Planetary Simulant Database
From the Colorado School of Mines
Changelog
08/25/22 — Added the JLU-H lunar simulant.
07/13/21 — Added the CUMT-1 and TLS-01 lunar simulants.
05/31/21 — Added the CSM-LHT-1, CSM-LMT-1, CSM-MGS-1, CSM-MGS-1C, and CSM-MGS-1S simulants.
03/31/21 — Added the LCATS-1 lunar simulant.
03/15/21 — Added the HIT-M-1 and Mars PJ simulants.
Recent Simulant Research
Email cannon@mines.edu if you need PDF copies of these papers.
Eichler et al., Challenging the agricultural viability of martian regolith simulants
Atkinson et al., Penetration and relaxation behavior of JSC-1A lunar regolith simulant under cryogenic conditions
Simulant Availability
Not Available: simulant is decades old and known not to be produced or in wide circulation.
May Be Available: simulant is not easily available online, but may be available from the producers in small amounts, or was widely circulated with many individuals keeping stashes in their labs.
Available: simulant is known to be readily available to anyone; new batches are continually produced, or a large stock exists.
Simulant Fidelity
Fidelity is subjective, and a simulant described by some as "low fidelity" may be perfectly suited for some applications. Here we use a simple 3-tiered system with a 4th category for specialty simulants. For lunar simulants, we are working on a Regolith Simulant Report Card system that will be launched soon.
Basic: Usually a single rock type that has been crushed into a powder. May not accurately re-produce the chemistry or mineralogy of reference materials. Many of these are referred to as "geotechnical simulants", even if their geotechnical properties have not been adjusted to achieve high accuracy.
Standard: For lunar highlands, crushed anorthosite with or without extra components, crushed to a representative particle size distribution. For lunar mare, a basaltic material with or without extra components, crushed to a representative particle size distribution. For Mars, a basaltic feedstock (or individual silicates) mixed with secondary oxides and/or salts. For asteroids, either the mineralogy or the physical properties are highly accurate.
Enhanced: For lunar simulants, a material that meets the "Standard" definition and has synthetic agglutinates added (not just glass). For Mars, a simulant with completely accurate mineralogy and a representative particle size distribution. For asteroids, both the mineralogy and physical properties are highly accurate.
Specialty: Includes dust simulants, and simulants that replicate features including lunar volatiles, nanophase iron, etc.
The CSM Planetary Simulant Database maintains up-to-date information on currently available and historic planetary simulants. If you would like a simulant added to the database, or can provide missing information, please email Kevin Cannon (cannon@mines.edu). Note that we do not keep physical samples of simulants in the database.
At CSM we produce simulants including CSM-LHT-1, CSM-LMT-1, and Mooncastle with up to 10s of ton capacities. Our focus is on rigorous quality control, consistency and certification. We also offer complimentary consulting on all simulant-related matters. Visit our Simulants Website or email cannon@mines.edu for details.
The listing of simulants below was last updated on August 25, 2022.