2026-07-24T02:00:04Z https://drops.dagstuhl.de/oai

oai:drops-oai.dagstuhl.de:24002 2025-12-12T15:06:45Z ddc:004 open_access

Conceptual Design, Manufacturing, and Assembly of a Tall Lunar Tower Konstantatou, Marina Sena, Aran Cann, George Gallou, Irene Perez, Salvador Navarro Punch, Orla Guberman, Marc Goodloe, David Boyd, Platt Space Architecture Lunar Infrastructure Lunar Tower Additive Manufacturing In Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) Solar Energy This research paper presents the results of a NASA-funded collaborative project between Foster + Partners and Branch Technology that developed the design, manufacturing, and assembly of an optimised 50m tall lunar tower for solar energy generation at the Moon’s South Pole. The tower’s structure is characterised by a helical diagrid geometry with integrated spiralling rails, designed to enable crane-free manufacturing, solar array deployment, and maintenance. The tower’s unique geometry is designed to be compatible with a freeform 3D printing and cellular fabrication strategy, creating opportunities for in-situ resource utilisation and load path optimisation. Particular attention was placed into developing a site-specific design that takes into consideration the unique environmental and lighting conditions of the Lunar South Pole. Two demonstrators were fabricated by the consortium: a 1:50 scale functional prototype with a robotically-deployed rotating solar array and a 1:1 scale 5m section of the tower. Both were showcased in March 2025 during the "Earth to Space" exhibition at the Kennedy Space Centre in Washington DC. This project contributes to the efforts of developing supporting infrastructure, such as power and communications networks, which will enable lunar exploration and a sustained human presence on our Moon and beyond. Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik Marina Konstantatou and Aran Sena and George Cann and Irene Gallou and Salvador Navarro Perez and Orla Punch and Marc Guberman and David Goodloe and Platt Boyd 2025 Is Part Of OASIcs, Volume 130, Advancing Human-Computer Interaction for Space Exploration (SpaceCHI 2025) InProceedings Text doc-type:ResearchArticle publishedVersion application/pdf doi:10.4230/OASIcs.SpaceCHI.2025.12 urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-240027 https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/OASIcs.SpaceCHI.2025.12 eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode