The Austin company will play an important role in NASA’s plans to return to the Moon and establish a base camp there.
NASA awarded $57.2 million to Icon, a Texas-based construction company, to help develop a system that can build structures on the moon.
Jason Ballard co-founded Icon with the aim of reimagining construction using its Vulcan 3D printers. The company says its 3D printing technology is faster, less expensive and has a wider range of options than traditional construction. The startup has already built dozens of homes and structures on Earth — it printed its first home using 3D technology in 2018 — and has worked with NASA previously.
Ballard said that “the first construction projects to be done on another world” will be overseen by a mission control center in Austin, Texas. “We are hopeful that Texas will be proud of us.”
The Icon contract is part of NASA’s Artemis program, which is intended to return astronauts to the moon by 2024, including the first woman. Icon’s high-tech hardware and software will accompany Icon on a flight to the moon in a lunar gravity simulator flight. This flight will have the purpose of building the first construction ever built on a celestial object. Our ultimate goal is to create a structure astronauts can live in and work in.
Artemis is a program that aims to establish an ongoing human presence on Mars by 2028. They also plan to conduct research on the moon’s surface and provide the basis for private companies to create a lunar economy. Artemis aims to take humanity to Mars by being a “next big step” in human history.
Icon’s construction system for the mission, called Olympus, will work similarly to the 3D printers on Earth, using computer-aided design to create three-dimensional objects through a layering method. Moon material will be used in place of concrete. This is because it is water-based and cannot be used on moon.
Ballard stated, “We have the strong dedication to what’s called ISR (in-situ resource utilization) or, as they would say in East Texas: living off the land.”
More:Icon in Austin’s latest project will allow NASA to simulate life on Mars.
“We only hope to be worthy”
Ballard said landing the NASA contract has been “unbelievable” and said it’s been exciting to watch NASA launch Artemis One in recent weeks. The Orion spacecraft was launched and it set a new record in terms of the distance that any spacecraft designed for carrying humans has ever traveled.
“Just walking around with my kids, pointing at the moon, it’s crazy. It completely changes your perception of the night sky. We hope just to be worthy of the opportunity,” Ballard said. “It feels like one of those things that you do not just on behalf of yourself or behalf of your company, but want to do on behalf of humanity.”
Icon anticipates that the structure will be delivered in one lunar day. This is equivalent to about 14 Earth-days. Icon usually builds structures on Earth in one day.
“We’ll need a lot of coffee and won’t really stop working for 14 days straight once it lands on the lunar surface,” Ballard said. “I mean every single minute and second will count to keep progress.”
Austin startup Icon plans to develop 3D-printed homes for the area
‘Hardest building project in history of humanity’
Ballard indicated that Icon will learn from lessons learned from projects on Earth as well as from three other space-focused projects, which include work with NASA. The latest project presents new challenges. To be able to send a printer to the Moon requires limited power and size. However, it is still possible to build structures that are the same size on Earth.
Ballard stated, “We have every faith that it will succeed.” “But it’ll be the most difficult construction project in human history by an order-of-magnitude.”
Icon has participated in many space-related NASA and Department of Defense projects. Through a subcontract, the company built a 3D-printed structure at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for a series of missions designed to simulate what life could be like for astronauts living on Mars. Crews will be staying for one year to replicate living conditions on Mars. The first astronaut crew is expected to arrive soon.
Ballard stated that remote control and communication are key to Icon’s new moon project. There will be a mission control system, and Icon will be able to monitor, support and update the robotic systems from back on Earth, but Ballard said this also means lessons in “aggressive autonomy.”
“We’ve been doing the same thing in our terrestrial bases and trying to eliminate on-site labor and support to make housing more affordable on Earth, but those lessons, now five years in the making, pretty immediately translate to how to construct on another world.”
Icon will use lunar samples from the Apollo missions as well as various simulants, to study mechanical behavior under simulated moon gravity. However, depending on where the spacecraft lands the material could differ slightly.
“The geology is different on the east side and also on the west side of Austin. Ballard explained that similar things can happen on moons with different materials and minerals. These elements can melt at various points, regardless of whether or not they have been recrystallized. There will be much research in the coming years to prepare. We will be almost building a recipe book.”
Additional work will be done before launch to make it as flexible as possible with multiple power systems, different speeds and rechargeable batteries. There will also be ways to adjust after it lands.
Ballard said that it was quite expensive to fly up there. “You can’t do it again. It’s essential to do it right the first time.
Icon, a 3D-printing company based in Austin, is engulfed by fire. It’s well-known for its NASA projects.
“An extremely cool way to work”
Icon continues its projects on Earth. It has also built a 100-home community called Georgetown. Icon claims that it is the country’s first large-scale 3D printed housing development. Icon also has nearly 500 employees.
Ballard stated that depending on the day, they are working on shelter for homeless people in Austin or thinking about the moonbase. “It’s an amazing place and a very cool way to do work.
NASA’s announcement comes after a fire at Icon headquarters on Friday. The fire broke out at Yard, a mixed use development on East St. Elo Road in South Austin. Icon’s office and printing plant were there when firefighters responded. According to Icon, there were no injuries. The company also stated that they did not anticipate any impact on ongoing business activities.
Ballard tweeted photos of the fire, saying that no one was there at the time and that the printers were in the field.
“Black Friday. We are grateful that no one was injured. The printer fleet was out on the ground doing great work, while teams were home for the holiday. It’s time to build. We ride,” the tweet said.