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XArc / Astroport Company Group Announce $1.3 Million in Multiple NASA SBIR/STTR Awards for 2023

Technologies funded for development enable safe lunar landings

SAN ANTONIO, Nov. 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Astroport Space Technologies and its parent organization Exploration Architecture Corporation (XArc) received a combined $1.3M in NASA SBIR/STTR awards for development of extreme environment landing pad technologies. The SBIR/STTR Phase 1 and Phase 2 awards will focus on development of lunar construction and operations technologies needed for lunar surface landing/launch pads (LLPs) in support of the NASA Artemis program.

NASA awarded Astroport a Phase 1 SBIR to advance development of its unique Lunatron® furnace-nozzle for making bricks from molten lunar regolith (lunar soil). Bricks are used for the surface pavement in Astroport's LLP design. A Phase 1 STTR was awarded to Astroport for development of novel regolith flow technology for mitigating problematic electro-static forces during conveyance of processed regolith. This sieving and grain separation technology will isolate the regolith grains that are ideal for manufacturing lunar bricks. Additionally, NASA awarded Astroport's parent company, XArc, a Phase 1 STTR contract for development of an autonomous pathfinder surveying robot (Surveyorbot) to determine geotechnical characteristics of a potential landing site. The Surveyorbot will perform precursor surveying missions prior to deployment of surface construction operations, to characterize regolith handling difficulty at a selected site, such as load bearing capability, compaction and penetration depth, as well as soil settlement due to imposed loads from heavy cargo landers. Total value of these awards is $450,000.

NASA also selected Astroport and its consortium team comprised of industry partners and academic research institutions, for a Phase 2 STTR award valued at $850,000 to refine the team's Phase 1 defined concept of operations (CONOPS) and system architecture for the LLP site preparation and construction process. A bulk regolith distribution system for hauling excavated regolith, processing at a sorting station, and sieving for feedstock production for the LLP brickmaking robots is further developed during the Phase 2 effort.

"These awards demonstrate our end-to-end systems approach to LLP construction, breadth of technologies and mission applications being developed within the XArc / Astroport company group for advancing state-of-art lunar surface infrastructure construction", said Sam Ximenes, Founder, CEO and Space Architect.

About Astroport: Astroport Space Technologies Inc. is a space construction and materials manufacturing company turning planetary resources into durable feedstock for autonomous construction of lunar and Mars surface infrastructure. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, Astroport was founded with a vision to design, deploy, and operate interplanetary landing ports to facilitate safe, reliable, and efficient spaceflights to the Moon, Mars and beyond. Astroport is a deep tech startup founded in 2020, operating as a technology venture arm of Exploration Architecture Corporation (XArc), a space architecture consulting design and engineering firm established in 2007.

About Exploration Architecture Corporation: XArc provides expertise in the field of space architecture and engineering; consulting services in the field of architectural design for spaceports, space stations, planetary surface systems, and terrestrial space related facilities. Our technology development programs for Earth, Moon, Mars habitation and planetary surface system applications service markets in civil space, DoD strategic space, and commercial space exploration.