The award will be used to develop the technology
necessary to construct facilities on the moon's surface, including highways and
landing areas.
NASA needs new technologies to upgrade the moon's
infrastructure while it conducts exploration under Artemis.
In an effort to fill this need, NASA has contracted
with ICON, a leading provider of advanced construction technology best known
for its 3-D printed homes, for a $57.2 million project to create construction
methods for the construction of infrastructures, such as landing pads,
habitats, and roads, on the moon. The agreement is valid through 2028.
The NASA Small Business Innovation Research program's Phase III includes the contract that was signed on Tuesday. It is an extension of an earlier SBIR dual-use contract with the Air Force that was partly financed by NASA.
With the money from the grant, ICON will be able to
continue its Project Olympus research and development of space-based building
solutions.
Niki Werkheiser, director of technology maturation
at NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, said that in order to explore
other planets, we need cutting-edge new technologies that are tailored to their
conditions and our exploration demands. With the help of our commercial
partners, we can further this development and build the capabilities we'll need
for next missions.
According to the statement, the new prize will
support ICON's Olympus construction system, "which is intended to exploit
local resources on the moon and Mars as building materials."
ICON will launch their technology via a lunar gravity
simulation flight. In order to better understand how lunar regolith—a layer of
debris covering the moon's surface—behaves in a simulated lunar gravity, the
business will also use samples of lunar regolith.
The technology, according to ICON, "will assist
construct the fundamental infrastructure required for a sustained lunar economy
and, ultimately, longer-term lunar colonization."
In order to shift the focus of space travel from
"there and back again" to "there to stay," said Jason
Ballard, co-founder and CEO of ICON, "we're going to require strong,
durable and globally competent systems that can utilise the local resources of
the moon and other planetary bodies." The first building constructed by
humans on an alien planet will be the contract's final delivery, which will be
a noteworthy accomplishment.
Under the Moon to Mars Planetary Autonomous
Construction Technologies initiative of NASA's Space Technology Mission
Directorate, ICON will collaborate with the Marshall Space Flight Center.
ICON's commercial endeavors and its engagement with
NASA will both grow as a result of the funding. For the NASA Crew Health and
Performance Analog mission in 2023, ICON 3-D printed the Mars Dune Alpha, a
1,700 square foot recreation of a Martian dwelling.
As part of its plans to send men to the moon again
and ultimately to Mars, NASA is also considering how to create a permanent
presence in space and on the moon. Therefore, creating infrastructure on the
moon is a crucial step towards achieving that aim.
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