Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is a candidate for on-site manufacturing as its characteristics of energy source and powderbased fabrication process are suitable for use with in situ material. The feasibility of using lunar regolith simulant to create objects with SLM process is investigated in this study. The process parameters are optimized and multiple objects are fabricated. A qualitative chemical analysis is carried out with scanning electron microscopy using energy-dispersive X-ray emission. Lastly, properties such as particle size distribution, particle shape, and crystal structure of the lunar simulant powder as well as the crystallinity and hardness of the fabricated objects are investigated.

Although process parameters of Selective Laser Melting (SLM) method have been established for different materials, fabrication of parts using SLM of glass powder has remained a challenge so far. This study presents a synopsis of an experimental investigation study on SLM of soda-lime glass powder. The process parameters are analyzed using various test geometries, and a set of optimized process parameters is determined and used to build multiple objects. The morphology and mechanical properties of the fabricated parts are analyzed. The results demonstrate the feasibility of SLM process to successfully build objects from sodalime glass powder for different applications.

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The European Astronaut Centre (EAC) is currently constructing the European Lunar Exploration Laboratory (LUNA), a large training and operations facility to be located adjacent to EAC at the DLR (German Aerospace Centre) campus in Cologne, Germany. With an estimated representative lunar testbed area of approximately 660 m 2 , a large volume of lunar regolith simulant material is needed for this purpose. In this study, a basanitic sandy silt from a quarry located in the Siebengebirge Volcanic Field is evaluated as a large-volume source of material. The focus of this project has been to conduct a physical and chemical characterisation of the fine-grained material to be used in LUNA; the European Astronaut Centre lunar regolith simulant 1 (EAC-1 A). The physical characterisation tests undertaken include sphericity, density measurements, cohesion and static angle of repose, with mineralogical investigations via petrographical analysis with optical microscope and SEM, XRF, XRD and DSC measurements. The results of the EAC-1A tests are compared to published data on existing widely used lunar regolith simulants, namely JSC-1A, JSC-2A, NU-LHT-3M, DNA and FJS-1.

Selective Laser Melting (SLM) is a powder based Additive manufacturing (AM) technology which builds an object layer wise using a laser beam to melt the powder on an elevated platform. Thus far numerous studies have investigated lunar manufacturing methods and construction but little is known about applicability of SLM of lunar regolith. As most lunar construction proposals require transportation of essential materials from Earth, using an in-situ manufacturing method with indigenous material would be considerably more economical. Fabrication of parts with SLM using various metals and ceramics has already been presented. As such, the feasibility of using lunar regolith mixture to create functional parts with SLM process is investigated. Variation of process parameters such as laser power, scan speed, and scan strategies is investigated and multiple 3D objects are successfully created and presented.