ELITES (Engineered Lunar Infrastructure for Thermal and Electrical Sinks) –ISRU Local Heat (thermal) and Electrical charge (dust mitigation) Sinks for Sustainable Lunar Exploration

For Artemis missions, the lack of reliable thermal and electrical grounding on the Moon presents environmental obstacles that threaten mission success and long-duration survival. To achieve sustainable Moon-to-Mars (M2M) exploration, cryogenic thermal management and lunar dust mitigation are top priorities, designated #1 in STMD Shortfalls and M2M Technology Gaps. This IRAD addresses both with a single solution: creating local subsurface heat and electrical charge sinks using Engineered Lunar Regolith Composites (ELCs). Current space radiators demand large surface footprints, impose substantial Earth-to-Moon mass penalties, require view factor controls, lack heat regeneration capabilities, and suffer degradation from dust accumulation. In contrast, conductive heat dissipation into the lunar subsurface by exploiting the natural thermal gradient offers a transformative ISRU alternative. This approach benefits from the abundance of lunar regolith to minimize added mass and mission footprint, while also avoiding potential lunar dust degradation risks. However, native regolith is highly insulating. Goddard’s Cryogenics team recently demonstrated an approach (published in Cryogenics, 2025) integrating lunar simulants with phase change materials and micro/nano carbon-based fillers. Under lunar-simulated conditions, these ELCs showed a >100x enhancement in effective thermal conductivity and thermal inertia, which are two critical parameters to achieve reliable high-performance heat sink systems. Furthermore, utilizing the natural thermal gradient, thermal energy stored in subsurface ELCs could be extracted as electrical energy to power survival mechanisms during the sunless lunar night. Preliminary cryogenic, high-vacuum testing on the same materials architecture without any modification also exhibited enhanced electrical conductivity (with complementary cryogenic temperature-dependent electrical measurements being delivered this summer by two OSTEM interns). This establishes the ELCs’ dual-functional capability: effective conductive heat rejection and simultaneous electrical charge migration. This provides local grounding pathways to mitigate lunar dust and helps discharge electrostatic buildup on spacesuits caused by dust and space charge bombardment, ensuring astronaut safety. Scalable from surface instruments to habitats, this technology transforms the lunar environment into a resource. It directly addresses M2M Gaps (#0801: Lunar Dust Tolerant System and Dust Mitigation; #0301: Systems to Survive and Operate through Extended Periods of Lunar Shadow) and STMD Shortfalls (#1618 [Rank #1]: Survive and operate through the lunar night; #1595: Energy storage for robust operations; #1616: Dissipation of electrical charge; #1047: Active dust mitigation). This IRAD aims to advance the dual-functional ELC system from TRL-3 to TRL-4 through a cross-disciplinary Goddard collaboration (cryogenic/thermal, mechanical, materials, and contamination). The team will optimize filler dispersion, injected form factors, and low-loss materials. At GSFC’s Cryogenic Lunar Environmental Test Lab (B25), the existing apparatus will be modified with spring-enhanced electrical probes. This addresses sample contraction uncertainties, allowing for the reliable measurement of cryogenic temperature-dependent bulk electrical conductivity without significant system design modifications. This IRAD resource will be essential to continuously grow and develop GSFC civil servants’ unique lunar sample characterization expertise, positioning the center as a critical contributor to Artemis (including an ongoing collaborative effort with the JSC Astromaterials team on establishing the lunar icy sample database). Immediate applications include providing thermal balance and temporary electrical grounding for a cryogenic icy lunar sample return dewar to survive in lunar shadows for Goddard's ongoing STACIS (Storage Transport Acquisition of Cryogenic Icy Samples) project targeting Artemis 5/6 launches, as well as for Goddard’s multifunctional nanosensor platform lunar surface instrument package. Within 2-3 years, beyond leveraging our established expertise and facilities, this ready-to-adopt subsystem technology can be integrated into DALI, PICASSO, and PRISM programs, LTVs, CLPS landers, and habitats for lunar infrastructure.

ELCs advanced from TRL-3 to TRL-4; >100x improvement in thermal conductivity/inertia; dual-function thermal heat rejection and electrical charge dissipation; scalable from instruments to habitats; immediate application to STACIS cryogenic icy sample return dewar for Artemis 5/6.

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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