Laser melting of extraplanetary rocks under lunar conditions

• Applicants: Professor Dr.-Ing. Ludger Overmeyer; Professor Dr.-Ing. Enrico Stoll
• Subject Area: Primary Shaping and Reshaping Technology, Additive Manufacturing
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 458595944

The overall objective of the proposed project is to determine the influence of reduced gravity and vacuum on laser melting of extraplanetary rock powder as a basis for building infrastructure by In-Space Resource Utilization (ISRU) on other celestial bodies. The focus is on the use of lunar regolith, since the moon is currently a major target of international spaceflight and there is currently no adequate scientific basis for laser melting under lunar conditions.Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) of regolith has the potential to drastically reduce the costs and transport requirements of future space missions. The research instrument of the Einstein Elevator provides the necessary infrastructure to study laser melting of regolith under lunar gravity. Up to 100 experiments can be performed at 4 seconds of weightlessness per day (8 hours), which makes this research device unique in the international arena. The atmospheric conditions on the moon's surface can be sufficiently approximated by a vacuum.For the project, regolith simulants will be produced and their chemical and mineralogical composition will be analyzed. The particle properties and their interaction with the process in terms of thermal input will be investigated experimentally and simulatively. Thus, it shall be determined how lunar conditions influence the melting behaviour of lunar rocks under consideration of the reduced heat dissipation and gravitation. In addition, the influence of natural variations in the composition of the regolith on the melting behaviour will be investigated. The project will thus use experimental methods and simulation to show which material properties can be produced under reduced gravity and vacuum compared to terrestrial conditions. A derived model will allow the prediction of the properties of the melt products.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants