ICON – an American company that has been developing large-scale 3D printing technologies for the construction industry for many years, announced the winning a contract awarded as part of the third phase of the NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The nearly $60 million contract builds on previous NASA and Department of Defense funding for ICON’s Olympus project to research and develop space structural systems to support planned lunar exploration. ICON’s Olympus is intended to be a multi-purpose construction system, primarily using local lunar resources as building materials to support NASA and commercial organizations’ efforts to colonize the moon.
“To shift the paradigm of space exploration from ‘there and back‘ to ‘there to stay‘, we will need robust, resilient and widely efficient systems that can exploit the local resources of the moon and planets. We are pleased that our research and engineering to date has shown that such systems are indeed possible to create, and we look forward to making this possibility a reality now,” said Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO of ICON. “The ultimate result of this contract will be the first construction of humanity on another world, and that will be quite a special achievement.”
Highlighting the similarities between advanced construction on Earth and in space, ICON will continue to pioneer the development of methods and technologies to solve some of the most vexing construction challenges facing our species, from affordable housing to life on other planets.
In support of NASA’s Artemis program, ICON plans to take its advanced hardware and software into space with a lunar simulation flight. ICON also intends to work with lunar relith samples brought back from the Apollo missions to determine their mechanical behavior in simulated lunar gravity. These findings will yield results that will form the basis of future approaches to building the Moon for the wider space community, including critical infrastructure such as landing pads, blast shields and roads. This technology will help create the critical infrastructure necessary for a sustainable lunar economy, including ultimately long-term lunar habitability.
“To explore other worlds, we need innovative new technologies tailored to those environments and our exploration needs,” said Niki Werkheiser, director of technology for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. “Bringing this development along with our commercial partners will create the capabilities we need for future missions.”
NASA has hinted that the Artemis program will make the Moon the first place beyond Earth for sustainable surface exploration. Building a lasting presence on the moon requires more than just rockets. To ensure a permanent presence on the Moon, a solid infrastructure will have to be built to provide better thermal, radiation and micrometeor protection. ICON’s development plans follow a “live off the land” approach, prioritizing the use of indigenous materials found on the moon.
In 2021, ICON also received a subcontract through Jacobs to support NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) under NASA’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) and delivered the world’s first and only 3D printed simulated Martian surface. Designed by architectural firm BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, Mars Dune Alpha is located at NASA’s Johnson Space Center and will assist in long-duration science missions.
Known for its advanced 3D printing technology for building homes on Earth, ICON created the first officially occupied 3D printed house in 2018. Since then, the team has 3D-printed homes located in the United States and Mexico, and barracks for men and women serving in the U.S. Army, Air Force and Texas Military Department. Patented Vulcan ICON technology allows you to build resilient, energy-efficient homes faster than conventional construction methods, with less waste and more design freedom.
Source: www.iconbuild.com
Photos: www.iconbuild.com (press materials / all rights reserved)
