Where Huskies are going, they make their own roads — even when they are headed to the moon.
In a milestone in space construction technology, Michigan Tech's Planetary Surface Technology Development Lab (PSTDL) partnered with SpaceFactory to successfully build and test the first lunar road in a simulated space environment, replicating the dusty vacuum conditions of the moon.
Both Tech's PSTDL and SpaceFactory have a history of breaking barriers in the space industry. The PSTDL, also known as HuskyWorks, focuses on advancing technologies for planetary exploration and construction. The lab works in collaboration with government, academic and private sector partners to drive innovation in space technology and support long-term human exploration of extraterrestrial surfaces.
SpaceFactory is a NASA Centennial Challenge-winning space technology company focused on developing innovative solutions for advanced manufacturing and construction. Led by a team of veteran architects and engineers, the company's work is laying the foundation for long-term space exploration.
The partnership between the PSTDL and SpaceFactory dates back to 2018, when the PSTDL's founder and director, Paul van Susante, Tech's Lou and Herbert Wacker Endowed Professor in Mechanical Engineering, served as an advisor for the SpaceFactory Competition Team in NASA's 3D-Printed Habitat Centennial Challenge. The team won the challenge in 2019.
Following their success, HuskyWorks and SpaceFactory were looking for ways to collaborate again. In Phase I of the NASA-funded Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, the nation's largest source of early-stage non-dilutive funding for innovative technologies, the two organizations found their opportunity to work together on the first lunar road.
Why Build a Lunar Road in the First Place?
Just as on Earth, roads on the Moon will reduce wear and tear on lunar vehicles, allowing them to be lighter, faster and more durable, and protecting their operational integrity. The surface of the moon is covered in regolith — a blanket of dust, broken rocks and other related materials loosely covering solid rock. The substance is notoriously problematic in lunar environments. Its fine, jagged particles adhere to surfaces, infiltrate machinery and obscure sensors, compromising equipment functionality and longevity. Combined with the moon's lack of atmosphere, reduced gravity and the electrostatic properties of regolith, the dust can remain airborne, which poses significant contamination risks for both astronauts and habitats.
Paved roads are a large step toward solving the problem of lunar regolith contamination. The way the roads work is both simple and complex. On the moon, paved surfaces can significantly boost the safety of long-term lunar habitation and exploration simply by reducing the amount of lunar dust that astronauts, habitats and equipment come into contact with, much like the difference in driving a vehicle on Earth on a dusty dirt road versus a paved highway. By reducing contact with regolith, paved lunar roads allow the effective use of simplified navigation and dust mitigation systems. They also give vehicles a smoother ride, allowing a significant reduction in their mass and complexity by downsizing elements such as motors, wheels and suspension components. Essentially, this means lunar vehicles will be on the whole more durable and require less maintenance and replacements. SpaceFactory estimates this could mean operational savings of 50% or more over the course of a long-term mission.
Where this solution becomes more complex is in the pavement itself. In order to utilize the prevalence of lunar regolith, SpaceFactory and MTU researchers developed a new material, known as lunar asphalt. The material, engineered specifically for the lunar environment, uses regolith and biopolymers.
The process of manufacturing and testing road construction using the new material took place in the PSTDL's Dusty Thermal Vacuum Chamber (DTVAC). Using a robotic apparatus designed by SpaceFactory to lay and heat lunar asphalt into a dense, cohesive surface, MTU researchers designed a custom test setup for the hardware in the DTVAC, which is meant to simulate extreme extraplanetary environments such as the lunar and Martian surfaces.
In order to confirm that the lunar paving material can withstand the stresses of repeated lunar vehicle traffic, Michigan Tech researchers tested the material's durability by driving a simulated lunar rover wheel over the constructed road 900 times, covering a total distance of 720 meters. No dust accumulation was found on the wheel following the durability test, highlighting this new material's significant advantage over the unaltered lunar surface.
This project is one of several ongoing industry-academia collaborations at Michigan Tech's PSTDL for NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, which aims to transform future space missions while ensuring American leadership in aerospace.
"We focus on the finding and use of resources, construction and infrastructure development on other planetary surfaces," said van Susante. "We have developed a unique expertise and experience as well as facilities for testing the developed hardware. This allows us to partner with and assist companies and NASA to open up the rest of the solar system for sustained human activities and development."
Dozens of MTU students work in the PSTDL on various projects — and in doing so, gain hands-on experience in developing and testing future space hardware in relevant spacelike conditions.
"There is a lot of demand for students with hands-on experience in this field of space resources and construction intersecting with robotics," said van Susante. "It's a pleasure to work with our talented students and partner with NASA and the commercial space industry to develop the technologies to open up space for exploration and other activities and return with humans to the lunar surface and create a permanent presence after more than 52 years since the last Apollo astronaut left the lunar surface in 1972."
On Nov. 6, 2024, SpaceFactory and Michigan Tech were informed that their lunar road project was selected to continue with a Phase II STTR Award. The Phase II award enables them to continue developing the project with the goal of commercializing and bringing the innovation to either federal or commercial markets. Through Michigan Tech partnerships, the future of lunar roads and construction is one step closer.
Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
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