Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' spaceflight company, has been developing an in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technology called "Blue Alchemist" a solar cell and electricity transmission wire prototype using a material "chemically and mineralogically equivalent" to lunar dirt. It can make power systems on the Moon from materials that exist on the surface without being brought from Earth, the company says. Blue Alchemist, can "scale indefinitely, eliminating power as a constraint anywhere on the Moon." Solar cells are made from key components: Silicon, metal, and glass. These materials are found on the Moon's surface (called lunar regolith or moon dirt). Blue Origin uses a process known as molten regolith electrolysis (MRE) to extract iron, silicon, and aluminum, with a byproduct of oxygen, vital for humans on the moon. It has a protective glass cover that enables the cells to survive for 10-plus years. During the Apollo program, astronauts brought back small amounts of moon rocks to Earth. Those samples have been researched and used to make "fake" moon dirt on Earth. "Although our vision is technically ambitious, our technology is real now," and their goal of "producing solar power using only lunar resources is aligned with NASA's highest priority Moon-to-Mars infrastructure development objective." (Space Coast Florida 02/15/23) Blue Origin unveils Blue Alchemist a technology that turns Moon dust into solar cells (solardaily.com)
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