Lunar Regolith Concrete Initiative: A Proof-of-Concept Lunarcrete Production Mission

Overview

As international space agencies prepare to test new equipment to establish lunar and interplanetary colonies, building infrastructure on these celestial bodies becomes more of a concern. Therefore, replicating building materials used frequently on Earth, such as concrete, is utmost important. Although past research has confirmed that lunar concrete (lunarcrete) is stronger than Earth concrete, it has not been completed on-site, which is how lunarcrete will be created during lunar colonization. This paper proposes Lunar Regolith Concrete Initiative (LRCI), a mission to deploy a rover, a lander, a concrete mold, two furnaces, and a hydrogen tank to create 30 cylinders of lunarcrete, which can then be returned to Earth for testing through the Artemis III mission. Both lunar maria and highland soil will be used for gaseous water and cement/aggregate production, respectively. LRCI will use two Minotaur V launches: one to deploy the rover/lander with hydrogen tank and another to deploy both furnaces. The hydrogen tank will react with ilmenite in maria soil to produce gaseous water, which is cured with lunarcrete through the Dry-Mix/Steam-Injection (DMSI) method. This reaction also produces iron, which can be used in future missions for rebar. If this mission is successful, then it can provide a stepping stone for infrastructure development on the Moon, Mars, and future bodies space agencies will explore.

Competition history

• AJAS 2024 Category not listed

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