RII Track-4:NSF:Planetary Robotic Construction on the Moon and Mars Using 3D Printed Waterless Concrete

作为正在进行的阿耳特弥斯计划的一部分，NASA计划在不久的将来将宇航员送回月球，以便在月球南极建立长期存在。月球为科学研究提供了一个独特的机会，并提供了宝贵的见解，可以为未来前往更具挑战性的目的地(如火星)的任务提供信息。空间探索提供了获得关于太阳系早期历史、天体发展和可能存在的有益于地球上生命的宝贵资源的宝贵知识的机会。为了促进月球上的持续存在，将需要机器人建筑技术来建造各种支持结构，如栖息地和辐射屏蔽。该项目通过探索一种创新的机器人建筑技术来促进科学进步，该技术使用月球和火星表面已有的原位原材料，即硫磺和风化土。硫磺被认为是一种可行的太空建设材料，因为之前的太空发现已经证实了月球和火星上存在硫磺。为期两年的NSF EPSCoR RII Track-4研究奖学金计划期间的活动将为研究生、本科生和高中生提供各种机会，让他们了解新的建筑技术，如大规模3D打印和空间和地面建筑的新型工程解决方案。这个研究基础设施改善Track-4 EPSCoR研究奖学金项目将为路易斯安那州立大学的一名助理教授提供奖学金，并为一名研究生提供培训。这项工作将与阿拉巴马州NASA马歇尔太空飞行中心的研究人员合作进行。本研究的重点是了解在使用硫磺涂层材料进行建筑3D打印(C3DP)过程中材料-工艺-环境因素之间的相互作用。在这项研究中，将与NASA马歇尔航天飞行中心的研究人员密切合作，在模拟行星条件下进行高级测试，以评估3D打印的风化硫元素的性能。目前，有关3D打印建筑材料的空间弹性，以及各种材料、工艺和环境因素对3D打印结构的结构和耐久性性能的支配原理和影响的数据非常有限。这一知识差距的存在主要是由于缺乏研究数据，以及地球上C3DP常用的水基混凝土与硫磺混凝土之间的根本差异。硫磺混凝土是一种无水热塑性材料，在空间建设和地球上的一些应用中具有巨大的潜力。计划中的研究将从根本上了解高温硫磺混凝土打印工艺参数和环境因素(如近真空条件、极端温度波动和微陨石影响)对3D打印结构性能的影响。综合项目活动的全面数据和发现将显著提高我们对月球、火星和地球上无水硫磺混凝土3D打印过程参数和处理效果的了解。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

As part of the ongoing Artemis program, NASA is planning to send astronauts back to the Moon in the near future to establish a long-term presence at the Lunar south pole. The Moon offers a unique opportunity for scientific research and provides valuable insights that can inform future missions to more challenging destinations such as Mars. Space exploration offers the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge about our solar system's early history, the development of celestial bodies, and the potential existence of valuable resources which could benefit life on Earth. To promote a sustained presence on the Moon, robotic construction technologies will be needed to build a variety of supporting structures such as habitats and radiation shields. This project promotes the progress of science by exploring an innovative robotic construction technology, which uses in-situ raw materials already available on the surface of the Moon and Mars, namely, sulfur and regolith. Sulfur is considered as a viable material for space construction, since previous space discoveries have verified the presence of sulfur on the Moon and Mars. The activities during this two-year NSF EPSCoR RII Track-4 Research Fellowship program will provide various opportunities for graduate, undergraduate, and high school students to learn about new construction technologies, such as large-scale 3D printing and novel engineering solutions for space and terrestrial construction.This Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-4 EPSCoR Research Fellows project will provide a fellowship to an Assistant Professor and training for a graduate student at Louisiana State University. This work will be conducted in collaboration with researchers at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. This study is focused on understanding the interplay between material-process-environment factors during construction 3D printing (C3DP) using sulfur-regolith materials. In close collaboration with researchers from NASA Marshall Space Flight center, in this research, advanced tests will be carried out under simulated planetary conditions to evaluate the performance of 3D printed regolith-sulfur elements. Currently, there is very limited data available on the space-resilience of 3D printed construction materials, as well as the governing principles and the influence of various material, process, and environmental factors on the structural and durability properties of 3D printed structures. This knowledge gap exists mainly due to the lack of research data and the fundamental differences between the water-based concrete, which is commonly used for C3DP on Earth, and sulfur-regolith concrete. Sulfur concrete is a waterless thermoplastic material with great potential for space construction as well as some applications on Earth. The planned research will provide a fundamental understanding of the impacts of high-temperature sulfur concrete printing process parameters and environmental factors such as near-vacuum conditions, extreme temperature swings, and micrometeorite impacts on the performance of 3D printed structures. The comprehensive data and findings from the integrated project activities will significantly enhance our understanding of process parameters and processing effects in waterless sulfur concrete 3D printing on the Moon, Mars, and Earth.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.