In-Situ Casting of Standard Structural Elements on the Moon (ICSE)

Lunar Resources proposes to NASA’s SBIR program the In-Situ Casting of Standard Structural Elements on the Moon (ICSE) program to mature a process to cast standard lunar extracted ISRU metal structural elements on the Moon without earth-based consumables. The goal of the effort is to develop the capability of casting in-situ produced metals into truss elements to produce trusses with varying widths, lengths, and thicknesses. The focus of the effort is to mature the equipment and production process to efficiently produce truss elements without any consumables from Earth. Furthermore, the equipment and process will be matured for casting of other metals, such as iron, to produce other structural element geometries.

The proposed maturation of ICSE technology program leverages NASA’s current ISRU investments to cast metals into structural truss elements without any Earth based consumables to enable low-cost structures to be reliably built in-situ on the Moon. Direct applications include in-situ lunar tall towers, landing pads, pressurized habitats and other lunar facilities.

ICSE will enable the production of in-situ casted truss elements for in-space manufacturing, satellite servicing, and utilization by commercial industry to build structures in space and on the Moon.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — 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.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.