Regardless of the method used, extracting and processing metals in space presents many challenges.
Some challenges are obvious. The Moon’s relatively weak gravity means traction is basically nonexistent, and digging the ground like we do on Earth isn’t an option. Researchers are working on these problems.
There’s also a lack of important resources such as water, which is often used for metallurgy on Earth.
Other challenges are more niche. For instance, one Moon day is as long as 28 Earth days. So for two weeks you have ample access to the Sun’s power and warmth … but then you have two weeks of night.
Temperatures also fluctuate wildly, from 248 degrees Fahrenheit (120 degrees Celsius) during the day to –292 F (–180 C) at night. Some permanently shadowed areas drop below –364 F (–220 C)! Even if resource mining and processing were being done remotely from Earth, a lot of equipment wouldn’t withstand these conditions.
That brings us to the human factor: would people themselves be up there helping out with all of this?
Probably not. Although we’ll be sending more people to the Moon in the future, the dangers of meteorite impacts, radiation exposure from the Sun, and extreme temperatures mean this work will need to be done remotely. But controlling robots hundreds of thousands of kilometres away is also a challenge.
It’s not all bad news, though, as we can actually use some of these factors to our advantage.
The extreme vacuum of space can reduce the energy requirements of some processes, since a vacuum helps substances vaporise at lower temperatures (which you can test by trying to boil water on a tall mountain). A similar thing happens with molten rocks in space.
And while the Moon’s lack of atmosphere makes it uninhabitable for humans, it also means more access to sunlight for solar panels and direct solar heating.
While it may take a few more years to get there, we’re well on our way to making things in space from Moon metal. Astrometallurgists will be looking on with keen interest as future Artemis missions take off with the tools to make this happen.
Artemis 1 took off spectacularly just after 1 A.M. EST on Nov. 16. (Skip to 3:16:52 for lift off.)
Matthew Shaw, PhD Candidate - Astrometallurgy, Swinburne University of Technology
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.