Laser melting of extraplanetary rocks under lunar conditions

拟议项目的总体目标是确定重力和真空降低对行星外岩粉激光熔化的影响，以此作为通过空间资源利用在其他天体上建立基础设施的基础。由于月球目前是国际航天飞行的主要目标，目前还没有足够的科学依据在月球条件下进行激光熔融，因此重点放在了月球表层的利用上。月球表层的激光粉末床融合(LPBF)有可能大幅降低未来航天任务的成本和运输要求。爱因斯坦电梯的研究仪器为研究月球重力下激光熔化风化层提供了必要的基础设施。在每天失重4秒(8小时)的情况下，可以进行多达100次实验，这使得这一研究设备在国际舞台上是独一无二的。真空可以充分模拟月球表面的大气条件。对于该项目，将生产风化层模拟物，并分析它们的化学和矿物学成分。我们将从实验和模拟两个方面研究颗粒的性质及其与过程的相互作用。因此，在考虑热量散失和重力减少的情况下，应确定月球条件如何影响月球岩石的熔融行为。此外，还将研究风化层组成的自然变化对熔化行为的影响。因此，该项目将使用实验方法和模拟来展示与地面条件相比，在重力和真空降低的情况下可以产生哪些材料特性。导出的模型将允许预测熔体产品的性质。

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.