Driving around the Moon on a lunar rover isn’t like driving around on roads on Earth, after all, the potholes are certainly a much bigger concern up there. However dust is also an issue, which is why researchers have now developed a way to build proper roads on the Moon using lasers.
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00:00Driving around the moon on a lunar rover isn't like driving around on the roads
00:07on Earth. After all, potholes are certainly a much bigger concern up there.
00:11And while craters are no doubt an issue for moon driving, experts say that lunar
00:15dust could be a larger impactor. That's because lunar regolith consists of
00:19charged particles that can hang in the air long after the tires of a lunar
00:22rover drive by, due to the low gravitational pull on the moon. Which is
00:26why researchers are now looking at ways to turn that very dusty substance into
00:29lunar roads instead. They want to use a method called sintering, or basically
00:34turning lunar soil into roads using pressure and heat. But it's tough to get
00:37conventional machinery up to the moon for such an endeavor, which is why
00:40they're using lasers instead. Experts are now suggesting using a lens to focus
00:44sunlight to literally melt the lunar regolith down. Because a day on the moon
00:48lasts 14 Earth days, that would also give them plenty of time to heat up and build
00:52their roads. And in a laboratory setting they found this method actually works,
00:56allowing them to create an interconnected series of melted regolith
00:59bricks that could be roadworthy. What's more, it's hyper durable, with basically
01:03the same strength as modern concrete.