EXOTech Lab adds instruments for lunar regolith energy storage
- EXOTech Lab has added new instruments to characterize lunar regolith for thermal energy storage.
- The instruments include a Raman microscope, an optical microscope, and a Dynamic Image Analyzer.
- The work supports a lunar thermal energy storage demonstrator under the EMM project's WP-1100.
- Thermal-vacuum tests will reproduce lunar day-night cycles to validate models and support design.
What happened
EXOTech Lab is being strengthened with new instruments dedicated to characterizing lunar regolith.
The lab supports development and realization of a demonstrator for a thermal energy storage system based on lunar regolith.
What we know
The work addresses the challenge of ensuring reliable and sustainable energy on the lunar surface in extreme environmental conditions.
The Lunar Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system stores heat from solar radiation during the lunar day and releases it at night for thermal management and electricity generation.
EXOTech Lab has a thermal-vacuum chamber that simulates solar irradiation and evaluates lunar regolith behavior for TES applications.
The lab also has software for modeling and predicting the thermal, mechanical, and structural behavior of lunar regolith in lunar conditions.
New instrumentation includes a Raman microscope to identify mineral phases, molecular structures, and composition variations; an optical microscope for high-resolution inspection of particle shape, surface texture, and mineral distribution; and a Dynamic Image Analyzer for grain-size distribution and grain morphology.
Additional instruments will measure skeletal and bulk density, monitor mass changes with temperature to study thermal stability and volatile release, and measure thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and specific heat.
The activities are performed within WP-1100 of the Earth-Moon-Mars (EMM) project, which is funded by European Union NextGenerationEU and by PNRR Mission 4, Component 2, investment line 3.1.
EMM is identified by code IR0000038 and CUP C53C22000870006.
Why it matters
A TES system based on lunar regolith addresses the need for reliable and sustainable lunar surface energy by storing solar thermal energy for night use.
The lab is described as a reference infrastructure for studying heat exchange and energy storage on the Moon.
It also supports future lunar and Mars exploration programs.
The work supports raising the technology readiness level of the core payload of LAORIE, a lunar infrastructure conceived in WP-1330 of EMM.
The partnership includes training future generations with universities and research bodies.
What's next
The first step is physical-thermal characterization of the material and its terrestrial analogs.
Thermal-vacuum tests will reproduce lunar day-night cycles.
The collected data will validate numerical models and support design of the TES demonstrator.
Sources
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