Characterizing the microstructure of icy lunar regolith simulants using microcomputed tomography

To date, the physical texture and polymorphic structure of frozen deposits of water ice in lunar polar cold traps has not yet been properly defined, and neither has its geotechnical nor thermophysical properties. In an attempt to simulate these icy materials, various sample preparation techniques have been used, resulting in materials with strengths ranging from hard concrete to weak snow. This has direct implications for the in-situ resource …