ACRE: Autonomous Casting RovEr Final Technical Paper
Authors/Creators
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1.
Northwestern University
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2.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Description
Team Members: Jaime Berkovich1a*†‡, Julian Rocher23b†*, Benjamin Taalman23a†*, Trevor Abbott3b*, Matthew
Queen23b*, Tyler Nanoff3b*, Liam Warlick3a*, Daniel Lynch1b*, Margaret Gao3b*, Luke Fahrney3c*, Justin Chang
Stauffer3b*, Liam O’Malley3d*, Xitlalli Casta˜ neda3b*, Bobby Cloninger3c*, Elaine Liu23b*, Daniel Guo3a*, Cather-
ine Ott1a*, Sam Price1a*, Vishu Gupta1c+, Eliseu Antonio Kloster Filho3b+, Shane Grayson3d*, Rebecca Goldenson3b*
,
Camille Layden3a*, Fiona Ireland3b*, Zofia Muller-Hinnant3b*, Ian Falck3e*
Space Grant Affiliation: Illinois Space Grant Consortium
Space Grant Director Contact Information: Dr. Joshua Rovey, rovey@illinois.edu, (217) 300-7092
Faculty Advisor: Prof. Ian McCuea
Industry Partners: Wearifi, Inc.; Rexnord Aerospace; Questek Innovations, LLC; Ansys, Inc.
NUSTARS Sponsors: Boeing Co; Epsilon3, Inc.; Onshape, Inc.; The Murphy Society; Robert R.
McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern
Northwestern University Space Technology and Rocketry Society (NUSTARS)
McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science
October 23, 2023
1: PhD Candidate. 2: MS Candidate. 3: Undergraduate. a: Department of Materials Science and Engineering. b: Department of
Mechanical Engineering. c: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. d: Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering. e: Department of Chemical Engineering. *: US Citizen. +: International Student. ‡: Team Lead. †: Co-Captain.
Abstract
The establishment of a lasting human lunar presence necessitates the large-scale construction of roads, landing pads, and other critical infrastructure over vast areas of the lunar surface, creating a need for a manufacturing system capable of producing substantial volumes of high-strength, ISRU-derived material efficiently, reliably, and autonomously. We propose ACRE (Autonomous Casting RovEr) to meet this need through the in-situ casting of ISRU-derived feedstock materials. ACRE operates by heating feedstock to a liquid state and depositing batches of molten material directly into molds formed on the lunar surface by the rover’s plow as it traverses the terrain. Casting is uniquely suited to early-stage lunar manufacturing due to its versatility, robustness, and ability to produce high-quality components from a wide range of potentially available materials. Moreover, casting readily enables the production of metal-matrix composite (MMC) materials, in which refined metal feedstocks are combined with raw lunar regolith to achieve high-volume material output. ACRE integrates its entire manufacturing process—including energy collection, heat generation, feedstock storage, deposition, and mold formation—within the form factor of a self-sufficient, mobile rover, allowing autonomous operation for extended periods and fabrication across large regions of the lunar surface without astronaut involvement. The system requires only infrequent, periodic reloading of feedstock hoppers and replacement of high-capacity battery packs, tasks that may be performed by other autonomous or crewed rover systems.