{"copyright":{"thirdPartyPermissionsProduced":false,"disclosedToPublic":false,"containsIndication":false,"publisherPermissionOrRightsToDistribute":false,"belongsToUsGov":false,"determinationType":"PUBLIC_USE_PERMITTED","thirdPartyContentCondition":"NOT_SET","belongsToContractor":false,"disclosedInvention":false,"licenseType":"NO","submissionId":20205007535,"containsThirdPartyMaterial":false,"belongsToPublisher":false,"id":"c1a4d760809e4cb68a7a99811fce10f3","belongsToAuthors":false},"subjectCategories":["Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration"],"keywords":["Moon to Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technology (MMPACT)","Lunar construction","In-situ resource utilization"],"exportControl":{"isExportControl":"NO","submissionId":20205007535,"ear":"NO","id":"1b44291525a643a39343f5067742cc38","itar":"NO"},"distributionDate":"2020-10-14T05:00:00.0000000+00:00","fundingNumbers":[{"number":"290711.04.43.62","submissionId":20205007535,"id":"1e2114967aeb4b4da6e00297652fa1ed","type":"WBS"},{"number":"80MSFC18C0011","submissionId":20205007535,"id":"a0d3fc8d5c1d469b8f63e67e32d46e4e","type":"CONTRACT_GRANT"}],"title":"Moon to Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technology (MMPACT) Lunar Surface Construction Activity at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center","stiType":"CONFERENCE_PAPER","distribution":"PUBLIC","submittedDate":"2020-09-13T18:10:17.4113860+00:00","authorAffiliations":[{"organizationId":"ff293352e05b51ca965411fc94f5e325","sequence":0,"submissionId":20205007535,"meta":{"author":{"orcidId":"","name":"J Edmunson"},"organization":{"name":"Marshall Space Flight Center","location":"Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, United States"}},"id":"76dcb1908c3443499be4133732459be2","userType":"CONTRACTOR_GRANTEE","userId":"e66cf7cd217748c4a608bfb542b5c95a"},{"organizationId":"ff293352e05b51ca965411fc94f5e325","sequence":1,"submissionId":20205007535,"meta":{"author":{"orcidId":"","name":"R G Clinton"},"organization":{"name":"Marshall Space Flight Center","location":"Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, United States"}},"id":"e308da92ef514482878607301ed848ca","userType":"CIVIL","userId":"342a66ed2b034478bda80e57b2432d6b"},{"organizationId":"99fa64c96f0950678abfcdd84ba26bf5","sequence":2,"submissionId":20205007535,"meta":{"author":{"orcidId":"","name":"M R Fiske"},"organization":{"name":"Jacobs (United States)","location":"Dallas, Texas, United States"}},"id":"80bc52c1588a4177bf5ae763b6e2cdb1","userType":"CONTRACTOR_GRANTEE","userId":"08e0f43c8a9544b3b36631c8ac5e6652"},{"organizationId":"ff293352e05b51ca965411fc94f5e325","sequence":3,"submissionId":20205007535,"meta":{"author":{"orcidId":"","name":"M R Effinger"},"organization":{"name":"Marshall Space Flight Center","location":"Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, United States"}},"id":"b114421e6d484a4690684cbd21166abb","userType":"CIVIL","userId":"e1194043a2354a61a87a328c777d55e5"}],"stiTypeDetails":"Conference Paper","technicalReviewType":"SINGLE_EXPERT","modified":"2025-08-31T18:39:21.7150190+00:00","id":20205007535,"created":"2020-09-13T17:57:19.1352950+00:00","center":{"code":"MSFC","name":"Marshall Space Flight Center","id":"a589fc1e68af409f9d2214bb08863d11"},"onlyAbstract":true,"sensitiveInformation":2,"abstract":"Introduction:    The  goal  of  the  Moon  to  Mars  Planetary  Autonomous  Construction  Technology  (MMPACT) Project at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is to develop, deliver, and demonstrate on-demand capabilities to protect astronauts and  create  infrastructure  elements  on  the  lunar  surface via construction of landing pads, habitats, shelters, roadways, berms, and blast shields using lunar regolith-based materials.   MSFC has strong collaborations  with  industry,  academia,  and  other  NASA Centers to accomplish this goal. The  MMPACT  project  consists  of  three  elements. The first focuses on the development of an autonomous construction system.  The second focuses  on  construction  feedstock  materials  development.  The third element focuses on the development  of  a  microwave  sintering  construction  capability. The team plans to demonstrate construction on a   small   Commercial   Lunar   Payload   Services   (CLPS) lander in the 2025 timeframe, with a future goal  of  constructing  a  subscale  landing  pad  in  2028-2029.The MMPACT project is funded through the Lunar  Surface  Innovation  Initiative,  which  is  part  of  the Space Technology Mission Directorate. \n\nTechnology Development: The MMPACT team will evaluate multiple autonomous construction and microwave construction technologies, materials, and construction element forms.  Selected technologies will be matured; processes and operations  will  be  defined  for  the  two  flight  missions. Evaluations of materials, as well as the technology itself, will be demonstrated in simulated lunar environments as part of the technology maturation process. The  team  is  keenly  aware  of  the  properties  of  the  lunar  environment.    Its  temperature  swings,  negligible exosphere, and unprepared site foundations factor into the materials for both construction and hardware, the concept of operations, and the technology’s interdependencies. \n\nMaterials: The team is looking at materials that can be produced from in-situ resources in an effort to make lunar construction cost-effective.  The particular focus of the materials team is cementitious materials,  metals,  and  sintered  and  melted  regolith.    These  materials  will  be  studied  for  tensile,  compressive, and flexural strength.  They will also be tested for their ability to handle thermal swings and vacuum.  They will be fully characterized using various microscopy techniques to examine micro-structures, chemistry, and crystal formation.\n\nInterdependencies: There  are  many  interdependencies  that  MMPACT  has  already  identified. These include:\n•Excavation interface \n•Regolith feedstock beneficiation\n•Regolith  feedstock  storage  and  provision\n•Requirements for structures\n•Site-to-site mobility systems\n•Availability of lunar simulant\n•Lander off-loading capabilities\n•Navigation systems\n•Power\n•Regolith composition and mineralogy\n•Lander specifications\n•Communication protocols\nTechnology  developments  in  these  additional  areas would be beneficial to MMPACT.\n","isLessonsLearned":false,"disseminated":"DOCUMENT_AND_METADATA","meetings":[{"country":"US","submissionId":20205007535,"endDate":"2020-10-15T05:00:00.0000000+00:00","sponsors":[{"organizationId":"251428d1f6e25a48b6c23a4a86e3332b","meta":{"organization":{"name":"Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory","location":"North Laurel, Maryland, United States"}},"meetingId":"5c204afd5de4431b8a493741826bbe76","id":"03bf8a77c34344c686f809089a4d2087"}],"name":"Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium Virtual Meeting","location":"Virtual","id":"5c204afd5de4431b8a493741826bbe76","url":"http://lsic.jhuapl.edu/Events/102.php?id=102","startDate":"2020-10-14T05:00:00.0000000+00:00"}],"status":"CURATED","related":[],"downloads":[{"draft":false,"mimetype":"application/pdf","name":"Edmunson_MMPACT.pdf","type":"STI","links":{"original":"/api/citations/20205007535/downloads/Edmunson_MMPACT.pdf","pdf":"/api/citations/20205007535/downloads/Edmunson_MMPACT.pdf","fulltext":"/api/citations/20205007535/downloads/Edmunson_MMPACT.pdf.txt"}}],"downloadsAvailable":true,"index":"submissions-2026-05-28-04-52"}