Enlarge / In this depiction Blue Alchemist is shown constructing solar cells on the lunar surface. (credit: Blue Origin)
For decades scientists and engineers have talked about using the dusty lunar surface to manufacture solar panels. All of the key ingredients for solar cells are present in this rocky and dusty regolith on the surface of the Moon—silicon, iron, magnesium, aluminum, and more.
The abundance of these ingredients has led to hundreds of research papers exploring this idea since lunar soil was returned to Earth during the Apollo program but relatively little engineering development. In other words, we don't know whether covering the Moon with solar panels is simply a great science fiction idea, or if it would actually work.
But now, we may have an answer to the question. On Friday, in a blog post not even promoted by the company's Twitter account or a news release, Blue Origin quietly said its "Blue Alchemist" program has been working on this very topic for the last two years. The company, founded by Jeff Bezos, has made both solar cells and electricity transmission wires from simulated lunar soil—a material that is chemically and mineralogically equivalent to lunar regolith.
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