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Explanation: Why is the Moon so dusty? On Earth, rocks are weathered by wind and water, creating soil and sand. On the Moon, the history of constant micrometeorite bombardment has blasted away at the rocky surface creating a layer of powdery lunar soil or regolith. For the Apollo astronauts and their equipment, the pervasive, fine, gritty dust was definitely a problem. Fifty years ago, on the lunar surface in December 1972, Apollo 17 astronauts Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan needed to repair one of their rover's fenders in an effort to keep the rooster tails of dust away from themselves...

Their prototype system mixes simulated lunar regolith — they have yet to try it with the real thing — with molten calcium chloride salt. The scientists then heat the mixture up to 950 degrees Celsius and run a current through it, releasing oxygen — a process called molten salt electrolysis. The electrolysis process has another useful byproduct: metal alloys. The scientists are also investigating applications to make best use of these alloys on the Moon. The team is looking to design a “pilot plant” that could be operated on the Moon by the mid-2020s.

Many programs have recently tested out the habitability of lunar bases. In May 2018, Chinese student volunteers in Beijing completed a one-year test living in a simulated lunar lab. In October 2017, the International MoonBase Summit (IMS) convened in Hawaii to discuss building a mock structure to examine how a human settlement on the moon would work. And for two weeks in August 2017, six mock astronauts lived inside a simulated moon base in Poland. But how would you build a base in the first place? … Their idea is to try to break reliance on earthy construction materials, according...

On Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano, which rises more than 13,000 feet above sea level, there is a mid-level base facility where scientists can pretend they are on the moon. Hawaii's volcanic terrain, soil and remote environment provide an ideal environment for testing instruments and equipment that someday may be used by astronauts at a lunar base. Recently, a team of scientists working for the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES) demonstrated its first field test for NASA's In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Project. Research Operations Manager John Hamilton supported the mission simulation to show how astronauts will be...

from the January 29, 2004 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0129/p14s02-stss.html Another giant leapScientists around the world are eyeing the moon as a future research lab and a gateway to space exploration, while companies look at commercial prospects.By Peter N. Spotts | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor It's been dubbed Earth's attic, a keystone for understanding the early history of the inner planets, and even a potential safe-deposit box for evidence of life early in the solar system's history. By whatever label, the moon's star appears to be rising. Even before President Bush unveiled his space policy earlier this month,...

Building a Moon Base Out of Moon Dust From the NewsChannel 19 Newsroom 1/28/04 On January 14th President George Bush announced a new vision for America's space program. We will return to the moon and build a base, and then head to Mars. "I was very excited," says UAH Associate Professor Dr. Sam Toutanji, who is part of the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department at UAH. Toutanji is particularly interested in what construction materials a moon base might be built with. He believes concrete is the material of choice. "We can. Three things we need to know, first, do we...