MMM Classics Year 10: MMM #s 91-100 - Moon Society

of the regolith material that became glassified by heat [p. 128].
Some glass spheres have inclusions of iron and nickel
of foreign (meteorite) origin. Overall, the glasses are identical
in composition to the host regolith material from which they
were transformed [pp. 129-133].
These glass spherules are found in all lunar regolith
soils, though the percentage by weight and volume varies.
Lunar Glass from other sources
Not all naturally produced glass on the Moon comes
to us by way of meteorite impact heating. A primitive basaltic
glass is represented in the Apollo 15 Hadley site “emerald
green” samples [15425-6], comprising as much as 20% of the
soil around Spur crater. And mare-forming basalt eruptions and
volcanic fire fountains seem responsible for the orange glasses
[74220, actually ranging in color from yellow to black] found
on the rim of Shorty crater at the Apollo 17 Taurus-Littrow site
[p. 128, pp. 297-300].
Industrial and other uses of glass spherules
Lunar glass spherules are not a starting point for
optical glass and optical glass products like window panes and
lenses, nor for the production either of high melting point
fiberglass or low melting point glass matrix for the fabrication
of “glass-glass composite” building component items [the
MMM-proposed trade name for this GGC material is “Glax”].
For these things it will be necessary to start from scratch with
composition-controlled batches of ingredients. As this will
depend on prior processing and production of the relatively
pure ingredients needed, such building materials and
construction items — as important as their local manufacture
are to the goal of lunar settlement self-sufficiency — will be an
achievement priority for a later phase of settlement industry.
Glass spherules, given their uncontrolled composition
and color, still offer a number of useful product possibilities
and applications that will give the early outpost/settlement-tobe
an economically significant leg up. Here are some:
As is: (domestic)
√ abrasives and sandblasting material
√ water filtration
Remelted and blown (domestic and export)
√ early jewelry, art objects, giftware, souvenirs
√ early “issue” glassware, dishes
√ table/desk tops, lamp bases, etc.
Sorted for color (domestic and export)
√ early vitreous glazes
√ (jewelry and decorative ceramics)
Transformed by pressure and heat (domestic)
√ zeolites to add back into sifted powder-free regolith
for use in agricultural soils
The list of capital equipment needed is modest:
√ a way to extract from regolith (without confusion
with similar size breccia and lithic particles)
√ size sort machine
√ color sort machine
√ furnace and blowers
As goals of lunar industry and export development,
these product lines may seem minor. But together with the use
of sintered iron products and regolith scavenged gases, they
will work to jump start early and easy industrial diversification,
cutting a small but significant part of the import burden, and
giving the pioneers a well-deserved sense of achievement.
The Made-on-Luna logo will have humble
application at first, but thanks to prior “natural
production” and serendipitously provident
stockpiling of “not-quite-from-scratch materials”,
Lunar pioneers will be the beneficiaries
of an industrial and economic handicap analogous,
if not similar, to those we have enjoyed
here on the cradle world.
Moonbase Siting - aluminum in perspective
Thanks again for printing my [Larry jay
Friesen] articles in MMM #s 94 and 95]. May I respond
to one of your comments at the end of the one about
propellants? When I emphasized the need to look for
aluminum as well as oxygen for mineral feedstock, I
did not intend to say that we would not also have
needs for iron, titanium, etc. on the Moon. I was
trying to make sure that people would not EXCLUDE
aluminum, even by the accident of simply not thinking
about it.
It may be well known by all readers of the
Moon Miners' Manifesto that we will need a variety of
mineral resources to support a lunar community. But
the reason I made such an emphasis on getting aluminum
is because many of the researchers in the field,
the scientists who are actually working on developing
oxygen extraction processes, still seem to be
focusing exclusively on ilmenite reduction and to
have blinders about looking seriously (at long enough
to do actual development work on) other possible
processes, or about getting anything out but oxygen.
At least, this seems to be true for some of the
planetary scientists I am personally acquainted with
here at Johnson Space Center.
I am not sure why this is the case. It may
be because ilmenite reduction is a simple process and
therefore easy to design "suitcase pilot plants"
around for early manned (or precursor) lunar flights.
It may be that ilmenite is lower in its energy
requirements than other processes (I have not looked
into this).
Whatever the reason, I have not yet found
arguments that seem to be convincing enough to these
people to get the research community to broaden its
horizons, and actually do DEVELOPMENT work (as
opposed to mere paper studies) of alternate extraction
processes, in particular processes that will
also extract metals in general, and aluminum in
particular. If you have ideas for arguments that
might be persuasive, I might listen to suggestions.
I am speculating that part of the conceptual
Moon Miners’ Manifesto Classics - Year 10 - Republished January 2006 - Page 61