Illustration of lunar pavement and landing pad
Liquifer System Group
Moon dust could be melted into paving slabs to create roads on the lunar surface, facilitating transportation across the lunar surface.
Miranda Fatelli Researchers at Germany’s Aalen University used a 12-kilowatt laser to heat a powder made of plagioclase, olivine, and pyroxene that was developed as a replacement for lunar dust.
At temperatures of 1,200 degrees Celsius, the dust is compressed into a black, glass-like structure with a compressive strength comparable to that of concrete, which could potentially be used as a road surface. “This makes it easier to navigate on the moon,” Fatelli said.
While it may be difficult to deploy lasers on the moon’s surface to create such roads, researchers believe they could instead use a 1.5-meter-wide lens to focus sunlight to create the same effect. It is calculated that it can be done.
Previous experiments have used lasers to compact replicas of lunar soil, but Fatelli said her team’s 10-centimeter-wide beam is the widest ever used. It is said to be spacious.
The researchers then used a laser to create interlocking triangular shapes measuring 25 centimeters on each side from the lunar soil. They envision that these shapes could be laid out like tiles on the moon’s surface to create roads for vehicles to drive on. This not only makes driving easier, but also prevents moon dust from flying up and damaging your equipment.
In the future, Fatelli and her colleagues plan to investigate whether their material has the potential to: Used for landing or launch pads on the moon. “Landing on the moon’s loose soil creates a lot of dust,” Fatelli said. “We need a landing pad.”
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