J.R. Garcia, E. Caffrey, L. Doolan, D.V. Horvath, T. Carey, C. Gabbett, J.N. Coleman
Trinity College Dublin,
Ireland
Keywords: lunar, martian, regolith, internal sensors, carbon nanotubes, compressive strength, conductive
Summary:
Constructing a semi-permanent base on the moon or Mars will require maximal use of materials found in-situ and minimisation of equipment and materials transported from Earth. This will mean a heavy reliance of regolith (Lunar or Marian soil) and water, supplemented by small quantities of additives fabricated on Earth. In this presentation, we show that SiO2-based powders, as well as Lunar and Martian regolith simulants, can be fabricated into building materials near room temperature using less than 10% of carbon nanotubes as a binder. These materials have compressive strength and toughness up to 100 MPa and 3 MPa respectively, higher than the best terrestrial concretes. These composites are electrically conductive (>20 S/m) and display an extremely large piezoresistive response (gauge factor >600), enabling their use as internal sensors to monitor the structural health of extra-terrestrial buildings.