'Moon Dust to megawatts': Wild new tech may power cities beyond Earth
Produced by: Manoj Kumar
Moondust Power
Scientists used simulated lunar regolith to create solar cells—an idea that could slash Earth-based payloads and enable energy independence for Moon missions, per Device journal.
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Space Shift
Traditional solar panels reach 40% efficiency but require heavy, expensive materials. Researcher Felix Lang notes they come with a hefty cost in space missions.
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Lunar Glass
By melting anorthositic Moon dust into moonglass, Lang’s team created a substrate for solar panels. This innovation could reduce launch mass by 99.4%—a potential game-changer.
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Solar Alchemy
Pairing perovskite with moonglass, researchers created ultra-light, energy-rich solar cells. They produce 100x more energy per gram than Earth-based systems.
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Radiation Shield
Unlike conventional glass, moonglass is already brown-tinted from Moon dust impurities—helping it resist space radiation and avoid the darkening that ruins traditional cells.
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Vacuum Hurdle
Perovskite processing solvents may not work on the Moon. Researchers face tough chemistry challenges but aim to test fixes in an upcoming demo mission.
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Gravity Factor
Moon’s lower gravity may alter how moonglass forms. Its impact on transparency and structure remains a wild card as fabrication tech evolves.
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Extreme Heat
Temperature swings from +100°C to -170°C could threaten long-term cell stability. Yet, scientists believe moonglass offers a tough, adaptive material.
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Off-World Ready
Lang envisions lunar cities powered by native dust. “We can now turn it into solar cells,” he says—unlocking a cleaner, leaner path to off-Earth infrastructure.
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