Influence of the Space Environment on Geopolymer Lunar Concrete

NASA is set to embark on the next era of human space exploration on the Artemis program. An eventual goal of the program is to maintain a human presence on the lunar surface. With such a goal comes the challenge of providing durable infrastructure that is suitable for the Moon and utilizes in-situ resources. Bringing materials form Earth poses a financial burden and increased safety concern. The composition of the lunar soil makes it advantageous to create a geopolymer concrete material. The lunar regolith can be used in the as found condition on the lunar surface and most of the mixing solution can be extracted form the regolith. It is envisioned than any concrete infrastructure would make use of additive manufacturing techniques with a temporary controlled environment enclosure to mitigate the harsh lunar conditions. Data is needed to benchmark how the material behaves once exposed to such an extreme environment so structural failures are mitigated.