Astroport Space Technologies Development laboratory Tour Part 2

This is Part 2 (of 2) of my visit to the Astroport Space Technologies laboratory where they are currently using lunar regolith simulants, vacuum chambers with induction heating, kilns & other equipment to test prototype bricks that will someday form the landable surface for Starship and other lunar landers to safely arrive and depart from the moon!

This is an extremely difficult challenge made more so by the distances to the moon, the inability (at least for some time) to have in-situ logistics and support, and the unforgiving environment of the lunar surface.

In this part 2 video, we discuss the development and testing underway to manufacture the actual bricks intended to be used for lunar landing platforms in the future. This uses simulated lunar regolith at this stage of development and includes a unique autonomous "Lunatron" robot that can accept sifter regolith, heat it using induction processes, endure quality control and then place the individual bricks forming a durable surface that is heat and or laser welded together, eliminating the need for adhesives or grout to keep the bricks in place.

The bricks also use a unique shape that allows for ease of placement and minimizes potential errors buy the autonomous "Lunatron" robot by having three lobes that are the same no matter which orientation the are installed.

Astroport Space Technologies is currently manifested on the initial SpaceX Starship HLS demo landing currently expected sometime in late 2025 or early 2026. During this demonstration landing, Astroport in conjunction with their partners including Astrolab will demonstrate their patented magnetic levitation system to sift the lunar regolith to the desired 70 micron level, which will be a key part of their technology to produce the required lunar bricks that will form the landing surface.

Thank you to Astroport, CEO Sam Ximenes & the Asroport team for allowing me to visit and share much of what I saw and learned during this amazing visit! I wish them the very best of luck achieving their lofty goals!