Artemis 1 is off—and we're a step closer to using moon dirt for construction in space

NASA has just launched its first rocket in the Artemis program, which will, among other things, take scientific experiments to produce metal on the moon.

In recent years, a number of businesses and organizations have ramped up efforts to establish technologies on the moon. But doing work in space is expensive. Sending just one kilogram of material to the moon can cost US$1.2 million (A$1.89 million). What if we could save money by using the resources that are already there? This process is called in-situ resource utilization, and it's exactly what astrometallurgy researchers are trying to achieve.

Why the moon? The moon has amazing potential for future space exploration. Its gravity is only one-sixth as strong as Earth's, which makes it much easier to fly things from the moon to Earth's orbit than to fly them direct from Earth ! And in an industry where every kilogram costs a fortune, the ability to save money is extremely attractive. Although people have been looking at making oxygen and rocket fuel in space for decades , the Artemis program marks the first time we have solid plans to make and use metal in space.

Credit: John Raoux Read more

On a clear night, you can see the Moon’s two geologic regions – the darker maria and the lighter highlands. Credit: Shutterstock Read more

Researchers at the University of Glasgow used an electrolysis separation process to get a pile of metal (right) from simulated Moon dirt (left). Credit: Beth Lomax/University of Glasgow Read more