through artemis program, NASA intends to send astronauts back to the moon for the first time since the Apollo era. But this time, they intend to remain at the lunar base and build other infrastructure by the end of the decade to enable a “sustained program of lunar exploration and exploitation.” To accomplish this, NASA works with space agencies, commercial partners, and academic institutions to create the necessary mission elements, from launch systems, spacecraft, and human landing systems to payload delivery.
Funded by NASA. University of Arizona College of Engineering (UA-CE) is developing an autonomous robotic network to build sandbag shelters for NASA astronauts on the moon.The design is inspired by cathedral termite mound, native to the desert regions of Africa and northern Australia. Their research was the subject of a paper presented at an international conference. American Astronautical Society Guidance, Navigation, and Control (AAS GNC) conference was held February 1-7 in Littleton and Breckinridge, Colorado.
The team was led by Assoc. Jekan Tanga UA-CE’s Department of Aerospace Mechanical EngineeringHe is also responsible for Space and terrestrial robotic exploration (SpaceTREx) Institute and supported by NASA Asteroid science, technology, and exploration research through an inclusive education system (Asteroid) Institute.He and his team are affiliated with his NASA Jet propulsion laboratory and a Canadian space robot company. MDA Establishes the LUNAR-BRIC consortium to develop technology for the Artemis program.
Under the Artemis program, NASA plans to land astronauts around the moon’s south pole. Artemis III The mission is currently scheduled for 2026/27. By the end of the decade, it plans to build infrastructure for long-term stays like the Lunar Gateway and Artemis Basecamp. The latter element consists of the Foundation Lunar Habitat (FLH), the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV), and the Habitation Mobility Platform (HMB). However, they will also need a semi-permanent safe haven while they search for the perfect spot to build a permanent habitat.
Consistent with NASA’s vision for future space exploration, a key element of this plan is to leverage local resources for building materials and resources. This is a process known as. On-site resource use (ISRU). Building on that concept, Tanga and his team investigated whether sandbags filled with lunar regolith could be used in place of traditional building materials to build lunar infrastructure. This includes housing, warehouses, control towers, robotic facilities, landing pads, and blast walls to protect buildings on the moon as spacecraft take off and land.
Tanga was first inspired by a YouTube video showcasing the work of Nader Hariri, an Iranian-born American architect best known for designing structures that incorporate unconventional building materials. This includes the development of his SuperAdobe sandbag structure for creating structures for developing countries and emergency situations. In the 1980s, the late architect proposed building sandbag structures on the moon and other extraterrestrial locations. Tanga incorporated Kalili’s idea of insect “skyscrapers”, particularly the soaring cathedral termite mound.
These mounds are common in African and Australian deserts and are important in regulating the underground nesting environment. As Tanga explained: UA College of Engineering News Release:
“In the case of termites, it’s very relevant to our extraterrestrial challenges. The extreme desert environments that termites face are similar to conditions on the moon. Importantly, this entire approach depends on water. Most of the moon is dry desert. Learning about that led me toward distributed systems for construction.”
Tanga has long been interested in applying insect social systems to distributed robotic networks. In this network, machines are organized through swarm intelligence and work together without human intervention. In their system, robots embed sensors and electronics in sandbags, fill them with lunar regolith, and use them to assemble structures in place. Some sensors provide location data that helps the robot place sandbags, while others provide communication capabilities and environmental information that alerts it to potential hazards.
These include moonquakes caused by heating and cooling during the lunar day and night (each lasting 14 days). Temperature fluctuations during this cycle are also a potential hazard, with temperatures ranging from -183 to 107 °C (-298 to 224 °F) during day and night. Because the moon is an airless environment, there is also the threat of micrometeorites that hit the surface at average speeds of 96,560 km/h (60,000 mph). The absence of an atmosphere (and magnetosphere) also means that the moon’s surface is exposed to significantly more solar radiation and cosmic rays.
These buildings meet the requirements of NASA’s Artemis program by reducing the amount of material that needs to be transported to the Moon while protecting the harsh lunar environment. NASA awarded Tanga and his team a $500,000 grant through the agency for the lunar project. Space technology Artemis research program(Mstar), part of Minority University Research and Education Project (Mureppu). NASA has also provided $1 million annually to UA student research projects for the past five years. MUREP Institutional Research Opportunities (Milo). Tanga said:
“The goal is to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in the aerospace field. These are hands-on, student-centered projects. This lab provides me with just the environment: a startup culture. leads a team and collaborates with people from a variety of disciplines. I’m happy to be here.”
Thanga and Sivaperuman Muniyasamy, a doctoral student in aerospace engineering and lead author of the paper describing the technology, presented their idea in a confidential session at AAS GNC. “By presenting papers at conferences, we can get feedback from other experts, which will greatly help us move forward,” Muniyasamy said. “It is no coincidence that this team includes academic partners, commercial partners, and government agencies,” Tanga added. “Given the challenges, part of the path is for us to work together.”
Beyond the team’s plans for lunar habitats, the LUNAR-BRIC consortium plans to generate a number of concepts that will support building a space economy. In addition to leading a team of eight undergraduate and master’s students working on the lunar project, Muniyasamy plans to start a space mining company after completing his Ph.D. As he pointed out, NASA plans to build facilities for long-term habitation and industry within a few years of the successful landing. Artemis III This enables (among other things) environmentally friendly lunar and asteroid mining.
Tanga and his team of students collaborated with the university’s commercialization department (Technology Launch Arizona) File a patent for a robotic system and a distributed computer processing network linking the proposed structure and robot.
References: University of Arizona
