This is the tricky part. We know about unprocessed Earth and Lunar basalt. We have data on processed Earth basalt. Now we need to know the physical and chemical properties of the Lunar basalt after it has been processed. And this is going to difficult because I don’t know if any of our Lunar samples have been processed for resource extraction. There just may not be any data.
The next best source for data will be from experiments that have processed Lunar basalt simulant. There’s probably not a lot of these studies and the results may be hard to find.
Eventually, we’ll need hard data on basalt that has been physically and chemically processed to extract a range of materials. But for now we’re just going to focus on oxygen and iron.
This page is a work in progress. I’ll be adding to it as we go. Please let me know if you have any comments or suggestions on how to make this project better. And, as always, please email me the results of your research so I can post it on this page.
Also, this project will stay open and active as long as there are parameters we don’t have values for. In the future the SPORE project is going to need this research done. At that point I’ll focus my research on finishing this sub-project. Hopefully Lunar Homestead Crew Members will have already done the bulk of the work by then.
How to work on this project
- Check out the LH Research Manual for help.
- Conduct Internet searches for specific topics (i.e. basalt density).
- Use a variety of search engines (not just Google). You’ll probably get different results.
- Create a document to hold all the data and resources you’ve found.
- Feel free to add new parameters as you find (or think of) them.
- Copy the data to your document if your data is different from the data on this page.
- Be sure to also include a link or some other way for others to get to your source (title, authors, and date at a minimum).
- Be sure to connect the data to the source. The best way is to number your sources and put the corresponding number after each data entry. I also like to put the page number(s) of the document where I found the data. That way the next person doesn’t have to search the whole document.
- Your Internet searches will lead you to scientific literature. Go to step 4 if you can access it online.
- Many scientific documents are, unfortunately, behind paywalls. Please include the name of the paper, it’s authors, and date of publication (at a minimum) in the Other Sources section. Someone with access to these sites might be able to pull the information out.
- You can check your local, or university, library for scientific literature if you’re feeling adventurous. Please remember to cite your source with the title, authors, date, and page number you found the data.
- Email your document to ben@lunarhomestead.com when you are done. Or whenever you want actually. I’ll add your data to this document.
- Thanks! It may not seem like much but you are helping make Lunar settlement a reality.
Data
Chemical composition
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Chemical structure
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Phase temperatures
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Density
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Lunar weight
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Gas permeability
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Thermal insulation
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Acoustic insulation
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Radiation protection
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Impact protection
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Electrostatic protection
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Conductivity
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Abrasion resistance (especially vs Lunar regolith)
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Resistance to vacuum
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Reactivity to O2/N2/H20/Co2
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Chemical resistance
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Off -gassing (toxins in habitat)
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Seismic resistance
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
How thick to contain 1 LHSA
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Aesthetics – Look, feel, smell, color
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Structural engineering parameters (to be determined)
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Repairs/maintenance
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Casting procedures
- After iron extraction
- After oxygen extraction
- After iron and oxygen extraction
Resources
Cited sources
Other sources
Cast basalt products
Cast basalt companies
Cast basalt sources