Forging the Future: PISCES & Cislune Research Cast Basalt for Lunar Construction

by PISCES | Nov 28, 2023

PISCES team members working at the Lava Lab pour molten basalt into casting molds to produce early prototypes of trusses and joints for ISRU lunar construction. In a collaborative effort to advance lunar construction technologies, PISCES has partnered with Cislune on...

New Composite Material Could Make Manufacturing on the Moon and Mars More Efficient

by PISCES | Dec 13, 2021

Above: An experimental composite material for the Moon/Mars cures inside an acrylic vacuum chamber.  NASA has plans to put humans back on the Moon as early as 2025 and ISRU (in-situ resource utilization) will be a crucial technology for establishing the infrastructure...

Masten & PISCES Named Among Top 3D Printing Projects

by PISCES | Jun 1, 2021

Above: PISCES’ sintered basalt tiles stack up to the challenge of a durable ISRU building material for the Moon/Mars. A Phase 1 additive manufacturing project led by Masten Space Systems in partnership with PISCES has been named among the top 15 most exciting 3-D...

New Sintering Method May Reduce Cost of ISRU Production for Earth, Moon and Mars

by PISCES | Jan 5, 2021

Above: A durable new basalt produce uses a binding agent to reduce energy consumption during production. After nearly a year of research, PISCES scientists have developed a new ISRU (in-situ resource utilization) process that significantly reduces the time and energy...

Basalt Launchpad Tiles to Undergo Testing at NASA

by PISCES | Sep 1, 2020

Above: Geology Tech Kyla Edison removes basalt launchpad tiles from their casting molds after sintering. PISCES completed and shipped a series of sintered basalt tiles last month for testing by NASA’s Swamp Works at Kennedy Space Center. Thirty tiles will be assessed...