Planetary Lego: Designing a Construction Block from a Regolith Derived Feedstock for In Situ Robotic Manufacturing

Abstract

Prior to human arrival to the Moon or Mars, some infrastructure will be required to ensure success of the goals of the mission. Such infrastructure may include landing pads, dust mitigation surfaces, thermal wadis, and shelter/habitats. To reduce the mass of construction materials to be transported from Earth, it will be critical to utilize in situ resources as the main construction material. Regolith seems to be the most logical choice given its abundance and easy access. There are two critical components to this task: materials: the ideal material to exploit, given its abundance and accessibility is regolith. Regolith-derived feedstocks that can be used to manufacture parts, tools, and construction materials to ensure a constant supply of raw materials for the success, maintenance, and expansion of a mission. Automation: some of this work is expected to be done before human arrival through robotic operations. Even after human arrival, resource extraction, collection, sorting, processing, and construction should be done tele-robotically to reduce crews’ extra vehicular activity (EVA) time and radiation exposure. This will require equipment that can operate autonomously/semi-autonomously to perform all the tasks involved. Honeybee Robotics, the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES), and USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering and School of Architecture are working together under a NASA STTR Phase I contract to design and test a prototype building block using Hawaiian basalt that can be used for both horizontal and vertical construction projects. The final product should be able to meet construction standards, be manufactured without any additives, have a design that allows for robotic emplacement, and have either an interlocking design or a mechanical joint.