A Europlanet Science Congress 2026 abstract, EPSC2026-615, by Adrija Bhowmick and colleagues, investigates how lunar construction materials respond to simulated radiation and thermal cycling. The work is scheduled for 6–11 September 2026 in The Hague and combines ion-irradiation experiments, thermal-cycling studies, modelling, spectroscopy, and microscopy. Materials under examination include advanced polymers, metallic composites, aerogels, and lunar-regolith analogues.[1]
The study targets degradation caused by the Moon’s persistent radiation exposure and extreme thermal conditions, including chemical, structural, and mechanical damage. For habitats built through in-situ resource utilisation, this directly affects service life, structural reliability, maintenance demand, radiation shielding, and the risk that locally produced infrastructure fails before a replacement industrial base exists.[1]
The Ark team should require radiation-plus-thermal-cycle qualification—not radiation-only testing—for every candidate habitat, seal, cable, composite, aerogel, and regolith-derived material. Track the study’s post-exposure spectroscopy and microscopy results when published, establish degradation thresholds and life-prediction models, and prioritise layered designs with replaceable outer components, redundant pressure barriers, and regolith shielding rather than relying on unprotected polymers or composites.[1]