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ACRE rover concept diagram and subsystem overview
Figure: ACRE rover concept showing solar concentration, feedstock handling, crucible design, and furrowing/casting workflow.

ACRE is a lunar forge concept developed for NASA's 2023 BIG Idea Challenge. The design uses concentrated solar energy to melt metal feedstock, incorporates non-beneficiated lunar regolith into the melt as a metal-matrix composite, and casts the material into furrows shaped directly in the lunar surface for roads and landing pads.

Source takeaways

  • NASA selected ACRE as one of seven funded Lunar Forge concepts focused on metal production and lunar surface infrastructure.
  • The system architecture centers on solar heating, crucible design, plow/furrow formation, and materials processing.
  • The proposed heating path combines parabolic mirrors, reflectors, optical waveguide cables, a tungsten susceptor, and an insulating ceramic crucible.

Results that matter

  • The concept is in-situ casting into prepared regolith furrows, not layer-by-layer 3D printing.
  • Verification work spans optical power delivery, crucible testing, furrowing/casting trials, and regolith-metal composite processing.
  • The team earned NASA BIG Idea's Systems Engineering Award for the integrated rover concept.