In-situ construction method for lunar habitation: Chinese Super Mason

Abstract Lunar exploration has become increasingly popular, and lunar habitation research must be a core focus during the exploration of the Moon. The lunar habitation research must mainly include architectural and structural designs built using suitable material-forming technology and construction equipment. To address these issues, Chinese Super Mason (CSM) was proposed. This technology is an autonomous robotic construction system that is capable of automated assembling on-site prefabricated multistructural bricks and arched segments. The compound fabrication system was composed of a six-axis robotic manipulator and a dry mixed autoclaving fabricator carried on an autonomous-limbed vehicle platform. The Xuanwu Station for the lunar habitation conceptual design was developed and intended for erection by the CSM. A case study was conducted in a 2.8 m-long, 0.8 m-wide, and 1.1 m-high open arched-formwork structure fabricated within 8.5 h on the Earth. In addition, the Xuanwu Station was evaluated using finite element analysis software considering the temperature, air pressure, and other special environments on the Moon. The reliabilities and limitations of the CSM method were analyzed. Finally, the applications of the CSM in the extreme environment of the Earth and several improvements of the experimental equipment were discussed along with the proposed future applications for autonomous construction.