ICON builds student-designed 3D printed rocket pads for student missions to the moon

China3D printingNet, March 11, as part of Artemis Generation, a team of college students from ten universities in the United States designed and tested the world’s first moon landing mission.3D printingRocket pad.The reusable ultra-large-scale prototype rocket landing and launch pad was carried out using cement-based materials and a gantry printing system3D printingThe system was developed by the revolutionary construction company ICON at the Texas Military Department in Camp Swift, Texas.This novel concept can achieve the safe and reusable landing and launch required for sustainable lunar explorationpad.

Lunar PAD is the abbreviation of Lunar Plume Mitigation Equipment, which was launched in October 20203D printing, 20 feet in diameter and 1.6 feet high. Its petal-like channel design is designed to solve the problems caused when the powerful exhaust force of the engine encounters the dusty lunar surface, which is known to cause a wide range of problems. The well-designed central cone, channel divider and outlet help diffuse the rocket’s exhaust gas upwards and outwards, thereby minimizing the amount of dust released during launch and landing.

The PAD basically consists of two layers: a “roof”, where the rocket is launched or landed from above, and a series of passages below to safely redirect exhaust gas. The slits on the roof allow the exhaust gas from the rocket to enter the well-designed channels, which guide the exhaust gas flow to the edge of the launch pad and discharge it through special vents. The central cone and divider support the weight of the rocket and the roof of the pad, while a wall surrounds the structure and captures all lunar dust particles mobilized during launch or landing.

ICON staff spent seven hours printing the outer shell and internal frame of the launch pad, and 14 hours printing padding, including the thick “roof” or deck of the cushion on which the rocket sits.For this, the team relies on the company’s proprietary Vulcan industrial building3D printingThe machine (a gantry-based platform operated by an integrated tablet computer that enables users to monitor and control the machine intuitively and easily) and the unique Lavacrete material to accurately pour the concrete filled formwork.

In October 2020, students built a sub-scale prototype of a reusable lunar launch and landing pad at Camp Swift in Bastrop, Texas. Image courtesy of ICON.

The students conceived the vision of the landing mat solution during the 2019 NASA Proposal Writing and Evaluation Experience (NPWEE), which is a 12-week training course carefully designed by John Dankanich, chief technical expert of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. As part of the Lucy Student Pipeline Accelerator and Ability Facilitator (L’SPACE) Academy, the course helps expand and diversify the library of high-quality, optional proposals, and new concepts and technologies that meet the needs of NASA.

The team won. They were able to demonstrate to Marshall experts in the virtual design readiness assessment in June 2020, and received funding to print and test a small version of the mat. Later, they submitted a paper on the concept of lunar PAD at the 2021 Science and Technology Forum of the American Academy of Aeronautics and Astronautics in January 2021, showing that their idea relies on in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) methods and techniques to minimize launch quality And realize the structure that was unimaginable before.
“The proposal solves the technical difficulties because the project can achieve the safe and reusable landing platform required for sustainable lunar exploration. The team worked hundreds of hours and hired NASA subject matter experts from concept development to preliminary design . Then, they turned this design and scale design into reality in just a few months.” Dankanich said.


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Lunar launch and landing pad” alt=” The internal view of the electronic scale made using ICON’s Vulcan system,
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The internal view of the electronic scale made using ICON’s Vulcan system,3D printingLunar launch and landing pad. Image courtesy of ICON.

ICON continued its mission of creating unconventional buildings, helping students create prototypes of cushions. ICON is one of the leaders in the development of construction technology. As we all know, it uses3D printingRobots, software and advanced materials change the paradigm of residential buildings on the earth and other regions.A department of the company has been committed to space construction and has signed a contract with NASA to begin research and development of space-based systems that can support future lunar exploration. ICON has been committed to3D printingEarth.

The latest project between ICON, NASA and the Texas Military Department is one of the milestones for this Austin-based company.To test the Lunar PAD design and its3D printingAbility, the team has been collaborating with experts in the autonomous construction technology of planets (MMPACT) from Marshall’s Moon to Mars. The project aims to develop and demonstrate on-demand capabilities to build landing areas, habitats, shelters, roads, berms and explosion barriers using materials based on lunar rebirth stones to protect astronauts and create infrastructure on the surface of the moon.

A bird’s eye view of an electronic scale made using ICON’s Vulcan system,3D printingMoon launch and landing platform. Image courtesy of ICON.

China3D printingOnline comment: In March 2021, Mike Fiske, the project leader of MMPACT, and the Lunar PAD team returned to the Swift camp to understand how their prototype can withstand the extreme heat and pressure generated by the rocket engine. The sounding rocket team of Texas A&M University assisted in the heat test and the manufacture of the rocket engine. Based on the preliminary analysis and the results of integrating the instrument into the pad during the printing process to measure temperature, strain, and exhaust gas flow behavior, the lunar pad performed as designed.

“In the past year, it has been a pleasure to work with these students and have helped advance the latest developments in planetary launch and landing mats,” said Fiske, a space manufacturing engineer at the Jacobs Engineering Group, Marshall Space Technology Development Division. Branch. “The results of this project have greatly promoted our understanding of the future of the lunar launch and landing platform, and brought us one step closer to the lunar infrastructure.”

The next generation of explorers, called Artemis Generation Students by NASA, will ensure that the United States continues to lead space exploration and discovery. From NASA’s Artemis Student Challenge to interacting with astronauts, NASA is attracting young people to work in space. The result was successful. More than 12,000 people have applied to join NASA’s Artemis generation of astronauts to help the agency send humans back to the moon and to Mars. Dozens of student teams have built mining robots from all over the world, manufactured and launched high-power rockets, and even spacesuit user interface technology. In the face of many exciting milestones in space travel and exploration, and the possibilities for innovation are endless, NASA is the first to flourish in orbit.

(Editor in charge: admin)