Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space firm, Blue Origin, announced it has developed a method for producing solar cells and transmission wire using only lunar regolith.
Blue Origin famously filed a legal complaint against NASA after it snubbed its lunar lander design in favor of awarding SpaceX a contract for a modified Starship lander.
Though that dispute was struck down, Blue Origin may play a crucial role in helping to sustain lunar habitats thanks to its latest innovation, called Blue Alchemist.
The Blue Alchemist method uses molten electrolysis to separate aluminum, iron, and silicon from bound oxygen in lunar regolith to extract the materials for solar cell construction. In a statement, Blue Origin points out that the technique can be used to build solar cells, cover glass, and aluminum wire. All that's required is sunlight and the reactor's silicon.
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