Moon dust may be answer to energy question on lunar surface

[JACK AYLMER]

MOON DUST MAY SOUND LIKE THE STUFF OF DREAMS, BUT IT’S REAL AND NOW SCIENTISTS SAY ITS OPENING UP A NEW WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES FOR SPACE EXPLORATION.

MATERIAL FROM THE MOON OR “LUNAR REGOLITH” [REH-GUH-LITH]  CAN POTENTIALLY BE TRANSFORMED INTO SOLAR CELLS, HELPING CREATE A FUTURE WHERE HUMANS INHABIT THE MOON.

RESEARCHERS SAY THE MATERIAL FOUND ON THE LUNAR SURFACE COULD BE USED TO DEVELOP A UNIQUE TYPE OF SOLAR PANEL. 

TO TEST THE THEORY, RESEARCHERS USED SIMILAR MATERIAL TO REGOLITH, FOCUSED SUNLIGHT ON IT, AND SUCCESSFULLY CREATED AN ELECTRICAL CURRENT.

SCIENTISTS SAY MOON GLASS HAS ADVANTAGES OVER TRADITIONAL GLASS.

A NATURAL BROWN TINT HELPS PREVENT A REDUCTION IN ENERGY ABSORPTION OVER TIME. IT’S ALSO RESISTANT TO COSMIC RADIATION ABUNDANTLY FOUND IN SPACE.

SCIENTIST ALSO NOTE, IT WOULD LIMIT THE NEED FOR EARTH-MADE GLASS WHICH INCREASES LAUNCH COSTS DUE TO HEAVY PAYLOADS

HOWEVER, THERE ARE DISADVANTAGES.

FOR INSTANCE, TRADITIONAL SOLAR CELLS HAVE A HIGHER EFFICIENCY THAN CURRENT MOON-GLASS SOLAR CELLS. SCIENTISTS  SAY THEY CAN FIX THIS BY REMOVING IMPURITIES WITHIN SO-CALLED MOON DUST.

THERE ARE ALSO MANY UNANSWERED QUESTIONS, INCLUDING THE LIFESPAN OF LUNAR GLASS AND THE STABILITY OF SOLAR CELLS ON THE MOON.

SCIENTISTS ARE PUSHING FOR A MISSION TO THE MOON TO CONDUCT EXPERIMENTS WITH SOLAR ENERGY TO TEST THEIR THEORIES AND SAY IF SUCCESSFUL IT MAY BE THE KEY TO  POWERING LUNAR BASES AND CREATING LONG-TERM SETTLEMENTS FOR HUMANS.

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FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS– I’M JACK AYLMER.