Humans are heading back to the Moon. Artemis and the Lunar Gateway programme are on their way and the next step will be the lunar ground station. But one major problem for a sustainable outpost on the Moon remains: Moon dust (regolith) doesn’t have the right material properties to either store energy efficiently or to be an ideal construction material. The result would be to transport massive quantities of material from the Earth. Orbit Recycling has developed a new composite: ALReCo. Using a unique method, regolith is mixed with material from space debris to enhance its physical properties. ALReCo shows improved thermal capacity and conductivity in order to store energy much better. ALReCo is better suited to construction elements and the integration of aluminium structures, and flanges with regolith parts could become a modular framework for the upcoming Moon base. By turning waste into valuable material, ALReCo reduces not only the amount of space debris but the amount of material that needs to be transported from Earth as well.
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