- Founded
- Country
- 2020
- USA
- Funding
- $1.3M+
Product/Service - Surveyorbot
- Classification
- Surface Habitats & Structures
- Category
- Space Construction Company
Landing Pads
Commercial Rover
- Fields
- Moon
- Status
- Development
- First launch
- Not announced
- Astroport and its research partner, The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), will develop geotechnical engineering processes for "Lunar Surface Site Preparation for Landing/Launch Pad and Blast Shield Construction" with a focus on "regolith works" for bulk regolith excavation and movement. The project will build on Astroport's previous Phase 1 STTR-21 work on regolith melting technologies and robotic bricklaying system for lunar infrastructure construction.
- The new research will describe a multi-step Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for "regolith works" executed by multiple machines operating autonomously or in remote control mode with step sequencing/timing to enable machine-to-machine collaboration. In particular, it will define conveyance techniques and sorting and filtering processes to prepare and deliver excavated regolith to Astroport's Lunatron™ bricklayer system.
- Astroport is developing patent-pending technology to melt lunar soil (regolith) to form durable lunar bricks using its LunatronTM brick-making machine. These bricks can then be used as a coating for flat surfaces such as airstrips, roads or the foundations of structures. Astroport has received separate research funding for the development of its in-furnace smelting technology, The regolithic raw material for the manufacture of bricks is acquired during the excavation and leveling phase for the preparation of the landing site.
- For this, FourPoint will use its Autonomous Transport Platform (ATP) for the transport and delivery of sorted and filtered materials that will feed the LunatronTM brickyard. FourPoint's ATP offers a complete solution for autonomous machine operation, suitable for work in specific areas, which improves the speed and efficiency of work in surface mines, as well as other extreme environments. such as the lunar surface.
- NASA awarded Astroport a Phase 1 SBIR to advance development of its unique Lunatron® furnace-nozzle for making bricks from molten lunar regolith (lunar soil). Bricks are used for the surface pavement in Astroport's LLP design.
- NASA awarded Astroport's parent company, XArc, a Phase 1 STTR contract for development of an autonomous pathfinder surveying robot (Surveyorbot) to determine geotechnical characteristics of a potential landing site. The Surveyorbot will perform precursor surveying missions prior to deployment of surface construction operations, to characterize regolith handling difficulty at a selected site, such as load bearing capability, compaction and penetration depth, as well as soil settlement due to imposed loads from heavy cargo landers.
- NASA also selected Astroport and its consortium team comprised of industry partners and academic research institutions, for a Phase 2 STTR award valued at $850,000 to refine the team's Phase 1 defined concept of operations (CONOPS) and system architecture for the LLP site preparation and construction process. A bulk regolith distribution system for hauling excavated regolith, processing at a sorting station, and sieving for feedstock production for the LLP brickmaking robots is further developed during the Phase 2 effort.
Payloads to be Launched on Upcoming SpaceX Mission to the Moon, 2023-11-21
- Five customers are releasing details of their payloads today: Argo Space, Astroport, Avalon Space, Interstellar Lab, and LifeShip. Three more customers are contracted with Astrolab but intend to release details of their payloads at a future date, closer to launch. Collectively, these eight contracts are valued at more than $160 million.
- Astroport Space Technologies of San Antonio, Texas builds infrastructure for the Moon, and intends to melt regolith to make bricks for roads, launch and landing pads, and shelters. To understand the properties of the regolith in the lunar environment, the payload will demonstrate a proof of concept for a proprietary sieving and grain separation technology that mitigates electrostatic forces inherent in the regolith. This technology will isolate the regolith grains that are ideal for manufacturing lunar bricks. FLEX’s robotic arm will collect regolith for the sieving and grain separation experiment.
- Separately, the Astroport payload also includes a limited number of personalized lunar simulant basalt bricks sold exclusively for placement on the lunar surface to mark the start of the first road on the Moon. “Our ideal customer for our personalized brick program is someone from an Artemis Accords signatory country who places an order for a brick to be made from the basalt soil of their respective country,” said Sam Ximenes, CEO, Astroport. FLEX will use its robotic arm to install these bricks to begin the construction of this initial lunar road.
Lunar
Mars
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