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.