NASA Awards $57.2 Million Contract to ICON for Lunar Construction Technology Development.
In a bid to find practical solutions for building sustainable structures on the Moon, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has strengthened its collaboration with ICON, a Texas-based construction technology company known for creating the first habitable 3D-printed house in the U.S. in 2018.
NASA is partnering with ICON to build infrastructure on the Moon. (Image: ICON).
According to a press release on November 29, NASA announced it has awarded a $57.2 million contract, extending until 2028, to ICON to develop technologies that can support the construction of infrastructure such as landing pads, habitats, and roadways on the lunar surface.
“To explore worlds beyond Earth, we need innovative technologies that are suited to those environments and the needs of human exploration. Advancing this development with commercial partners will create the capabilities that NASA needs for future missions,” emphasized Niki Werkheiser, Director of Technology at NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.
The new contract continues ICON’s efforts under a dual contract partially funded by NASA and the U.S. Air Force, known as the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) initiative. In the previous two phases, this initiative examined the potential for expanding the use of 3D-printed structures in space missions and explored the similarities between applications on Earth and in outer space.
Phase III of the SBIR will focus on developing ICON’s Olympus Project construction system, which aims to utilize available resources on the lunar and Martian surfaces as building materials for longer missions.
ICON is also participating in NASA’s “3D-Printed Habitat Challenge.” The company collaborated with the Colorado School of Mines in the U.S. and won an award for a 3D-printed structure prototype that demonstrated airtightness, robustness, and durability under extreme temperature conditions.
