, and ground testing with lunar simulant will be discussed as well as the development of and planned flight testing of optically transparent work function matching coatings to reduce adhesion of dust on the lunar surface.

Lunar dust↗

NASA NTRS2023

Neural Radiance Fields for Shadow Removal and Relighting of Satellite Imagery

Multi-view stereo photogrammetric techniques have been conventionally utilized to generate Global Digital Elevation Models (GDEM) of planetary and lunar surfaces. However, these methods, relying on conventional feature detectors, are often subject to inaccuracies caused by changes in lighting conditions, including diffuse reflection and harsh shading. This has limited the ability of these methods to accurately reconstruct shadowed regions in orbital imagery, such as highly shaded urban areas and the permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) located in the lunar surface, which are critical targets for NASA's Artemis program. Neural Radiance Fields (NeRFs) offer a novel solution to these limitations by breaking away from traditional photogrammetric assumptions of ridged, opaque surfaces. NeRFs are capable of reconstructing 3D objects with variably transmissive properties, such as fluids, PSRs, and reflective surfaces. In this work, we demonstrate the robustness of NeRFs in generating high-fidelity 3D models of terrain from highly shaded orbital imagery acquired from small satellites in low earth orbit (LEO). Our results showcase the ability of NeRF to overcome the limitations of traditional photogrammetric methods and provide a promising solution for reconstructing complex scenes in challenging lighting conditions.

Caleb Ashmore Adams↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

From Regolith to Living Off the Land: Formulating a Data Model to Catalog Lunar Construction Materials

Artemis Program objectives for sustainable, long-term presence on the Moon and more distant planetary surfaces will require learning to “Live off the Land”, relying on in-situ resource utilization to produce infrastructure and building materials from lunar regolith, icy subsurface deposits, and residual waste materials. Meeting demand for consumables while scaling development with resources found within the landing zone will require detailed data on the geology and environment of the lunar surface. Lunar infrastructure development will generate vast amounts of new engineering data regarding availability of processed feedstocks and their performance in building materials. Lunar engineering data accessible to program partners, research institutions and industry may help situate processes and specifications within the in-situ GIS context. Lunar missions to date have generated geological and ice favorability maps of the lunar surface, and recent technology studies have tested automated construction systems and novel material formulations using regolith simulants and binders. Current discussions focus on identifying key feedstocks, quantities required for nominal mission scenarios and infrastructure plans, and mapping the value chain from regolith to feedstock to consumables and construction materials.

lunar construction↗