Aurora Robotics X-Hab Technical Final Report

The Aurora Robotics Lab at the University of Alaska Fairbanks participated in the 2024–2025 NASA X-Hab Academic Innovation Challenge to explore modular robotic construction for lunar surface infrastructure. Our project focused on designing and partially demonstrating a teleoperable and automatable robotic system capable of assembling a micrometeoroid-resistant arch structure from modular steel truss segments. Our Excahauler robot, developed for the NASA Break the Ice Lunar Challenge, was equipped with a modular manipulator and end-effector designed for aligning and connecting trapezoidal trusses. Given time constraints, we used a 3D-printed scale model to validate structural behavior and backfill performance using regolith simulant. Time and resource constraints prevented completion of a full-scale robotic assembly, but our team demonstrated essential capabilities including robotic lifting, modular interface design, and structural load testing. The project also resulted in lessons in systems engineering, scope management, and interdisciplinary collaboration, contributing both technical insight and educational value to future lunar construction efforts.