(70h) Mechanical and Rheological Characterization of Lunar and Martian Regolith-Based Cement for in-Situ Extraterrestrial Construction

Building infrastructure on Earth's moon or Mars is an engineering challenge. For instance, on the Moon, the environment is subject to thermal cycling, strong vacuum, and low gravity. These conditions present challenges for the traditional methods used for manufacturing building materials on Earth. Moreover, there are significant advantages in in-situ resource utilization of Lunar/Martian regolith for construction there, and hence, minimal upload of Earth resources. Geopolymers, a new class of cement-binding materials, are gaining attention for extraterrestrial construction applications due to their physical and thermal properties. This talk will focus on alkali-activated extraterrestrial soil simulants formulated akin to geopolymer cement. The lava flow-based Lunar mare simulants BP-1 and JSC-1A were formulated and cast into structural elements. The resulting materials were tested for compressive strength. The cast structural elements offer compressive strengths comparable with and surpassing conventional cement. Rheological studies of the effect of particle size, concentration, and curing temperature and time were used to determine the resulting workability and strength properties of the regolith-based cement. The results provide valuable information for manufacturing extraterrestrial infrastructure including but not limited to landing pads. The aim of these investigations is critically aligned with NASA's Artemis program to return to the Moon to stay by 2024.