NextGenCircuit
Sam Ximenes is a pioneer of the new, foreign world of architecture in space

Sam Ximenes is a pioneer of the new, foreign world of architecture in space

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NextGenCircuit
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Sam Ximenes stands near what he calls his “Frankenbot” - a robot that is capable of excavating the lunar surface and create bricks from the moon dust - at the Boeing Tech Port, Area 21 SAMSAT Museum on Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. Ximenes is a pioneering Mexican-American space architect and educator. In 2007, he founded Exploration Architecture Corporation (XArc) to serve the commercial space market. Ximenes is helping to devise equipment that will build material from moon dust and create habitats on the lunar surface. Ximenes is also using his extensive experience in the aerospace industry and started the WEX Foundation which bolsters science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs to middle and high school students. His vision is to have robotics that he created be in use on the moon’s surface to build human habitats on future missions.

HHis father was a judge, his uncle was a civil rights activist, and another uncle became the first Hispanic commissioner appointed by a president.

Sam Ximenes is a pioneering space architect with a big vision to make San Antonio a hub for space exploration and architecture.

Space architecture involves designing and building structures for human needs in outer space. As the field expands, more people are needed to construct space stations, habitats, and bases on the moon or other planets. While his local companies succeed through design, Ximenes is recruiting San Antonio students for the workforce, making STEM education, technology, and architecture accessible.

His work, belief in education, and entrepreneurial spirit follow in the footsteps of his family, who achieved the Mexican American dream through these same values. Born at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston and baptized at the San Fernando Cathedral, this San Antonio native founded the Exploration Architecture Corporation, known as XArc, and Astroport Space Technologies. These companies focus on designing and developing lunar surface infrastructure using raw moon materials.

This year, their work attracted more than $1 million in NASA grants to fund technologies needed for lunar surface landing and launch pads.

In 2016, he founded the nonprofit WEX Foundation, which offers programs for children in San Antonio to introduce them to space exploration and engineering. It’s named after his late father, Judge Waldo E. Ximenes, whom he described as a steadfast supporter of educational opportunities for those who were economically or socially disadvantaged.

Ximenes has worked for aerospace companies like Lockheed Martin, L-3 Communications, and Futron Corporation, but he eventually returned to his roots in San Antonio. In May 2023, Ximenes was inducted into the San Antonio Aviation and Aerospace Hall of Fame. He comes from a family of notable Mexican American public servants. His uncle, Vicente T. Ximenes, was the first Hispanic commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Another uncle, Edward Ximenes, was the first Hispanic member appointed to the Board of Regents for the University of Texas System. For 25 years, he advocated for a UT campus in San Antonio. Today, a driveway and a building at the UTSA campus are named after him.

His family had roots in Floresville, but Ximenes grew up as a military child, moving frequently. At seven years old, he lived in Germany during the height of the Cold War.

In a 2013 TEDxSan Antonio Talk, Ximenes shared that he once discovered a cave. He crawled through the tunnel in complete darkness and found a box of German coins.

"That sense of adventure and discovery in the darkness of that cave has never left me," he said in his speech.

Today, Ximenes' companies are developing technology to explore caves on the moon's surface.

But where does the technology come from to reach the moon—or Mars?

"Right here," he said. "You can't tell me the economic development of this lunar base isn't connected to the economic development of the community that supported it: San Antonio."

Due to the growth of his companies that collaborate with space companies and agencies like Virgin Galactic, the U.S. military, and NASA, Ximenes spends most of his time on administrative work.

Much of what he discussed in that TEDx talk a decade ago has come true, thanks to NASA relying on private companies and institutions like the Southwest Research Institute and the University of Texas at San Antonio to advance space exploration.

Now, Ximenes predicts these partnerships will continue. “What’s going to happen next is we’re going to build an economy,” he said. “The next economy is going to be in space: A cislunar economy,” referring to the space between the Earth and the moon.

As people and starships start traveling back and forth, mining resources on the moon or Mars, Ximenes said fuel depots will be crucial for them.

Grinning as he speaks, Ximenes has the enthusiastic energy of a visionary, but he also has the business plans to support it.

AAstroport's goal is to develop the technology and structure to become a spaceport fixed base operator, similar to business models that serve aircraft, such as refueling and maintenance.

“We want to do the same thing on the moon for rockets and lunar landers, providing resupply services,” he said. “It’s like the model that supplied shuttles for gold miners in the old days. We’re not digging for gold; we’re providing the shovels, that's my idea. We’re going to be the port, the gateway to lunar locations.”

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