2023-10-23 17:03:58
The extremely fine lunar dust has caused many problems for previous missions to this space body close to our planet. When the Apollo 17 spacecraft, which was used to launch the first manned flight to the moon, lost one of its rear bulkheads, it became covered in dust and overheated, and was in danger of becoming damaged had it not been for the immediate intervention of the crew. According to NASA, the propulsion systems of lunar landers can displace tons of dust, which will likely stick to the landing surfaces as well as cover the entire area adjacent to the landing. For these reasons, the need arose to build roads on the surface of the moon, so that vehicles are not exposed to problems that threaten the safety of those on them, and so that astronauts can move in ground vehicles instead of walking on legs. How can this be achieved? A successful attempt to pave the surface of the moon. The European Space Agency has succeeded in using a laser to melt moon dust, to make a new material that can be used to pave roads there. The agency conducted research called “Creating Roads by Melting Moon Dust Using a Powerful Laser,” which was published in the journal Scientific Reports this October. The agency’s scientists used a 12-kilowatt carbon dioxide laser to melt simulated moon dust into a solid glass surface, as a way to build paved surfaces on the moon’s face. Advinit Makaya, a materials engineer at ESA, explained: “During previous resource use projects, including making bricks using concentrated solar heat in a mirror, we had succeeded in producing relatively small pieces, ranging from a few millimeters to a few centimeters in diameter, but for building roads Or landing pads, larger materials are required, so that we can pave a very large area in a practical time scale.” Agency scientists devised a strategy of using a 4.5-centimetre laser beam to produce hollow-centered triangular geometric shapes about 20 centimeters across. These elements could interlock to create solid surfaces across large areas of lunar soil that could serve as roads or landing pads. “The resulting material is similar to glass and fragile, but even if it breaks, we can still continue to use it and repair it when necessary,” Advinit added. The team estimates that a 100-square-meter landing pad with 2 centimeters of dense material could be created in 115 days.
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