Freeform 3D Printing of a Tall Lunar Tower

Branch Technology will develop technologies to one day enable the Freeform 3D Printing of a tall lunar tower (TLT) on the surface of the moon to provide solar power and communications capabilities to a permanent settlement. In Phase I, Branch conducted a design and feasibility study to generate a geometry that is structurally optimized for both lunar environmental considerations, outfitting considerations, and Cellular Fabrication (C-Fab) manufacturing considerations. C-Fab is Branch's Freeform 3D printing technique that enables printed material to solidify in free space instead of being deposited layer by layer like traditional fused deposition modeling (FDM) additive manufacturing. The resulting structures are optimized lattice structures that use 20X less material to build up a given volume than if the structure was printed solid through. This approach holds great promise for lunar construction because of its material efficiency, autonomous operation, and structural optimization, among other benefits. This approach will perform better than assembly of prefabricated metal trusses or regolith sintering because of its ability to manufacture autonomously in place with minimal amounts of material. In Phase II, Branch proposes adapting this commercially available technology, which has already been used to print some of the world's largest and most significant 3D printed structures, to NASA mission contexts by advancing the material science, extrusion hardware, robotics, and tower structural design to relevance for lunar construction. The project will focus on converting Branch's extrusion technology to higher-temperature, engineering-grade resin printing for materials that can actually withstand lunar environments, like polyetherimide (Ultem) or polyetheretherketone (PEEK). In addition, Branch will conduct vacuum extrusion testing and will attempt to produce a 10-m tall demonstration using the relevant materials and hardware for lunar surface operations.

This technology could greatly simplify the construction sequence for building a tall lunar tower on the Moon. The process Branch employs is already optimized for production of structural lattices, designed to mimic natural forms and structures by minimizing material used to accomplish a structural goal. This kind of parametric optimization is emerging in architecture and construction as a viable method to reduce costs, material waste, and construction time, and could provide the same benefits to the much more logistically and physically complex task of building a TLT. The primary goals of this solicitation topic are to enable autonomous operation, autonomous assembly, structural element analysis, and structural joints/joining technologies. Branch's approach enables all four of these advanced. Robotic autonomous operation is already enabled via Branch's proprietary algorithms that guide the robotic movement mechanism through the kinematics of the printed lattice geometries. Autonomous assembly is inherent to 3D printing, especially when the tower can be printed entirely in place where the print mechanism traverses up and down the length of the tower, instead of printing segments that must be joined together. Structural performance can be optimized through parametric design, which takes real-world parameters and feeds their effects into the generative design tools used to create structures. Phase I shows an output of this process. And finally, joining technologies are also rendered unnecessary with Branch's approach, which has segment joining already embedded in the Freeform 3D printing capability. These characteristics will support NASA's mission to produce large-scale infrastructure on the Moon, using emerging technology-enabled new best practices for construction that are permeating the industry here on Earth. A brief summary of non-NASA applications of this technology includes - structural reinforcement of concrete and other civil infrastructure projects, potentially capable of replacing rebar in more complex geometries - enhanced structural geometry optimization due to enhanced material performance - enhanced structural rigidity in flexion and tension for some of Branch's existing products, including retrofit overclad panels and BranchMatrix sculptural projects - cost reductions of existing products because of enhanced structural capabilities reducing needed engineering or material volumes - wind turbine blades and towers - cell tower manufacturing - power lines and cable-spanning equipment - roofing materials (currently, Branch's products have been limited to the exterior vertical wall) These are just some of the potential terrestrial applications that these advances could enable, in addition to the benefits for lunar infrastructure.

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.

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.