The reference catalog for the engineered dirt NASA tests hardware on — 81 simulants, 12 countries, finally side by side.
- Client
- NASA SSERVI
- Type
- Web Platform
- Deliverables
- Strategy, Design, Full-Stack Development, UI/UX, CMS Architecture, Data Migration
- Year
- 2024-2026
You cannot test a lunar drill on the Moon. You test it on a simulant — an engineered material formulated to behave like regolith from the Moon, Mars, an asteroid, a comet. Pick the wrong one and the result means nothing.
Eighty-one simulants. Twelve countries. Dozens of properties each, and no two records measured the same way. The catalog the community relies on to choose between them needed a new home — and a product carrying NASA's name should look like one.
Comparison Mode
Put simulants side by side and surface only what differs. Chemistry against chemistry, property against property. The comparison researchers were running by hand, in a click.
A Page Per Simulant
Eighty-one dedicated records. Bulk chemistry, physical properties, and composition tables that adapt to whatever each simulant actually has data for — instead of forcing an irregular dataset into a uniform grid.
The Catalog, Narrowed
Filter across source body, terrain type, country of origin, and source availability, then search the whole set. Moon, Mars, asteroid — from 81 to the shortlist that matters.
Theirs to Run
A backend built for NASA staff, not developers. New simulants and publications come in from the research community and enter the catalog without a developer in the loop.
Live on nasa.gov. Maintained by the people who own it.
81
Simulants Catalogued
12
Countries of Origin
3
Target Bodies
Zero
Developers to Keep It Current