Foundation Design and Seismic Protection of Lunar Infrastructure Utilizing Bulk Regolith

As a part of NASA’s Artemis program to establish a long-term human presence on the Moon, NASA will need to design and construct surface infrastructure to enable lunar exploration and science. Our proposed project will use the limited lunar seismicity data to develop a prediction model for seismic loading. The seismic model will be used in conjunction with analysis, testing, and engineering design to establish preliminary design criteria, procedures, and ConOps for seismic protection systems leveraging bulk regolith. This proposed work will target the civil, geotechnical, and structural engineering markets and further the state-of-the-art of lunar foundation engineering and seismic resilience of infrastructure and structures. This includes testing of geotechnical properties, an evaluation of surface preparation efficiency, determination of lateral loading conditions of bulk regolith infrastructure, designing and assessing infrastructure for the anticipated loading conditions to understand the structural response, and testing of scaled prototype protection systems using a shake table in TRL 4 environments. Protection of lunar surface infrastructure elements from seismic activity (moonquakes) is paramount to ensure system survival, resilience, mission objectives, and life safety. While terrestrial civil engineering design will provide a baseline for lunar building and construction, new models need to be developed and tested to ensure appropriate resilience of lunar infrastructure, structures, and other mission assets. Potential applications of the innovations addressed through this proposal include the planned Artemis basecamp, other private endeavors to the lunar surface, and assistance in the drafting of the American Society of Civil Engineers Lunar Infrastructure Engineering, Design, Analysis, and Construction guidelines.