Some Lunar Regolith is Better for Living Off the Land on the Moon
We use the catchall term "regolith" to describe the pulverized volcanic rocks on the Moon and Mars, but obviously, they're not all built the same. Different types of regolith contain different minerals in various concentrations. This is interesting scientifically, but it's important when you're trying to harvest resources from lunar regolith for your structures, equipment, and electronics. A new paper compares the different kinds of regolith, how astronauts can easily identify them, and which classes have practical applications.
NASA is Working on Technology to 3D Print Circuits in Space
Launching payloads from Earth into space is expensive, so it makes sense to live off the land. Solutions have been developed for bulk materials, like extracting water or using regolith for building materials. Still, it was assumed that advanced technology like microchips would have to come from Earth. Maybe not. NASA engineers recently tested circuit boards on a sub-orbital rocket created with 3D printers from raw materials. The circuits are only 30 microns, much bigger than modern microchips, but they could work for antennas and other applications.
"lunar regolith is much more rich in metals like titanium, magnesium, calcium, and iron than typical Earth crust, but relatively lacking in silicon and oxygen, which makes lunar-based industry and farming a complex, uncertain business."
#SolarEnergy and lunar #regolith are directly available on the #Moon 🌙, meaning that the direct sintering or melting 🌡️ of the regolith is a feasible approach for the manufacturing of objects on the lunar surface. Mobile solutions such as solar ☀️ or laser energy sources can be used to manufacture roads 🛣️ or #LandingPads in-situ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-42008-1
Picture : #Mining robots like the Pilot Excavator will excavate the regolith and take the material to a processing plant https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ISRU_Pilot_Excavator_(KSC-20220728-PH-FMX01_0126).jpeg
Moon mining gains momentum as private companies plan for a lunar economy (www.space.com)
"This is now becoming so real."