Scientists have developed solar cells made from simulated lunar dust, which could one day serve as a power source for Moon-based settlements. Using a regolith simulant, the research team melted it into glass and combined it with perovskite—a highly efficient and low-cost material for converting sunlight into electricity. These solar cells not only withstand radiation exposure, but they could also reduce the amount of material that needs to be launched from Earth by 99.4%, making lunar missions far more affordable and practical.
Lunar glass turned out to be more resistant to cosmic radiation than traditional materials—it doesn’t darken over time, and its natural brown tint actually helps stabilize the solar cell structure, boosting durability. The current cells reach 10% efficiency, but researchers hope to achieve up to 23% through the use of more transparent glass and optimized compositions. The glass production could even be powered by concentrated sunlight, enabling a self-sustaining process on the Moon.
However, technical challenges remain: in the Moon’s low gravity and vacuum environment, material behavior may differ from Earth’s, and the solvents typically used for perovskites don’t work well in lunar conditions. To test the technology’s feasibility, the team is planning a small-scale demonstration on the Moon.
This research marks another step toward building autonomous infrastructure on the Moon. While extracting water and producing construction materials from lunar dust are already key components of future mission concepts, humanity may now be on the brink of generating reliable energy sources directly on the Moon as well.
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