Current space exploration aims to establish permanent structures on the Moon, Mars, and eventually other planetary bodies. Successful lunar missions depend on understanding lunar regolith, the granular material covering the Moon’s surface, whose behavior is governed by low gravity, vacuum conditions, particle irregularity, electrostatic effects, and extreme thermal environments. This webinar will focus on two connected modeling problems related to lunar regolith: plume–regolith interaction during lunar landings and induction heating of porous regolith for thermal processing and melting. Together, these problems show how simulation with the COMSOL Multiphysics® software can help engineering and research teams predict, control, and utilize granular lunar material.
The first part of the talk will address plume–regolith interaction. During spacecraft landings, underexpanded rocket exhaust plumes impinge on the surface, producing compressible flow structures, erosion, particle ejection, and possible surface damage. High-speed dust can reduce visibility and threaten astronauts, equipment, and nearby assets. These issues are especially important for Artemis and future missions involving repeated landings and larger spacecraft. Modeling the coupled gas-particle response provides insight into landing-site safety, erosion patterns, ejecta trajectories, and mitigation strategies.
The second part of the webinar will examine induction heating of porous regolith, where electromagnetic energy is converted into heat to raise temperature, drive phase change, and potentially melt lunar soil. The discussion will emphasize temperature-dependent porous media properties, latent heat treatment, melt fraction evolution, and the differences between constant-property and piecewise-property models. By connecting these studies, the webinar will demonstrate how COMSOL-based workflows can quantify flow fields, particle transport, thermal response, and phase-change behavior while supporting safer operations, regolith processing technologies, and the development of future space infrastructure.
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