Cementitious materials key to NASA’s lunar construction plans

NASA is developing technologies aimed at producing cement-based structures in-situ on the moon within the next eight years, according to a researcher at NASA contractor Amentum Space Exploration Group, speaking at the recent Intercem conference in Houston, Texas.

The broader conversation around production of low-carbon cement and concrete has been gaining momentum recently, highlighted by discussions at the UN's COP29 meeting in Baku this month.

The Global Concrete and Cement Association has set international definitions for low-carbon cement and concrete, while the UN Environment Programme announced the formation of an Intergovernmental Council for Buildings and Climate to accelerate decarbonization efforts in the building industry.

While the cement industry has also been researching using supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) to achieve decarbonization goals, certain SCMs -- like calcium sulfo-aluminate, magnesium oxy-sulfate, geopolymer, and sulfur binders -- are also being considered for lunar infrastructure to support long-term human habitation as part of NASA's major Artemis project, according to Michael R. Fiske, ESSCA technical fellow at Amentum.

"We started about 2.5 years ago with over a dozen different materials that included five different cementitious materials and we have narrowed them down now," Fiske told S&P Global Commodity Insights during Intercem.

"Knowing that the first mission was going to be a landing pad [on the moon], potentially including one or more cementitious materials by 2032, we'd like to be in a position where we could build a full structure," he added.

The Artemis program aims to support long-term human presence on the moon from as early as 2026.

In August, astronauts aboard the International Space Station conducted experiments to mix and match cement ingredients for potential moon construction.

Despite recent contracts awarded by NASA to SpaceX and Blue Origin for delivering equipment and infrastructure to the lunar surface, transporting building materials from Earth remains financially unfeasible. Consequently, lunar construction will rely on "in-situ materials."

Fiske highlighted the stark cost difference of doing this, noting that while dry concrete on Earth costs $0.11 per kilogram, transporting it to the moon would cost an astronomical $1,200,000 per kilogram. "Rockets are not efficient movers of building materials," Fiske stated. "Because I can't afford to take the [cement and other building] material [to the moon], my job is making sure that [cement industry's] market for the moon is zero," he added.