Blue Origin engineers have found a way to make solar panels without any terrestrial materials, great news for future missions to the Moon, but also for space exploration in general.
Blue Origin engineers have developed technology to build solar panels directly on the moon. It does not require any material from Earth, which opens up fantastic prospects in terms of terraforming and space colonization.
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The process found by Blue Origin is called Blue Alchemist and assumes that to permanently install a scientific base on the Moon, it will be necessary use existing materials on site, i.e. lunar dust and rock. The company’s scientists therefore first set out to synthesize lunar regolith. They then designed a reactor capable of melting this material and extracting aluminium, iron and silicon, the constituent elements of photovoltaic panels. Molten moon rock and dust form the protective glass for the panels, while aluminum is used as wire.
Blue Origin’s technology produces everything needed to make solar panels on the Moon
As a bonus, this electrolysis operation produces oxygen, which will of course be usable by the lunar colonies. The reactor created for Blue Alchemist, however, does not work without some technical constraints. Its temperature should rise. up to 1600 degrees Celsiusand the silicon thus produced must be 99.999% purified in sunlight.
NASA has confirmed that humans will inhabit the Moon by 2030. Blue Alchemist technology will provide them with easy and abundant access to electricity. What is valid for the Moon is also valid for Mars. Several companies want to colonize the red planet. Furthermore, this technology does not require water, chemicals or other toxic ingredients, and produces no carbon emissions. It is therefore a sustainable alternative to the polluting processes currently used in the manufacture of solar panels.
Source: WccfTech