Evaluation of South Dakota Aggregate as Martian Simulants

This research investigates aggregate sources in South Dakota to simulate martian aggregate for use in future martian concrete infrastructure. This effort supports the Moon to Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technology (MMPACT) project lead by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Currently, martian simulants are not produced in large quantities or from many geologic sources. Previous work has primarily focused on tholeiitic basalt even though the martian surface has diverse geology especially in crater locations. Various landing sites were selected to explore martian regolith compositions and textural characteristics. From these results, it was determined that locations with basaltic andesite would best match geological sources in South Dakota. These local regolith sources were then collected and characterized. A comparison between the local and martian aggregate is provided. Ultimately, this work will contribute to binder production for Additive Construction using In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) processing for surface construction.