SurveyorBot: A Proof of Value Precursor Mission for Launch / Landing Pad Geotechnical Assessment

Building lunar infrastructure requires moving regolith in unprecedented quantities both to produce level areas, cutting in some areas, filling in others, for the infrastructure’s construction, It also requires excavation to provide regolith feedstock for beneficiation and in situ manufacturing of the materials from which much of the infrastructure is to be built. Regolith handling characteristics and load bearing capability are not well understood. While some data are available from the Apollo program, none of the landings took place at the Lunar Base locations currently being considered near the lunar south pole. The regolith recovered from lunar equatorial highland regions is significantly different than that recovered from equatorial mare. Thus, data reliably defining regolith chemical composition and size characteristics at the expected Lunar Base sites are important for planning for regolith’s use as an in-situ resource. While Civil Engineering (CE) and construction use soils data derived from well-established instruments and practices, as well as long experience doing so on Earth, lunar in situ cut and fill operations remain at low Technology Readiness Levels (TRL). To date, very little data defining lunar regolith characteristics for CE and construction use in designing bulk regolith infrastructure has been developed. Our SurveyorBot concept is an innovative pathfinder for equipment that can characterize regolith handling difficulty and load bearing capability in situ at the lunar south pole. We combine a regolith cone penetrometer with seismic instrumentation to measure both regolith resistance to penetration and the regolith’s subsurface characteristics, critical items in site leveling. Our Plate Load Tester measures soil settlement due to imposed load increments, which will provide data on in-situ density and compactability. These instruments will allow us to begin to define regolith characteristics important to construction.

Space Market: Government: NASA (Artemis), ESA’ (Moon Village), Australia (Moon to Mars initiative), and Canada (LEAP) are expected to provide funding for lunar infrastructure technology development. Commercial: A variety of organizations are exploring commercial tourism and mining operations on the Moon.

Terrestrial Market: Military Applications: The SurveyorBot and its seismic instrument appear applicable to mine and unexploded ordnance / bomb detection. Commercial Enterprises. A terrestrial MMDCP configuration may provide improved soils and pavement data at reduced costs through seismic analysis.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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