Experimental Considerations for Ground-based Testing of Lunar Construction Technologies

The Moon-to-Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technology (MMPACT) project, under NASA’s Game Changing Division (GCD) aims to research, develop, and demonstrate lunar surface construction capabilities[1].A fundamental step in lunar infrastructure development is to quantify the geotechnical properties of lunar regolith, such as shear strength (Mohr-Coulomb cohesion and angle of internal friction), com-pression and bearing properties, and angle of re-pose. Knowledge of these geotechnical properties enables the prediction of forces and displacements associated with lunar infrastructure development processes including excavation and constructing landing pads, habitats, shelters, and roadways. Through ground-based testing of autonomous lunar systems performed using relevant hardware (e.g., robotic arms) in appropriate lunar regolith simulants, the developed hardware/technology and tool paths can be validated. Such testing also generates data to give insight into the geotechnical regolith properties on the lunar surface.