Collaboration Pioneers ‘Lunar Iron’ for Lunar Base Infrastructure
Astroport and Vermeer to Develop Autonomous Construction Machinery
Autonomous construction machinery to aid in building a permanent human presence on the Moon will be developed under a collaboration agreement announced by Astroport Space Technologies and Vermeer Corporation. The announcement was made at the 20th International Conference on Engineering, Science, Construction and Operations in Challenging Environments (ASCE Earth & Space 2026).
“Recent federal mandates have made it clear: the U.S. is committed to a permanent lunar presence, and that requires a robust space industrial base.”
Sam Ximenes, Astroport
The collaboration contributes Vermeer’s surface mining expertise to Astroport’s specialized work in robotic autonomy and lunar soil (regolith). The primary focus of this collaboration is on “lunarization” of Vermeer surface mining machinery using Astroport’s Universal Tool Implement Payload Adapter (UTIPA) technology, a modular adapter system of interchangeable tools designed for robotic construction in the Moon’s extreme environment. Beginning with a surface miner application, the teams will utilize UTIPA technology to adjust heavy equipment’s traditional reliance on mass and weight, in order to operate in the Moon’s low gravity environment and survive massive temperature swings and harsh lunar surface conditions.
“Vermeer has always been about finding a better way to get tough work done,” said Jason Andringa, President and CEO of Vermeer Corporation. “For more than seven decades Vermeer has built equipment that is working farms and ranches, managing natural resources and connecting people to daily necessities. This collaboration is an example of our continuation of that important work, applying our expertise in automation and heavy equipment to the lunar environment.”
“Recent federal mandates have made it clear: the U.S. is committed to a permanent lunar presence, and that requires a robust space industrial base,” said Sam Ximenes, Astroport Founder and CEO. “By partnering with Vermeer, we are delivering the ‘Lunar Iron’ necessary to dig foundations, build roads and landing pads, and provide the hardened infrastructure required for critical assets such as safe nuclear power deployment and habitation on the Moon.”
The goal of this partnership is to develop autonomous systems to handle these “dirt work” essentials, including site preparation and power grid protection, adapting Vermeer’s high-torque cutting and trenching technologies for lunar deployment. Prototype testing will be done at Vermeer headquarters.
This work aligns with NASA’s Moon Base program goals to construct lunar infrastructure by 2030. The integration of Vermeer’s industrial-grade reliability with Astroport’s robotic technologies, will help create solutions for NASA and commercial developers who will need infrastructure to operate on the Moon.