A team of researchers from the University of Potsdam, led by Felix Langhas developed an innovative solution for one of the main obstacles of spatial exploration: generating energy efficiently on the moon. Using the lunar dustor regolite, created a glass called moonglassto be used in the production of lighter and cheaper solar panels than the current ones, which must be transported by the earth, as illustrated by Lang:
The solar panels used today in space reach efficiency between 30% and 40%, but are expensive and heavy because they are protected from thick glass or films. Bring them to space is difficult to justify.
The proposed approach plans to directly melt the lunar regolite to create glass on the spot, eliminating the need to send fragile and bulky materials. Combining it with perovskitea highly efficient crystalline mineral in the conversion of sunlight into energy, the result is a promising sun cell to feed future lunar colonies.
Moonglass: lunar glass more resistant to radiation
In addition to the drastic reduction in weight and costs (up to 99.4% less mass and 99% of transport costs), Moonglass has unique characteristics that make it particularly suitable for the lunar environment, where radiation is constant and there is no protective atmosphere.
Traditional glass tends to darken under exposure to radiation, limiting the passage of light and compromising the efficiency of the panels. The Moonglass, on the other hand, it is naturally tinged and resists further browningkeeping performance over time:
Our cells are more stable than the current ones, which degrade under the radiation.
The production of the Moonglass is surprisingly simple even with low lunar severity. Slow lenses are enough to concentrate sunlight and reach the temperature necessary for the merger of the regolite. In addition, the glass thus obtained does not require complex purificationsresulting immediately usable in combination with thin layers of perovskite, much cheaper than traditional photovoltaic materials.
Although further tests are needed in real lunar conditions, scientists are said to be optimistic. With the growing interest by space agencies and private companies towards permanent settlements on the moon, solutions such as these could play a decisive role in the Construction of autonomous energy infrastructureas explained by Lang:
We have already studied how to extract water for fuel and build houses with lunar bricks. Now we can transform lunar powder into solar panels, providing the energy necessary for a future city on the moon.
The results of the study were published in the magazine Device.
