Lunar construction: A state-of-the-art survey

Abstract

The renewed global interest in furthering human’s presence on the Moon has catalyzed efforts to establish a sustainable lunar base. The incentive is not only for scientific opportunities and prospects of deep-space exploration, but also for demonstrating technologies that will extend our reach throughout the Solar System. Central to such efforts is the development of robust and scalable lunar construction technologies. This survey presents a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art in lunar construction, including environmental characterization, infrastructure development, construction methods and materials, and robotic systems. The unique challenges posed by the lunar environment are highlighted, such as extreme temperature variations, high radiation exposure, and micrometeorite impacts, with a particular emphasis on the abrasive, adhesive, and electrostatically charged lunar regolith, thus including strategies developed for lunar dust mitigation. The survey investigates the critical infrastructure that will need to be established, including habitats, power stations, communication stations, landing pads, blast berms, and more. A detailed analysis of the methods and materials that are being developed to create such infrastructure is presented, identifying which methods have demonstrated promise and garnered the most attention. A diversity of robotic technologies are required to enable the construction of the necessary infrastructure using these methods and systems, which are broken down into lunar cranes, mobile manipulators, 3D printers, and robot teams, with a particular focus on work being done to develop flight systems. The paper concludes by identifying critical research and technological gaps that must be addressed to support the next generation of lunar missions and long-term extraterrestrial habitation.