In-situ resource utilization of lunar highlands regolith via additive manufacturing using digital light processing

Future space exploration demands the aerospace industry to gear up and build an extraterrestrial base on our closest celestial neighbor. This predominantly promotes scientists to fabricate in-situ structures using locally available lunar materials. In this regard, Greenland Anorthosite lunar regolith simulant (Al2O3, SiO2, and Al2SiO5 as major phases) was three-dimensional (3D) printed using Digital Light Processing (DLP) into several complex and intricate geometries, including an igloo. Samples with high dimensional accuracy were printed and sintered with no signs of delamination. The optimal solid loading of Greenland regolith was 60 wt% with a shrinkage post-sintering of ∼6% in x-y directions and ∼14% in z-direction. The bulk hardness value of ∼9.3 GPa elicits the mechanical integrity of the sintered part. The failure analysis under compression highlights the nodes at which fracture starts before a catastrophic collapse in the intricate cube, complemented by finite element analysis (FEM). Sintered samples are thermally stable up to 500 °C. This has been attributed to the lower thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) of lunar regolith ∼9.5 × 10−6 K−1 up to 500 °C. This research finding is a step towards verifying the feasibility of using lunar regolith for part and colonist habitat manufacturing.