Redwire Corporation, a leader in space infrastructure for the next generation space economy, has been selected for a $12.9 million NASA Tipping Point award to prototype a first-of-its-kind manufacturing technology intended to build critical infrastructure on the surface of the Moon, including landing pads, roads and foundations for habitats. This technology could enable robust construction on the lunar surface to advance human and robotic operations, paving the way for a sustainable human presence and a dynamic lunar economy.
“Lunar sustainability is at the very heart of the Artemis program. Developing the technology to create infrastructure on the Moon to support landing, habitation, and commercial operations will enable the robust future that America and its international partners are creating,” said Redwire Executive Vice President John Vellinger. “We are very excited to leverage Redwire’s decades of flight heritage and experience on the International Space Station, providing the vision technology for Orion and numerous other systems, to literally build the foundation of a new era in lunar space exploration and utilization.”
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By using local materials to build infrastructure, this new technology would reduce the cost of sending construction materials to the Moon. Redwire’s cutting-edge manufacturing technology will use a microwave emitter to heat and solidify regolith (lunar dust and crushed rock) to construct landing pads, roads, foundations, and dust mitigation surfaces. The technology will be scalable to lunar rovers, vehicles, and robotic arms.
Redwire is leading a team of industry and academic partners to develop this capability, including Astrobotic, Lockheed Martin Space, Lambda Technologies, Colorado School of Mines, and the University of Central Florida. Redwire will leverage its extensive in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing experience, which is being used to develop in-situ resource utilization capabilities and space infrastructure technology for use on the surface of the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Earlier this year, Redwire announced that it is providing its Roll-Out Solar Array technology for Astrobotic’s Lunar Vertical Solar Array Technology program to deliver power on the lunar surface.
SOURCE: BusinessWire