TY - JOUR A1 - Ginés-Palomares, Juan Carlos A1 - Fateri, Miranda A1 - Kalhöfer, Eckhard A1 - Schubert, Tim A1 - Meyer, Lena A1 - Kolsch, Nico A1 - Brandic Lipinska, Monica A1 - Davenport, Robert A1 - Imhof, Barbara A1 - Waclavicek, René A1 - Sperl, Matthias A1 - Makaya, Advenit A1 - Günster, Jens T1 - Laser melting manufacturing of large elements of lunar regolith simulant for paving on the Moon N2 - The next steps for the expansion of the human presence in the solar system will be taken on the Moon. However, due to the low lunar gravity, the suspended dust generated when lunar rovers move across the lunar soil is a significant risk for lunar missions as it can affect the systems of the exploration vehicles. One solution to mitigate this problem is the construction of roads and landing pads on the Moon. In addition, to increase the sustainability of future lunar missions, in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) techniques must be developed. In this paper, the use of concentrated light for paving on the Moon by melting the lunar regolith is investigated. As a substitute of the concentrated sunlight, a high-power CO2 laser is used in the experiments. With this set-up, a maximum laser spot diameter of 100 mm can be achieved, which translates in high thicknesses of the consolidated layers. Furthermore, the lunar regolith simulant EAC-1A is used as a substitute of the actual lunar soil. At the end of the study, large samples (approximately 250 × 250 mm) with interlocking capabilities were fabricated by melting the lunar simulant with the laser directly on the powder bed. Large areas of lunar soil can be covered with these samples and serve as roads and landing pads, decreasing the propagation of lunar dust. These manufactured samples were analysed regarding their ineralogical composition, internal structure and mechanical properties. KW - Regolith KW - ISRU KW - Moon KW - Laser KW - Additive manufacturing PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-585985 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-42008-1 SN - 2045-2322 VL - 13 SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-58598 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ginés-Palomares, Juan-Carlos A1 - Baasch, Julian A1 - Stapperfend, Simon A1 - Facchini, Leonardo A1 - Linke, Stefan A1 - Stoll, Enrico A1 - Günster, Jens T1 - Laser Melting vs. Laser Sintering: Large Area Heat Processing of Lunar South Pole Simulant N2 - A key component of future lunar missions is the concept of In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), which involves the use of local resources to support human missions and reduce dependence on Earth-based supplies. This paper investigates the thermal processing capability of lunar regolith without the addition of binders, with a focus on large-scale applications for the construction of lunar habitats and infrastructure. The study used a simulant of lunar regolith found on the Schrödinger Basin in the South Pole region. This regolith simulant consists of 20 wt% basalt and 80 wt% anorthosite. Experiments were conducted using a high power CO2 laser to sinter and melt the regolith in a 80 mm diameter laser spot to evaluate the effectiveness of direct large area thermal processing. Results indicated that sintering begins at approximately 1,180 °C and reaches full melt at temperatures above 1,360 °C. Sintering experiments with this material revealed the formation of dense samples up to 11 mm thick, while melting experiments successfully produced larger samples by overlapping molten layers and additive manufacturing up to 50 mm thick. The energy efficiency of the sintering and melting processes was compared. The melting process was about 10 times more energy efficient than sintering in terms of material consolidation, demonstrating the promising potential of laser melting technologies of anorthosite-rich regolith for the production of structural elements. KW - Additive Manufacturing KW - Laser melting KW - ISRU KW - Moon KW - Regolith PY - 2025 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-639614 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amf.2025.200226 SN - 2950-4317 VL - 4 IS - 3 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Elsevier Ltd. AN - OPUS4-63961 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -