In-Situ Resource Utilization Using Drilling Regolith for Excavation and Analysis of Moon Surface (DREAMS) Hopper for Self-Sustaining Lunar Habitat

Over 50 years ago, NASA’s Apollo missions answered many of humanity’s questions from space to biosciences while advancing computing capabilities. Orbital spacecraft and rovers have transformed our understanding of the moon. Recently, the completion of Artemis II has initiated a new era focused on sustained lunar presence and autonomous exploration. However, a gap remains between scientific resource characterization and technology required for long-term exploration utilizing these resources. For these reasons, we propose a framework comprising of three complementary systems: the Drilling Regolith for Excavation and Analysis of Moon Surface (DREAMS) hopper, the Terrain-adaptive Regolith Excavator (T-REx) rover, and the MoonFall drones. DREAMS identifies and characterizes resource-rich regolith deposits through subsurface drilling and sampling, while T-REx autonomously excavates and transports regolith to a lunar base for further processing. The MoonFall drones aid T-REx with path planning and navigation on the lunar surface. At the base, 3D printers use processed regolith to manufacture components necessary to support sustained surface operations while reducing dependence on earth-supplied materials. Within this framework, these systems provide an operational concept for exploring permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) near the lunar south pole while collecting geological and engineering data through regolith extraction. Through systems engineering analysis, we evaluated the feasibility of integrating drilling, excavation, regolith transport, and additive manufacturing into an in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) architecture while considering the scientific and engineering objectives of this operational concept. Ultimately, Project DREAMS demonstrates an approach to sustainable lunar exploration while simultaneously establishing a foundation for future deep-space human missions.