There has been significant interest over the years in leveraging 3D printing technologies to manufacture structures on the moon. Key to these investigations has been lunar soil, also known as lunar regolith, the layer of unconsolidated rock that covers the moon’s entire surface that is created by the recurrent impacts of meteoroids and other space particles. Lunar regolith has the potential to be made into a 3D printable construction material, which would enable astronauts to eventually build structures on the moon from local materials (dramatically minimizing the need to transport materials from Earth). One of the projects investigating the use of lunar regolith with 3D printing is Italian initiative GLAMS.
GLAMS, which stands for Geopolymers for Additive Manufacturing and Lunar Monitoring, is a two-year project that has the goal of developing structural components for lunar bases using 3D printing technologies and a lunar-regolith based material. Funded by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and launched in 2023, the project brings together partners from across the country, including the University of Padua’s Center for Space Studies and Activities (CISAS), the Genoa-based Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry and Energy Technologies of the CNR (ICMATE), and WASP, a 3D printing specialist based out of Massa Lombarda.
The initial focus of the project has been to develop and optimize geopolymer binders created from lunar regolith. Specifically, University of Padua professors Luca Valentini and Giorgia Franchin created the cement-like geopolymer material using lunar soil particles and chemical activation. ICMATE team members have then been working to prepare the material for 3D printing by adding foaming agents to the regolith-based mixture to create a building material with a printable viscosity and a macro-porous structure.
Manufacturing on Demand
The 3D printing portion of the project, which is essential to testing the material’s printability as well as the strength and integrity of printed structures, is relying on the WASP 40100 LDM 3D printer, a medium-sized printing platform designed to process fluid-dense materials like clay, stoneware, porcelain and earthenware. The 3D printer has also been equipped with a Manual Feeding System Extruder, which expands its capabilities to handle concrete and geopolymer materials.
Post-printing, the sample structures will be integrated with sensors that can monitor the lunar regolith material’s properties and behavior over time as well as in response to “micro-meteoric impacts”. Ultimately, the 3D printed structures made from the regolith must be able to withstand the harsh environment of the moon’s surface, which is not only subjected to meteoroid impacts but also extreme temperature variations.
To date, the partners have 3D printed their first geopolymer samples, which were recently presented at the 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Milan. Though small, the 3D printed structures represent a promising advancement for the future of lunar habitations and settlements. As WASP states: “The hope is that the GLAMS Project will help meet the needs of space agencies by creating semi-permanent human settlements on the Moon within the next decade.”
GLAMS is one of several projects around the world investigating the use of lunar soil to create functional materials. In another particularly innovative project, which brings together the University of Texas at El Paso and NASA, researchers are developing rechargeable batteries made from Lunar and Martian regolith. The batteries, based on a sodium-ion battery chemistry, could be used in space as well as here on Earth.
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Author: Tess Boissonneault
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