SBIR-STTR Award

Lunar Resources, America’s leading space industrial company and the corporate spin-out of NASA’s Wake Shield Facility (WSF) program propose to NASA a novel 3D printing system optimized for the lunar environment. The system is an innovative combination of unique mass control in an ultra-energy-efficient pulsed power printing head to perform direct additive manufacturing of lunar regolith without any reagents. Together this new technology enables additive manufacture of lunar structures from lunar regolith and in-situ derivative materials by printing from any direction to make structures with geometries and complexity not before possible on the Moon. Potential NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words): The innovation the team proposes to develop as part of this NASA SBIR Phase I effort includes bulk manufacturing of lunar regolith at low power input levels while expanding lunar manufacturing design options to complex geometries. Specific NASA applications including manufacturing large-scale complex structures from lunar regolith and derived materials bsuch as landing pads, habitats, roads, walls, shields, berms, and beams but Potential Non-NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words): The proposed innovation can be utilized to produce commercial infrastructure on the Moon such as landing pads, bridges, buildings and other complex lunar surface structures. As well be modified for in-space additive manufacturing applications. Duration: 6

Lunar Resources, an American pioneering space industrial company proposes to NASA the maturation of the Pulsed Electrical Discharge Additive Manufacturing Lunar Surface Construction system (PE3D-LSC). A novel additive manufacturing system optimized for lunar regolith and the lunar environment. The technology does not use binders or reagents to additively manufacture unadulterated regolith and is highly power efficient. During the Phase I effort, the technology was shown to successfully melt lunar regolith in air and vacuum with a quarter of the power required by state-of-the-art laser systems. In addition, a unique regolith feed system was also successfully tested to be able to feed the PE3D-LSC with regolith without mechanical mechanisms. During the Phase II effort, the PE3D-LSC will be advanced, with a focus on reducing power input and increasing quality of regolith additive manufacturing parts/structured in vacuum to enable the additive manufacture of lunar structures from regolith in geometries and complexity not before possible on the Moon. Anticipated

Benefits:
The PE3D-LSC will support NASA and private sector goals of producing in-situ infrastructure on the lunar surface. Key applications include the additive manufacturing of lunar regolith to produce vertical and horizontal structures (landing pads, unpressurized facilities, roads, habitats, pressurized facilities), in-situ photovoltaic substrates, structural elements, concave or parabolic functional structures, radiation shields, and other structures on the Moon. The PE3D-LSC will support the private sector in constructing and maintaining lunar surface infrastructures such as landing pads, roads, and buildings. It can also be utilized to produce structural elements which can be launched off the Moon and assembled in Cislunar. And the technology can perform additive manufacturing of new high-temperature materials on Earth.