Lunar Articulating Mirror Array

Blueshift, LLC d/b/a Outward Technologies proposes to continue development of a Lunar Articulating Mirror Array (LAMA) for enabling lunar surface construction of large-scale infrastructure. The technology utilizes concentrated solar power to heat lunar regolith at a distance of meters to tens of meters from the mirror array. The configuration of the design allows for precise control over the solar flux and solar flux density delivered to the target surface. Phase I demonstrated feasibility of this technology through fabrication, assembly, and control of a physical prototype demonstrating the translation of a spot of highly concentrated solar energy across a receiver surface; ray tracing models matched to Phase I prototype results confirming validity of these models; extension of the ray tracing models to mid- to large-scale LAMA systems for solar conditions found on the Moon; generation of selectively solar melted and liquid-phase sintered surfaces of a lunar highlands regolith simulant; evaluation of performance of selectively solar melted surfaces for bearing loads equivalent to those that would be imposed by a lander footpad; and evaluation of reducing ejecta from selectively solar sintered regolith surfaces when exposed to a simulated plume-surface interaction. These efforts will be extended in Phase II to develop a medium-fidelity LAMA prototype and evaluate its performance in a relevant test environment to advance the TRL from 4 to 5. Selectively solar melted and sintered regolith surfaces will be produced in air and in vacuum conditions. Specimens generated from selective solar melting will be exposed in controlled thermal pulse tests representing impingement by superheated gases from an 80 ton lunar lander. Plume-surface interactions of selective solar sintered surfaces will be explored in vacuum conditions. Finally, a demonstration Landing/Launch Pad measuring 1m in diameter will be evaluated through multiple hot-fire tests from a large solid rocket motor.