Aaron Bonanno has designed a renewable energy system to power a colony on the moon using solar thermal energy blocks.
Mr Bonanno needed moon dust to test his theory and the closest thing on earth was the reject powder from crushed basalt rocks, which he obtained for free from the quarry.
By using the basalt powder he was able to develop solar thermal energy blocks that are light and easy to transport. These blocks are baked at 1000 degrees to make bricks that are used to store heat collected from the sun.
On the moon, if and when a colony is established, the moon dust there can be used to make these blocks, meaning that it isn?t necessary to carry materials to the moon from the earth.
The bricks can be used to build a moon base and are strong enough to withstand a meteorite strike ? which apparently is a frequent occurrence on the moon.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald