Extraterrestrial fabrication of metal alloys

We intend to use solar radiation as the energy source on Mars, which also contributes towards an emission-free and energetically sustainable metallurgy on Earth.
Bacterias under the microscope.
Labwork at UFT, University of Bremen.
Bacteria growing on a bed of Martian regolith simulant at 75 degrees
Cathode pellet for electrochemical reduction of regolith made of porous hematite.

Producing metallic materials in an extraterrestrial environment like the surface of the Moon or Mars is a challenging but essential task. We are developing a new electrochemical process for the synthesis of alloyed metal powders without using fossil carbon sources. Instead, we intend to use solar radiation as the energy source, which also contributes towards an emission-free and energetically sustainable metallurgy on Earth. In order to use regolith as the main elemental source, microorganisms will be employed both to selectively extract specific metal ions from the regolith and to actively support the electrochemical reduction. Advanced methods for the synthesis, characterization and theoretical modelling of regolith simulants will drive the development of a novel (bio)electrochemical reactor.

Project Leader

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Lucio Colombi Ciacchi
Conrad Naber Endowed Chair
Hybrid Materials Interfaces
Production Engineering
University of Bremen

Am Fallturm 1, 28359 Bremen, DE
TAB-Building, Room 3.30
+49 421 218 64570
colombiprotect me ?!hmi.uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de

15.03.2024

Automated all-functionals infrared and Raman spectra

Lorenzo Bastonero; Nicola Marzari

npj computational materials 10 (2024): 55

doi: 10.1038/s41524-024-01236-3

Infrared and Raman spectroscopies are ubiquitous techniques employed in many experimental laboratories, thanks to their fast and non-destructive nature able to capture materials' features…

12.01.2024

Optimizing lunar regolith beneficiation for ilmenite enrichment

Kunal Kulkarni, Michel Fabien Franke, Muchammad Izzuddin Jundullah Hanafi, Thorsten M. Gesing, Paul Zabel

Frontiers in Space Technologies 4 (2023): 1328341

doi: 10.3389/frspt.2023.1328341

Over the past few years, the international space industry has focused extensively on advancing technologies…

01.10.2022

A new fuzzy logic approach for reliable communications in wireless underground sensor networks

Damien Wohwe Sambo, Blaise Omer Yenke, Anna Förster , Jospeh Ndong, Paul Dayang, Idrissa Sarr

Wireless Networks 2 8 (2022) : 3275-3292

doi: 10.1007/s11276-022-03008-7

Nowadays, the exploitation of Wireless Underground Sensor Networks (WUSNs) remains challenging because of the attenuation of…

01.07.2022

A vision for Human Mars Exploration made in Bremen

M. Avila, C. Heinicke, L. Colombi Ciacchi, A. Dekorsy, S. Fehrler, K. Rezwan, N. Sieroka, K. Tracht, C. Verseux

44th COSPAR Scientific Assembly. Held 16-24 July, 2022. Online at https://www.cosparathens2022.org/. Abstract PEX.2-0002-22.

Bibcode: 2022cosp...44.3186A

Leading space agencies have the…

20.02.2022

Modeling of electrochemical oxide film growth-a PDM refinement

Ingmar Bösing, Fabio La Mantia, Jorg Thöming

Electrochimica Acta 406 (2022), 139847

doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2022.139847

The Point Defect Model (PDM) is known for over 40 years and has brought deeper insight to the understanding of passivity. During the last decades it has seen…

25.10.2021

Optimization of growth and electrosynthesis of PolyHydroxyAlcanoates by the thermophilic bacterium Kyrpidia spormannii

Guillaume Pillot, Soniya Sunny, Victoria Comes, Sven Kerzenmacher

Faraday Discussions Advance Article (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.10.25.465696 preprint available open access: doi: http://biorxiv.org/lookup/doi/10.1101/2021.10.25.465696

The electrosynthesis of valuable compounds by…

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Extraterrestrial fabrication of metal alloys