Submission declined on 15 February 2026 by Bonadea (talk). This draft's references do not show that the subject meets Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion. The draft requires multiple published secondary sources that: provide significant coverage: discuss the subject in detail, not just brief mentions or routine announcements; are reliable: from reputable outlets with editorial oversight; are independent: not connected to the subject, such as interviews, press releases, the subject's own website, or sponsored content. Please add references that meet all three of these criteria. If none exist, the subject is not yet suitable for Wikipedia. If you would like to continue working on the submission, click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window. If you have not resolved the issues listed above, your draft will be declined again and potentially deleted. If you need extra help, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. Please do not remove reviewer comments or this notice until the submission is accepted. Where to get help If you need help editing or submitting your draft, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. These venues are only for help with editing and the submission process, not to get reviews. If you need feedback on your draft, or if the review is taking a lot of time, you can try asking for help on the talk page of a relevant WikiProject. Some WikiProjects are more active than others so a speedy reply is not guaranteed. How to improve a draft Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia – a basic overview on how to edit Wikipedia. Help:Wikitext – how to use the markup Help:Referencing for beginners – how to include references Wikipedia:Article development – how to develop your article Wikipedia:Writing better articles – how to improve your article Wikipedia:Verifiability – make sure your article includes reliable third-party sources You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Add tags to your draft Editor resources Easy tools: Citation bot (help) | Advanced: Fix bare URLs Declined by Bonadea 3 months ago. Last edited by Bonadea 3 months ago. Reviewer: Inform author. Resubmit Please note that if the issues are not fixed, the draft will be declined again.

• Comment: Per the first source, this appears to be a company, but the draft is about a term. The second source is unrelated, it doesn't mention the term at all. bonadea contributions talk 09:19, 15 February 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest guideline, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. MechaStructure (talk) 08:01, 15 February 2026 (UTC)

Mechastructure^[1] (n.)

A modular, robotized structural framework designed for autonomous assembly, capable of serving as both the primary structural support system and the functional machinery for large-scale infrastructures and operations.

The term is a portmanteau of:

Mecha (メカ): Derived from Japanese science fiction (anime/manga), referring to pilotable or autonomous giant robots. The term implies scale, mechanical complexity, and versatility.

Structure: From the Latin structura, referring to the arrangement of elements to support a load or give form to a construction.

The term was coined by Iok Min Wong, a former NASA engineer. The concept originated from In-Space Assembly^[2] (ISA) research aimed at enabling in-situ construction to deploy assets significantly larger than the launch vehicle's payload fairing.

Due to the extreme challenges of remote assembly in orbital or planetary environments, these assets must be constructed by robotic agents. In large-scale construction scenarios, even the primary construction machinery, such as cranes, gantries, or ultra-long-reach robotic arms, must be assembled on-site by smaller robotic units.

Furthermore, the completed assets often require integrated actuation with system-level mechatronics to perform mission-critical tasks. Examples included but not limited to:

• Precision Pointing and Leveling: For communication arrays or sensor platforms.
• Aperture Adjustment: For large-scale space telescopes or solar concentrators.
• General Form Shifting: For structural adaptation to varying forms of loads or active dumping

Under the Mechastructure framework, assets are treated as robotic platforms capable of self-assembly, autonomous maintenance, and recursive reconfiguration. A defining feature of the Mechastructure system is the ability to host robotic agents onboard, enabling sequential operations and structural-level mechatronics to ensure high-level of adaptability and serviceability throughout the asset's operational lifespan.

There are a number of key characteristics that define a Mechastructure:

1. Robotic-Native Assembly: The robotic-structure system must be primarily assembled by, or capable of being assembled by, autonomous robotic agents without human intervention.
2. Integrated Hosting Infrastructure: The robotic-structure system shall have integrated sub-systems that enable the platform to support and sustain onboard robotic agents, actuation components, sensing systems, etc. throughout the system’s lifecycle.
3. Active Structural Control: The robotic-structure system is capable of performing mechanical work, or performing active structural-level control and sensing to ensure the integrity and functionality of the system during both active operation and passive states.
4. Robotization: The robotic-structure shall have interfaces or communication protocols with external systems. (Even if such interfaces and protocols are only for internal use.)

While the "true" Mechastructure represents a specific type of a system in engineering, the concept is preceded by several industrial systems that share similar characteristics. Existing systems such as tower cranes, seaport container gantries, and massive bucket-wheel excavators share the scale, complexity, and mechatronics nature of a Mechastructure. Historically, these precursors were too large to be completed in a factory, requiring extensive on-site assembly and the strategic use of trusses to ensure the system remained mass-efficient. Once completed, these systems typically function as singular, massive tools dedicated to a specific industrial task under human operation.

A Mechastructure pushes these concepts further by implementing autonomous assembly and shared operation between the smaller assembly agents and the completed operational infrastructure. Unlike its precursors, which require a high degree of manual labor to transition from parts to a functional machine, a Mechastructure is designed for a robot-native workflow where the "builder" and the "building" exist within the same functional ecosystem.

Mechastructure and megastructure are phonetically similar, and both evoke the scale of a completed build. However, a Mechastructure should not be confused with a megastructure, which is defined solely by its massive physical size. A Mechastructure is defined by the symbiotic relationship between robotic and structural components, focusing on the means of assembly, and not only the potential end result.

Furthermore, while some megastructures may host or work alongside other mechanical systems, those systems are typically constructed independently and the megastructure mostly is operated passively. In contrast, a Mechastructure is intended to function as an active system. Even when the structure is stationary, the structure is being monitored constantly, with live data being recorded or transmitted under typical operation.