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The LASAR project will develop a laser manufacturing platform that can be positioned
autonomously via a robotic arm (Figure 1, left); we will demonstrate its utility by laser beam
welding (LBW) and repairing structural joints for Lunar surface installation—Tall Lunar Tower
(TLT) joints. LBW enables not only joining, but also repair and/or reinforcement of structures.
The laser manufacturing platform demonstrated by LASAR is also extensible to perform ablating,
bending/forming, cleaning, cutting, drilling, and additive manufacturing. The demonstration
“Snowflake” joint geometry is suitable to a multitude of different structures (Figure 1, right). The
robotic arm will employ supervised autonomy by flight-forward computers to precisely position
for operations without human intervention. These sub-systems will be space-rated to enable
scalable operation on the Lunar surface. The robot arm will also have non-contact NDE –
electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) – integrated onto its end effector to inspect welds.
NASA’s Artemis missions will have explorers face extreme challenges on the Lunar surface,
such as oblique lighting conditions, cryogenic shadows, extreme terrain limiting line-of-sight
communication, radiation exposure, and impact shielding. These can be addressed via Lunar
infrastructure: shelters (Lunar safe haven), blast shields, radiation shields, thermal shields, and
towers for solar arrays, communication relays, & radiators.
Currently, there are no deployable or manufacturing technologies ready to emplace scalable
Lunar infrastructure. A long-term Lunar base will be enabled by the assembly and repair of surface
structures, such as the power/communication tower of super gap 629 via an “autonomous robotic
structure maintenance and repair system” (1411) that uses in-space welding (646). Related gaps
include “structural systems designed to be robotically serviced and manufactured in-space” (1409)
which can be joined in-space (493) through advanced robotics (911), leveraging high-performance
spaceflight computing (526) for autonomous vertical assembly & construction (513, 618). Repair
of Lunar infrastructure will also require closing the process inspection gap (421) by nondestructive evaluation (NDE). If Artemis 8—the first mission to emplace a permanent Lunar
surface habitat—requires In-space Servicing, Assembly & Manufacturing (ISAM) or repair and is
scheduled for the early 2030s, then investment in lower TRL technologies such as in-space joining
for assembly & repair via autonomous robotics is needed now to mature them in time for flight.
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This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.
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