A key role for NASA will be played by Austin companies as they seek to establish a base camp on lunar surface.
NASA has awarded $57.2 Million to Icon, an Austin-based construction firm, for the development of a lunar construction system.
Jason Ballard founded Icon to reimagine construction with its Vulcan 3D printing technology. The company says its 3D printing technology is faster, less expensive and has a wider range of options than traditional construction. The startup has already built dozens of homes and structures on Earth — it printed its first home using 3D technology in 2018 — and has worked with NASA previously.
Ballard stated, “The first construction projects to be done on another planet will run out of an Austin mission control center, which is pretty wild.” We are optimistic that we can make Texas proud.
The Icon contract is part of NASA’s Artemis program, which is intended to return astronauts to the moon by 2024, including the first woman. Icon’s sophisticated hardware and software will travel to space on a lunar gravity flight. The goal is to build the first ever construction on a celestial body. Our ultimate goal is to create a structure astronauts can live in and work in.
Artemis is a program that aims to establish an ongoing human presence on Mars by 2028. They also plan to conduct research on the lunar surface. Artemis also hopes to make humanity’s “next great leap” towards sending humans to Mars.
Icon’s construction system for the mission, called Olympus, will work similarly to the 3D printers on Earth, using computer-aided design to create three-dimensional objects through a layering method. To reduce costs and minimize shipping, as well as to account for the harsh environment, moon materials will be used in place of concrete. This is because concrete is water-based and cannot be used on moon.
Ballard stated that “We have the strong commitment what’s known as ISR, in situ resource utilization or as they would put it in East Texas, living off of the land.”
More:Icon in Austin’s latest project will allow NASA to simulate life on Mars.
“We only hope to be worthy”
Ballard said landing the NASA contract has been “unbelievable” and said it’s been exciting to watch NASA launch Artemis One in recent weeks. The Orion spacecraft was launched by the space agency and set a new record for distances from Earth that a spacecraft intended to carry people has traveled.
“Just walking around with my kids, pointing at the moon, it’s crazy. It completely changes your perception of the night sky. We hope just to be worthy of the opportunity,” Ballard said. “It feels like one of those things that you do not just on behalf of yourself or behalf of your company, but want to do on behalf of humanity.”
Icon anticipates that the structure will be delivered in one lunar day. This is equivalent to about 14 Earth-days. Icon builds structures typically in less than one day on Earth.
“We’ll need a lot of coffee and won’t really stop working for 14 days straight once it lands on the lunar surface,” Ballard said. “I mean every single minute and second will count to keep progress.”
Austin startup Icon plans development 3D-printed homes in the area
“Hardest construction project in human history”
Ballard stated that Icon will draw on lessons from the Earth projects and three other space-focused projects including NASA. However, the new project will bring with it a lot of new challenges. One example is that a printer must be small enough to reach the moon, but large enough to still build structures on Earth.
Ballard stated that “we have every confidence it will work.” “But, I believe it will be the most difficult construction job in the history of mankind by an order of magnitude.”
Icon has participated in many space-related NASA and Department of Defense projects. Through a subcontract, the company built a 3D-printed structure at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for a series of missions designed to simulate what life could be like for astronauts living on Mars. Crews will be staying for one year to replicate living conditions on Mars. The first astronaut crew is expected to arrive soon.
Ballard explained that remote control will be crucial for Icon’s new lunar project. There will be a mission control system, and Icon will be able to monitor, support and update the robotic systems from back on Earth, but Ballard said this also means lessons in “aggressive autonomy.”
“We’ve been doing the same thing in our terrestrial bases and trying to eliminate on-site labor and support to make housing more affordable on Earth, but those lessons, now five years in the making, pretty immediately translate to how to construct on another world.”
Icon plans to use lunar samples and simulants from Apollo missions to test the mechanical behavior of moon gravity. However, depending on where the spacecraft lands the material may look slightly different.
“The geology is different on the east side and also on the west side of Austin. Ballard stated that similar events can occur on the moon with different minerals and materials, and elements that melt at different points. There will be much research in the coming years to prepare. We will be almost building a recipe book.”
Additional work will be done before launch to make it as flexible as possible with multiple power systems, different speeds, and ways to adjust after it lands.
Ballard said that it was quite expensive to fly up there. “You can’t do it again. You must do it right the first time.
Icon 3D printing company in Austin is set on fire by firefighters
“An extremely cool way to work”
Icon continues its projects on Earth. It has also built a 100-home community called Georgetown. Icon claims it is the largest-scale 3D-printed housing project in the country. Icon also has nearly 500 employees.
Ballard explained that, depending on the day of the week, Ballard and his team are either working on shelters for the homeless in Austin or pondering the possibility of a moon base. It’s an amazing place to work and a very cool way to do it.
NASA announced the news following a Friday fire at Icon’s headquarters. The fire broke out at Yard, a mixed use development on East St. Elo Road in South Austin. Icon’s office and printing plant were there when firefighters responded. The company stated that there were no injuries and that it didn’t anticipate any impact to its business operations.
Ballard tweeted photos of the fire, saying that no one was there at the time and that the printers were in the field.
“Black Friday. We are grateful that no one was injured. The printer fleet is still out there doing excellent work, and the teams were at home enjoying the holiday. It’s time to build. We ride,” the tweet said.