Lunar Launch Pad, Shackleton Crater (NASA/SpaceX)
Project lead
Muhammad Fida Hussain Dar, MSc
Location
UTSA Department of Civil Engineering
Project lead
Muhammad Fida Hussain Dar, MSc
Services
Civil & Structural Engineer
Type
Graduate Research Assistant (GRA), UTSA Department of Civil Engineering
Lunar Launch Pad – Shackleton Crater (NASA/SpaceX)
The brief
Designed a 600 ton capacity launching pad on the Moon’s South Pole using finite element analysis (FEA) in PLAXIS 3D. Modeled lunar regolith (soil) deformation and soil-structure interaction under extreme launch loads. Conducted geotechnical lab tests on regolith simulant to determine shear strength, compressibility, and bearing capacity. Created topographic maps of Shackleton Crater using Surfer and Civil 3D for site selection and load distribution.
Key deliverables include:
- PLAXIS 3D FEA model of regolith behavior under 600-ton thrust
- Geotechnical lab report with engineering properties of lunar simulant
- Site selection analysis with 3D topographic mapping
- Thesis in progress – advancing Earth based resilient foundation design
