Concentrated Solar Regolith Accretion (CSRA): A Conceptual Systems Architecture and Feasibility Framework for Autonomous Construction of Lunar Protective Infrastructure

This conceptual engineering white paper examines Concentrated Solar Regolith Accretion (CSRA), a proposed systems-level architecture for autonomous deposition and solar consolidation of lunar regolith on prepared granular supports, with potential construction operations extending across repeated lunar daylight periods. The concept integrates concentrated solar energy, controlled regolith deposition, robotic construction, and thermal management to investigate the progressive formation of protective lunar infrastructure using locally available materials. Published experiments and patent literature establish prior art for solar sintering and solar-directed powder deposition. No novelty claim is made for these general manufacturing methods. Instead, the study investigates their integration into a scalable construction architecture emphasizing supported protective crusts, surface stabilization, and non-pressure-retaining shells. The paper compares stationary heliostat fields, mobile concentrators, and hybrid optical delivery architectures. It presents first-order calculations of solar-energy availability, processing throughput, optical concentration, and structural mass, alongside preliminary numerical thermal screening studies. The calculations and simulations are explicitly identified as exploratory and unvalidated rather than predictions of operational performance. Principal engineering uncertainties include optical delivery efficiency, regolith powder capture under lunar vacuum and reduced gravity, interlayer bonding, thermal stresses, cracking, and long-duration robotic reliability. A staged experimental validation framework is proposed to compare continuous and sequential solar deposition under controlled thermal conditions, incorporating mechanical characterization, vacuum testing, thermal cycling, and defined advancement criteria. The study identifies supported surface crusts and protective structures as more defensible initial applications than free-standing megastructures or pressure-retaining habitats. CSRA is presented as a conceptual lunar engineering research framework intended to support further modelling, independent technical assessment, and experimental investigation. No physical CSRA prototype was constructed or experimentally validated as part of this study. Research classification: Conceptual engineering study. Not peer reviewed.