Lunar surface infrastructure

Building the lunar surface stack

Cislune develops the hardware, software, and field-tested operations needed to turn lunar regolith and ice into useful infrastructure.

Collaborate with Cislune Latest updates Collaboration paths Programs and awards

PERDEX thermal-vacuum test context for volatile-aware excavation hardware — PERDEX hardware after build and testing.

15 NASA contractsClosed or in final review since 2021

7 NASA competition awardsChallenge and prize credibility

Multiple Phase II effortsPERDEX icy excavation, GRASP mobility, CISORT mineral separation, TRUST/CITA AI mission support

Real hardwareShop, test rigs, field logistics, simulation

Updates

Follow the work as it moves from shop tests to collaboration.

July 2026

Cislune summer progress: hardware, software, and public collaboration

Cislune’s summer update covers the refreshed website, summer interns, PERDEX testing and documentation, LunaRecycle finals work, CITA/TRUST contracting, CARVE rover v2, CISORT progress, and collaboration paths for agencies, primes, investors, and space companies.

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July 2026

PERDEX bucket-drum testing adds fresh hardware evidence

Recent Cislune testing produced new photos and videos of excavation hardware interacting with lunar-surface analog material. The useful takeaway is direct and credible: PERDEX hardware has worked in testing, and the evidence supports collaboration around volatile-aware excavation and ISRU.

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Visual proof

A hardware-first company, not a slide-only concept shop

PERDEX hardware detail from thermal-vacuum testing and documentation — PERDEX excavation hardware detail after successful testing.

TREAD wheel-terrain interaction work for mobility performance in granular materials — TREAD wheel-terrain test setup for regolith mobility work.

Cislune team and facility context for hardware development and test work.

PERDEX thermal-vacuum test view for volatile-aware excavation hardware — PERDEX hardware from another angle.

TREAD wheel-terrain interaction work for mobility performance — Wheel-terrain testing for granular mobility.

GRASP compacting wheel view for site-preparation work — Compacting-wheel work for prepared surfaces.

CARVE Gazebo simulation view for robotic surface operations — CARVE simulation for robotic site operations.

Cislune outreach table showing public-facing hardware and lunar surface infrastructure context — Public-facing hardware and lunar infrastructure context.

BrightDrop cargo-area view for prototype transport and field logistics — BrightDrop cargo space for prototype logistics.

CLSM or regolith-analog material block used for excavation and surface-system testing — Material blocks and regolith-analog test articles.

LunaRecycle alternate material-process view — LunaRecycle material-processing evidence.

Break the Ice field view for excavation and resource handling — Break the Ice field challenge operations.

The problem

On the Moon, logistics is the first engineering problem.

Every mission brings mass from Earth. The unlock is to make useful things from local material: water, oxygen, propellant, landing pads, roads, berms, construction feedstock, and operational knowledge. Cislune works where mining, construction, mobility, autonomy, and simulation meet.

What Cislune builds

A connected lunar surface stack

Volatile-aware excavation

PERDEX hardware has been built and tested successfully, advancing Cislune’s work on excavating icy regolith while reducing heating, churn, and volatile loss from cut to collection.

Sorting and beneficiation

CISORT helps turn raw regolith into useful feedstocks for resource extraction, construction, and processing.

Site preparation

GRASP, SHEARPREP, rover traction, and landing-pad work connect geotechnical sensing with practical surface preparation.

Plume-surface interaction

FLUFSCAN and landing protection work connect sensing, soil behavior, preparation, and protective infrastructure.

Simulation and trusted autonomy

SimMoon, TRUST, and CITA help teams rehearse complex lunar operations and connect autonomy with human operators.

Recycling and logistics

LunaRecycle results and BrightDrop logistics assets support terrestrial demonstrations and future surface resource handling.

Connected capabilities

From regolith interaction to mission rehearsal

The site now uses real cleared images where possible so reviewers can immediately see shop work, tested mechanisms, field logistics, simulation, and material-process evidence.

CARVE concept shown in Isaac Sim for surface-operations planning — CARVE surface-operations simulation.

LunaRecycle material and process evidence — LunaRecycle material-process evidence.

Collaboration

Build with teams that need lunar surface systems to work

Cislune works best with mission owners, primes, startups, researchers, and field teams that have a concrete surface-operations problem to solve.

NASA and agency mission needs
Prime-contractor studies, test campaigns, and integration support
Commercial lunar infrastructure projects
Commercial space surface systems and ISRU work
University and lab collaboration around regolith, robotics, and autonomy
Field demonstrations, logistics, and prototype transport

Award basis

A portfolio that makes collaboration easier

Cislune’s NASA SBIR/STTR awards since 2021 cover excavation, volatile preservation, sorting, site preparation, plume-surface interaction, autonomy, simulation, and recycling. The public website should make those pathways legible without exposing proposal details, mechanisms, data, or SBIR Rights material.

View the award map

Hardware and field evidence

Real systems, real tests, real constraints

SimMoon lunar operations rehearsal environment.

BrightDrop electric van logistics capability for prototype transport and field demonstrations — BrightDrop-supported prototype and field logistics.

PERDEX test video still showing thermal-vacuum test context — More PERDEX build and test evidence.

TREAD wheel-terrain interaction work in granular material — Granular-material mobility testing.

CARVE Isaac Sim alternate view for autonomy workflow — Surface-operations simulation view.

BrightDrop exterior view supporting prototype transport — Vehicle logistics for field demonstrations.

Post-test material surface showing excavation behavior in Cislune material work — Thermal-processing equipment detail.

Break the Ice Lunar Challenge

A public field story worth preserving

The current site already has a Mojave Desert story and excavator update page for Cislune’s NASA Break the Ice Lunar Challenge work. The new site can keep those as background links while summarizing the key credibility: 15 days of field operations, more than 3,280 kg excavated and transported, 77 excavation-transit-delivery cycles, and 87 km driven.

Cislune Mojave story Excavator updates NASA winner announcement NASA results paper

Break the Ice lunar excavation and ISRU challenge hardware context — Break the Ice field work connects Cislune’s excavation heritage with today’s ISRU and field-test capabilities.

Engage

Start with the problem you need solved.

For NASA program collaboration, prime partnership, commercial space work, field test support, prototype logistics, or agency transition paths, contact Cislune through the website form.

Contact Cislune