Title :
Technology for solar array production on the moon
Author :
Landis, Geoffrey A.
Author_Institution :
NASA Glenn Res. Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
Abstract :
Silicon, aluminum, and glass are the primary raw materials that will be required for production of solar arrays on the moon. A process sequence is proposed for producing these materials from lunar regolith is proposed, consisting of separating the required materials from lunar rock with fluorine. Fluorosilane produced by this process is reduced to silicon; the fluorine salts are reduced to metals by reaction with metallic potassium. Fluorine is recovered from residual MgF and CaF2 by reaction with K2O. Aluminum, calcium oxide, and magnesium oxide are recovered to manufacture structural materials and glass.
Keywords :
aluminium; glass; lunar rocks; semiconductor device manufacture; silicon; solar cell arrays; Al; SiO2; lunar rock; moon; solar array production; Aluminum; Building materials; Glass; Manufacturing industries; Moon; Photovoltaic cells; Production; Silicon; Soil; Space technology;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2002. Conference Record of the Twenty-Ninth IEEE
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7471-1
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.2002.1190692