A group of scientists from Germany conducted an experiment and discovered that the problem of lunar dust, as well as roads and landing sites on the Moon's surface, could be solved through a carefully selected lens that would act as a solar light concentrator and local material, namely regolith.

If humans land on the Moon again (after 2025, Project Artemis), and also establish a base there (by 2030, still under Artemis), they will need to address a crucial issue: lunar dust. Its very fine particles have sharp edges and abrasive properties. In other words, colonizers will encounter clouds of sharp particles that can not only damage equipment and gear but also compromise space suits and even penetrate their interiors.

During American moon missions, this problem emerged after the first spacewalk when spacesuits gradually lost their integrity, and lunar module interiors were filled with dust, making it difficult for astronauts to breathe.

The solution to the problem is to construct roads and landing sites with a hard surface, significantly limiting the spread of lunar dust. However, transporting materials from Earth for lunar infrastructure construction would be costly, necessitating the development of ways to utilize local resources.

A group of scientists from various universities in Germany, led by physicist Jens Günster, published an article in the journal Scientific Reports, stating that they have selected a high-temperature melting method that can be used to produce durable road structures from regolith.

Scientists have long known that regolith can be "transformed" into a construction material using sunlight or lasers. To achieve this, regolith is first heated to melting point and then cooled. However, the main problem is the quality of the resulting construction. To obtain the necessary building element from regolith, the right production technology must be chosen. If the beam diameter is too small, the light concentration is too weak, it is poorly focused, or if, for example, the wrong powers and temperatures are selected, an unsuitable part with deformation may be produced.

Günster and his team attempted to determine whether melting regolith with a large beam of focused light could be the "right technology" for creating high-quality road and landing site structures on the Moon. For the experiment, scientists used a carbon dioxide laser (to reproduce concentrated sunlight) with a power of up to 12 kilowatts and a beam diameter of up to 100 millimeters, along with the fine-grained material EAC-1A, simulating lunar regolith.

Physicists then experimented with the power of the installation and laser beam diameters, directing it at EAC-1A to create durable material. As a result, researchers were able to select parameters that allowed them to produce dense triangular figures with hollow centers measuring 250 by 250 millimeters. Using an output laser power of three kilowatts and a beam diameter of 45 millimeters, scientists created such parts.

The study authors noted that these new structures, when combined, could create a solid surface that could be laid out on large areas of lunar soil and then used as platforms and roads.

"This kind of technology can be replicated on the Moon, and there is no need to send a laser there. A lens that acts as a solar light concentrator would be enough. Considering the required power and beam diameter, the lens would need to cover an area of about 2.37 square meters," explained Günster.

In any case, there is only one way to verify these conclusions: to send a lens of the required size with a satellite and replicate the experiment conducted by German physicists there.