Our Brickbot conveyance system comprises of bucket drums and an electromagnetic sieving and filtering system mounted on a robotic mobility platform used for initial risk reduction test demonstrations. A method to scoop the uncompacted top surface layer of lunar regolith is employed to deposit acquired regolith directly over the top of the robots shroud cover which is modified to act as an initial screen to filter out the largest rocks and material. An electromagnetic sieve/shaker assembly further filters the scooped regolith to particle grains of <70 microns before flowing feedstock into the feed hopper of the onboard furnace for melting and forming bricks used for landing/launch pad construction, or for any planar surface such as roads and foundations. The beneficiation and movement methodology will be further developed for the regolith simulant sieving and filtering method used on the Brickbot. Anticipated
Benefits: Exhibition of regolith and feedstock technology Component for the fabrication of lunar launch/landing pads Demonstration of in-situ material feedstock development and its application for construction of space infrastructure Fabrication from local extraterrestrial materials of structural systems via additive manufacturing, assembled locally with robotic and/or astronaut-assistance, and designed for easy and effective maintenance Simulation of the lunar electromagnetic environment for future surface and regolith interaction and exploitation Construction, e.g., DOD / FEMA forward deployment in remote / hazardous sites Surface mining Environmental clean-up/remediation Debris removal at nuclear power plants and other hazardous sites Land reclamation Dry bulk loose commodities handling in warehouses, distribution centers, storage (e.g., fertilizer, grain, etc.)
