Journal Article

Development and mechanical behavior of ice-cemented Martian Regolith Simulant (TJ-MRS01) for future mars sample-return engineering studies

Xu, Xiong, Xu, Yusheng, Xie, Huan, Wang, Chao, Tong, Xiaohua, Xu, Kaihan, Sanlang, Siji, Feng, Yongjiu

2026

Overview

Ice-cemented regolith exists on Mars and could significantly influence surface mechanical behavior, affecting drilling, mobility, and sample acquisition strategies. For example, the China’s upcoming Tianwen-3 Mars mission aims to return Martian regolith samples, making an understanding of their geotechnical behavior critical, particularly for ice-cemented landing sites. This study develops the Tongji University Martian Regolith Simulant (TJ-MRS01) as a geotechnically representative engineering analogue. By systematically adjusting the particle size distribution and bulk density, the developed simulant achieves a bulk density of 1.60 g/cm 3 , an internal friction angle of 37.12°, and a cohesion of 1.17 kPa, aligning well with the geotechnical characteristics observed in situ. Subsequently, triaxial compression tests under subzero temperature were conducted to evaluate the mechanical strength of ice-cemented simulant samples with water contents of 5 wt.%, 10 wt.%, and 15 wt.%, respectively. The results show that the cohesion increases significantly, from 0.01 MPa to 0.7 MPa with increasing water content, while the internal friction angle increases slightly from 51.67° to 53.85°. This suggests that the cemented ice significantly strengthens the inter-particle bonding forces and modifies the shear failure mechanism. Under constant water content, increasing confining pressure leads to more pronounced radial deformation and enhanced dilatancy. In addition, the influence of particle size distribution and relative density on the mechanical strength was also examined. The investigation into the shear strength of ice-cemented regolith could support future engineering designs and mission planning in icy Martian environments. Graphical Abstract

• Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg,Springer,Springer Nature B.V,SpringerOpen
• Subject: Bulk density / Cohesion / Compression tests / Density / Dilatancy / Earth and Environmental Science / Earth Sciences / Engineering / Environmental engineering / Failure mechanisms / Friction / Geology / Geophysics/Geodesy / Ice / Ice-cemented Martian Regolith Simulant / Internal friction / Landing sites / Mars / Mars environment / Mars missions / Mars surface / Mechanical properties / Mineralogy / Mission planning / Moisture content / Particle size / Particle size distribution / Raw materials / Regolith / Shear strength / Shear tests / Specific gravity / Subzero temperature / Thermal cycling / Triaxial compression tests / Water / Water content / Water ice