Materials Selection and Processing for Lunar Based Space Solar Power

Abstract

The ultimate form of solar power is to collect sunlight in space where there is no night, no clouds, and no atmosphere. Low-density radio waves can transmit this power to earth-based receivers, invert the power, and couple it to the grid. This low-pollution power source can be scaled to the entirety of human enterprise. Until recently, economics argued against space solar power (SSP), because launch costs of the megatons of materials are prohibitive. A new approach is to use lunar materials for the bulk of SSP mass. The moon is 21% silicon, which can be formed into solar panels. Several new innovations make possible economical production of electric power from space, provided key materials challenges can be overcome. This paper reviews the ultra-high temperature ceramics and metals required for lunar-based SSP, and some of the laboratory results from experiments to build factories which, when landed on the moon, will produce many times their launch mass in valuable solar panels and array infrastructure. INTRODUCTIONHumankind uses energy at a prodigious rate, 472 Quads/year as of 2006. Projections indicate a need for 678 Quads/year by 2030, equivalent to an extra 7,500 GW of additional installed baseload capacity 1 . At a linear rate, this means 286 GW of worldwide power plant installations every year for generations. With mega-nuclear facilities at 5-8 GW, taking 8 years to build, at a cost of 25 billion USD each, this amounts to a trillion dollars a year. Clearly, a very large, scalable, and environmentally-sustainable power source is needed.Renewable energy sources help, however, their availability and accessibility is limited. Table 1 shows the available power in GW for traditional renewable energy sources. Only solar power has the ability to meet worldwide power demand beyond 2030.

Plasma Extraction of Metals in Space

“…puddle. The only refractory known to withstand molten silicates is thorium dioxide [11]. Thoria has the highest melting point of any metal oxide and has no transition temperatures up to 2950 K [12,13].…”