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The Plymouth Student Scientist

Jasper Stevens

Document Type

Engineering, Computing and Mathematics Article

Abstract

Humans are returning to the Moon for the first time since 1972. And when they arrive, In-Situ resource Utilisation (ISRU), the philosophy of using local materials and resources will be required to help maintain a more permanent presence on the Moon. Lunar regolith is the homogenous layer of inorganic ‘soil’ that covers nearly the entire Lunar surface, making it the most readily available material for ISRU. This report investigates the effect of changing time and temperature applied to samples of lunar regolith simulant LHS-1 formed as freestanding samples under constant pressure, before sintering into a consolidated sample. Compressive testing on a Instron universal testing machine revealed compressive strengths significantly lower than previously reported in the literature with a mean value of . Statistical analysis showed that increasing temperature from 30°C to 100°C resulted in a 21% increase in compressive strength and increasing time under formation from 180s to 300s increased compressive strength 8.5%. However, further increases did improve results. Additionally increased temperatures of 100°C and 180°C produced more workable samples less prone to defects. Despite the lower than expected compressive strength of the samples, the results indicate that lunar regolith is a viable material for ISRU, offering significant benefits over traditional materials transported from Earth.

Publication Date

2025-12

Publication Title

The Plymouth Student Scientist

Volume

18

Issue

2

ISSN

1754-2383

Deposit Date

2025-12

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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