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A group of students and instructors from across multiple disciplines from the Missouri University of Science and Technology (S&T) were selected as one of seven finalists in NASA\u2019s 2023 Breakthrough, Innovative, and Game-Changing Idea (BIG Idea) Challenge: Lunar Forge.
The S&T moon metal work began in fall 2022, when the team submitted a proposal to NASA for the contest. In spring 2023, NASA announced S&T as a finalist and provided funding for the team\u2019s research efforts to continue.
S&T\u2019s project is titled \u201cLunar In-Situ Aluminum Production Through Molten Salt Electrolysis\u201d and the group worked with anorthite, a material in large supply on the moon that contains aluminum. It researched methods for using a type of electrolysis to reduce the aluminum oxide in the anorthite into aluminum metal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The S&T team was led by Jacob Ortega, a Ph.D. student in aerospace engineering and Kummer Innovation and Entrepreneurship doctoral fellow from California. Its research on producing aluminum on the moon was presented in November in Cleveland.
While the team did not successfully produce aluminum before the final stage of the contest, the team was awarded NASA\u2019s Edison Award, in reference to Thomas Edison\u2019s quote: \u201cI didn’t fail 1,000 times. The lightbulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.\u201d
Ortega said this award was to demonstrate that the team still made headway toward one day manufacturing moon metals with their processes even if they were not yet successful.
Other members of the S&T team included: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
S&T faculty advisors for the contest included: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ortega said the work on this issue is not over, as it could one day make a significant difference in future developments on the moon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n