Moon-to-Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technology (MMPACT)

The Moon-to-Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technology (MMPACT) project is a NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) Game Changing Development (GCD) project led by Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) with partners including ICON, Space Exploration Architecture (SEArch+), the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), the Texas Air National Guard (TANG), the United States Air Force, RWBruce Associates LLC, Dr. Holly Shulman Sole Proprietor, Radiance Technologies, Kennedy Space Center (KSC), the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), Blue Origin, and many other companies and universities in lesser roles. MMPACT will be managed at MSFC through the Science and Technology Office (STO).

The MMPACT project will focus on the utilization of lunar in-situ materials for the on-demand construction of large-scale infrastructure elements like habitats, berms, landing pads, blast shields, walkways, floors, storage facilities, and roads. These structures will provide protection of crewmembers, hardware, and electronics while on the surface of an extraterrestrial body to enable on-location surface exploration.

Two of the three MMPACT elements focus on construction technology. The first is Olympus; the focus of Olympus is 3D printing, or additive construction (AC).The second is the Microwave Structure Construction Capability, which provides a distinctly different method of construction. These techniques can be used to reduce launch mass, building time, material waste, and personnel exposure to hazardous environments. Utilizing in-situ resources for the construction of extraterrestrial infrastructure elements could increase the efficiency of space missions by reducing the amount of materials transported from Earth to surface destinations.

A third task will focus on the development of materials to support overall lunar construction efforts. The materials task will support both of the above-described construction technique tasks. This specific effort will focus on materials identification, characterization, and test.

The goal of the MMPACT project is to develop, deliver, and demonstrate on-demand capabilities to protect crewmembers and hardware, and create infrastructure on the lunar surface via construction of landing pads, habitats, shelters, roadways, berms and blast shields using lunar regolith-based materials.