To The Moon: Lunar Minimum Viable Infastructure

Building Sustainable Foundations Beyond Earth

The fundamental question guiding our research seems deceptively simple: "What is the minimum viable infrastructure required to establish a sustainable presence on the moon?" Yet within this straightforward inquiry lies a complex web of interconnected challenges that span engineering, materials science, policy, human factors, and resource management. As a graduate student participating in the Lunar MVI project at Arizona State University, I have found myself at the nexus of these multidisciplinary considerations.

The Inception and Structure of Lunar MVI

The Lunar Minimum Viable Infrastructure project, conceived and led by Professor Oswald Chong, represents a novel approach to academic research on lunar development. What distinguishes this initiative is its integration of perspectives not traditionally included in university research frameworks. While academic projects often remain siloed within specific departments, Lunar MVI brings together expertise from commercial space companies, policy specialists, consultants, and researchers to create a more comprehensive assessment of lunar infrastructure needs.

This collaborative model includes Space Policy Lawyer Charles Horikami, Astrolytics Consultant Rubi Patterson, Astroforge Leader Matt Gigliach, and several other professionals whose experience spans sectors rarely united in academic settings. The resulting synergy between theoretical knowledge and practical implementation considerations creates a research environment uniquely positioned to address real-world challenges in lunar development.

The project's structure pairs undergraduate researchers with subject matter experts who serve as mentors, guiding investigations into specific use-case scenarios. This methodological approach ensures both educational value for emerging researchers and technical rigor in the resulting analyses. As graduate student, my role is mine to carve out.

Very dramatic and slightly spooky.

Research Scope and Current Progress

The current research portfolio addresses a remarkably diverse range of considerations necessary for lunar habitation. Unlike conventional infrastructure analyses that might focus exclusively on engineering requirements, our approach examines both technical and human dimensions of lunar presence. The undergraduate research teams have produced papers examining:

• Methods, Materials, and Cost Analysis for Lunar Base Construction

• Frameworks for Lunar Landing Site Selection using Integrated Data

• Above-Surface Building Infrastructure Requirements

• Subsurface Minimum Viable Infrastructure

• Translating the Human Experience to the Moon

  
  

Future research directions will expand this foundation to include:

• In-situ Resource Utilization Strategies

• Regolith Mitigation and Static Buildup Challenges

• Energy Production Systems for Lunar Night Survival

• Holistic Communications Infrastructure

• Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Systems

  
  

What becomes increasingly evident through this research is that establishing a lunar presence involves far more than rocketry and life support systems. It requires rethinking fundamental aspects of how we design infrastructure for an environment radically different from Earth—one with reduced gravity, extreme temperature variations, radiation exposure, and no atmospheric protection.

For the good ol' USA

Integration with Existing Initiatives

One crucial insight I've gained is the importance of aligning our research with ongoing development efforts. The DARPA Lunar Architecture (LunA-10) initiative has already selected certain infrastructure elements for lunar deployment. Rather than developing theoretical models in isolation, our research gains relevance by considering these selected technologies and companies, examining how they might interact within an integrated infrastructure system.

This represents a shift from examining individual systems to understanding the network effects that emerge when these systems operate together. While individual companies may focus on specific technologies, our research aims to develop frameworks that facilitate integration, resource sharing, and operational resilience across these separate components.

Philosophical Foundations for Extraterrestrial Development

Beyond the technical aspects, I've become increasingly interested in the philosophical frameworks that might guide lunar development. Inspired by Buckminster Fuller's "Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth," I've begun developing a conceptual framework that adapts Fuller's principles to the lunar context. This work aims to establish not just a technical foundation but an ethical and philosophical one for humanity's expansion beyond Earth.

Fuller's concepts of comprehensive design, efficient resource management, and systems thinking offer valuable perspectives for lunar development. By adapting these principles to the specific constraints and opportunities of the lunar environment, we can potentially create more resilient and sustainable systems.

From Project to Research Center

The vision that Professor Chong and I share extends beyond the current project scope. We hope to expand Lunar MVI into a full research center at Arizona State University, creating a permanent hub for investigating the multifaceted challenges of making humanity a multi-planetary species. Such a center would facilitate ongoing collaboration between academic researchers, commercial partners, and policy experts, ensuring that research remains both theoretically sound and practically applicable.

This transformation from project to center would enable longer-term research initiatives, the development of specialized laboratory facilities, and more extensive student involvement. It would also provide institutional continuity for knowledge accumulation and technology development in a field where progress often occurs incrementally over extended timeframes.

Broader Implications

What distinguishes our approach is its explicit focus on inclusivity and accessibility. As stated in our project description, we aim to ensure that human life in space "is not merely survivable and limited to specialized and trained astronauts." Instead, we envision lunar infrastructure that can eventually support people from diverse backgrounds and occupations—creating not just a scientific outpost but the foundations for a genuinely human settlement.

This perspective frames lunar development not as an isolated technical challenge but as an extension of human civilization, requiring consideration of social, psychological, and cultural factors alongside engineering requirements. By addressing these dimensions in parallel with technical concerns, we hope to establish a more holistic approach to extraterrestrial infrastructure development.

Conclusion and Next Steps

The Lunar MVI project represents a significant departure from conventional approaches to space infrastructure research. By integrating diverse perspectives, aligning with ongoing initiatives, and addressing both technical and human dimensions of lunar habitation, we aim to develop frameworks that can meaningfully inform actual development efforts.

As we compile our findings into the Operating Manual for Spaceship Moon, we hope to establish a foundation not just for near-term lunar missions, but for sustainable, long-term human presence beyond Earth. This work, while grounded in current technological realities, ultimately serves the broader aspiration of expanding human civilization's horizons—transforming us from a single-planet species into a multi-planetary one.

This work continues in collaboration with Professor Oswald Chong and the broader Lunar MVI team at Arizona State University. Future updates will address specific technical challenges and ongoing research developments.