SAN ANTONIO – SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic – all private companies working to further space exploration.
What happens when we want more than a trip? What happens when we want to land and really explore outside of Earth?
There is a local company with NASA funding working to help us take the next steps on the Moon – and maybe one day – Mars.
“There’s a lot of things going on here that will surprise the residents of the city. We’re at the forefront of technology here in San Antonio,” said Astroport Space Technologies CEO Sam Ximenes.
Astroport is one of those companies at the forefront – receiving more than $2 million from NASA this year.
“Astroport is a company that’s building on the moon. We’re doing lunar infrastructure for the moon, designing and building and figuring out how to do the construction of the first structures on the moon,” Ximenes said.
The company is literally preparing for life out of this world.
“We want to be able to demonstrate that we can actually make a brick on the moon,” Ximenes said.
For example, a robot scoops up moon dust to build structures.
“We take the dirt, we melt it in front of the bricks. Those bricks become the pavement for the landing,” Ximenes said.
Astroport uses two types of moon dust to test the product.
There are two different types of materials that simulate moon dust from two types of geography on the moon that is used to make this final product.
“By 2026, we want to be on the surface with an experiment that shows that we can flow the lunar dirt flow,” Ximenes said.
You may ask: why?
“We’re trying to grow what we call a cislunar economy. So this lunar, the space between Earth and the moon,” Ximenes said.
And the moon could really just be the start.
“The moon is really a proving ground, a testing ground for all these technologies to help us understand how do you actually live and build on another planet? And the Holy Grail is Mars,” Ximenes said.
Astroport’s first big experiment is set for 2026 for the surface of the moon to make sure everything works correctly.