Komatsu's development of lunar construction equipment is contributing to the realisation of humankind's dream.
Out-of-this-world beginnings
In 2019 the United States launched the Artemis Program with the aim of re-establishing a manned presence on the moon for the first time since 1972. More than 40 countries are cooperating in this international endeavor. In coordination with this program and with the support of the public and private sector, MLIT's Space Construction Innovation Project is developing innovative technology for automated and remotely operated space construction.
The Space Construction Innovation Project is one target of the Stardust Program. Under the leadership of Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) and Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), this project is researching and developing autonomous construction technologies with the objective of building a base for long-term stays on the moon’s surface. We at Komatsu are responsible for the research and development of the lunar construction machines for the project.
With the goal of completing our project goals by the early 2030s, we currently are pursuing extensive R&D for lunar construction machinery technologies and their testing. Though completely unknown territory for Komatsu, we are steadily advancing toward our destination.
Getting to know the workspace
The lunar environment is completely different from that on the Earth. Designing construction machinery that can operate in lunar surface conditions has demanded rethinking what form construction machines will take and how they will move on the moon. However, testing and verifying designs seemed to be a near impossible task.
Faced with this challenge, we decided to utilise digital twin*1 technology.
*1 Digital twin is technology that reproduces real objects and systems in a virtual space and simulates their behavior.
The technology enables the recreation of the lunar environment and our lunar construction machines in a virtual space.
In this digitally twinned world, we create a variety of challenging construction scenarios including excavation and simulate machine operation. Through this process, we can clearly identify the technical challenges.
Challenges and more challenges
Low-gravity operation
Construction machines work with no problem on our planet where they leverage their own weight to effectively move or excavate earth. However, on the moon, gravity is only about one-sixth that of the Earth’s, resulting in the weight of the same machines becoming lighter.
This makes both machine stability and application of sufficient excavation force to the lunar ground impossible. Komatsu has explored a variety of ideas to improve lunar excavation performance. One solution is to increase the length of contact between the machine and the lunar surface.
Through our digital twin simulations, we have confirmed that the increased length of surface contact successfully improves the stability of the machine, and significantly increases the excavation force without increasing the weight of the machine. This makes it possible to achieve equivalent performance on the moon despite the low gravity.
Extreme environments
Once the problem of the moon’s lower gravity is solved, we still need to consider other challenges such as finding a new source of power.
On the airless surface of the moon, it would be impossible for an internal combustion engine to operate on the moon's surface because there is no oxygen for combustion. Electrically powered machines seem the obvious solution with solar power generation supplying the electricity. But the answer is not that simple.
Temperature changes on the surface of the moon are extreme. They can soar to 110°C and plummet to -170°C. Developing electric construction machinery to perform in this environment is no easy task, but Komatsu is tackling issues one by one as they appear. Using thermal control and other electrification technologies, we are engineering solutions.
Craters, slopes and regolith
After we succeed in designing construction machines with capability to move and operate on the moon, another big challenge is navigating the harsh terrain.
Craters formed by meteorite impacts, steep slopes of 20 to 30 degrees, and hills covered with lunar soil called regolith which is the loose mix of rock fragments,
mineral particles and dust make both travel and operational stability quite difficult.
To overcome this challenge, Komatsu is studying new undercarriage structures, such as a multi-crawler system.
Moving forward with design verification and improvement
Step-by-step we are verifying our designs and solutions to ensure that our construction machines will perform reliably in the lunar environment.
Every day we run simulations of actual work in a digital twin virtual environment, and then refine and evolve our designs.
Komatsu’s simulation of a huge number of patterns is bringing lunar construction machines into clearer focus and heightening the precision of their design. Even here on Earth, we are tackling and verifying construction work on the moon as realistically as possible with the aim of making those simulations a reality.
Our accumulated technology will pave the way for the development of the lunar surface and lead to a future where humanity takes a new step forward.
Right now, our dreams of space are becoming a reality.
Think future
Once we only dreamed of humans living on the moon. Today we are making it a growing possibility.
Over our history, Komatsu has met and overcome many challenges in unexplored fields: snowmobiles for the frozen Antarctic, bulldozers that operate underwater (Learn more), remote-controlled construction machines for work at volcanic disaster sites, and more.
Now we are taking on the challenge of lunar construction machines.
Whenever and wherever humanity is laying a foundation for the future, Komatsu construction machines will be there.