Making parts on Mars: Laser processing of iron contaminated by regolith simulant

Manufacturing pure metals on Mars is challenging due to limited energy resources and unavoidable contamination of raw materials and production equipment with the Martian dust (regolith) resulting in impure materials. Understanding the effect of contamination on material properties is crucial for establishing materials manufacturing on Mars. This study investigates the influence of regolith contamination on its processability, and properties of the Fe-based material manufactured via laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) for potential extraterrestrial applications. To simulate a contamination, water-atomized iron powder was mixed with 1 wt% Martian regolith simulant and processed by L-PBF. It was found the regolith is uniformly distributed within the iron matrix transforming from contaminant to reinforcement material. The crack-free interface between iron and regolith systematically studied using STEM reveals segregation of some elements but absence of notable reaction between matrix and particles. The Fe-regolith composite demonstrate moderate strength and large plastic deformability. The results suggest that unavoidable regolith contamination during production on Mars can be rethink as in-situ resource utilization for manufacturing of regolith reinforced iron matrix composites.