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ESDMD #0504: Autonomous Lunar Surface Structure Assembly and Construction

Robotic systems that assemble, inspect, outfit and repair structures on the lunar surface without crew, such as tall towers, walls or barriers, and shelters (bin 3, rating 30 of 57). It is new in Rev C. The state of the art is subscale: the ARMADAS assembly system and the Tall Lunar Tower, "both at TRL 4". The gap must be "demonstrated in situ" before NASA relies on it. It is named in the Moon Base Users Guide (near-term), under the "Solar power" challenge (Tech gaps spreadsheet, ESDMD #0504; Users Guide, p. 13).

Quotations below are from row ESDMD #0504 of the tech gaps spreadsheet unless marked otherwise. ADD Rev C's Appendix D prints the same table for this gap, and it matches the row field for field (ADD Rev C, p. 227).

Description

"Autonomous assembly and construction has been identified as a potential target to support sustained presence on the lunar surface. This new technology needs to be demonstrated in situ before it can be relied upon to construct infrastructure that can be used by surface exploration assets. Systems for robotic assembly, inspection, outfitting, repair, and site preparation will be needed to enable autonomous assembly and construction on the lunar surface. Potential scalable applications include, but are not limited to, the assembly and construction of tall towers, walls/barriers (e.g., PSI ejecta mitigation and FSP radiation attenuation), and shelters."

Neither the sheet nor the ADD's table expands "FSP" here. "PSI" is plume-surface interaction (see #1101, child gap 1101-02).

New in Rev C. The 2025 Architecture Update lists #0504 as one of two technology gaps that Rev C adds (with #0505). It describes it this way: "Autonomous construction can help support sustained lunar exploration. This technology gap captures the robotic assembly, inspection, outfitting, repair, and site preparation systems that would be necessary to conduct autonomous, in-situ construction" (2025 Architecture Update, p. 14; gaps index).

Impacts and benefits: "With gap closure, this infrastructure can provide a variety of services to surface assets such as communications, power, dust and PSI ejecta mitigation, and protection from the harsh thermal and radiation environments."

Current state of the art

"In-space assembly and construction is at subscale and low TRL. Examples include the Automated Reconfigurable Mission Adaptive Digital Assembly Systems (ARMADAS) modular structural assembly system and the Tall Lunar Tower (TLT) autonomous robotic tower assembly system, both at TRL 4."

Performance target

Moon: "Enable the assembly and construction of structures on the lunar surface using autonomous/semi-autonomous robotic technologies."

Child gaps

  • 0806-01*: Affordance recognition, grasp planning, and execution for autonomous object and interface manipulation
  • 1001-01*: Robust robotic sensors
  • 1001-02*: Adaptable robotic end effectors for fine grasping and manipulation
  • 1001-03*: Efficient autonomous object detection, classification, and pose estimation
  • 0504-01: Structural joining methods for surface construction and assembly

Only 0504-01 is this gap's own. The four starred child gaps also appear under #0806, #1001 and #0501, and 0806-01 also under #0505. The asterisk marks "a child gap with multiple parents" (ADD Rev C, p. 199).

Traceability

  • Use cases and functions: UC-I-201 L -- FN-I-205 L
  • Definition tasks: none listed

Segments and sub-architectures

Priority

Priority bin 3, overall prioritization rating 30 of 57. It is the last gap in bin 3. The rating is "the gap's location in the prioritized list of gaps", so 1 is the highest priority, and bins group gaps of similar priority, bin 1 highest. Criticality, urgency, breadth and depth set the order; cost is not considered (ADD Rev C, pp. 78, 199; method on the gaps index).

Moon Base relevance

The Users Guide names #0504 for one associated challenge (Users Guide, p. 13):

  • "Solar power": "Deploying systems to generate, store, and distribute solar power requires precise knowledge of lighting conditions and array performance, as well as systems robust to the lunar environment."

The Users Guide does not say which part of #0504 serves solar power. The gap's own description lists "tall towers" among its applications. The guide ties its challenges to "near-term Moon Base development efforts": missions in phase one "offer opportunities to collect data and mature technologies to enable essential phase two and phase three capabilities" (p. 11). See Technology and knowledge challenges.

Sources

Tech gaps spreadsheet, ESDMD #0504 · ADD Rev C, pp. 78, 199, 227 · Users Guide, p. 13 · 2025 Architecture Update, p. 14