But why?
I can't really think of any scenario where this would be needed or practical.
Edit: other than for fortifying landing pads as mentioned in the article.
this post was submitted on 28 Oct 2023
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Eh? The whole article refers to lunar dust being the bane of existence there. The slabs would no longer be kicking up dust into sensitive delicate stuff.
What sensitive delicate stuff needs to be lugged around on roads on the moon a lot?
Everything would benefit not being exposed to moon dust, especially humans.
The moon dust is extremely sticky, abrasive, chemically reactive and terrible for the health.
And it's not like we can just hose down the rover or the spacesuit to remove the dust. I think dealing with the moon dust can be one of the major hurdle of setting up a moonbase.
Believe it or not, the answer to your question is also in the article.
The first paragraph list another motivation:
mitigate damage from sharp particles of lunar regolith
Can only guess.
But if colonisation. Or even long term occupation for research. Is to happen. Then there will be need to house and maintain landers and launch veicles of some form.
Such will mean a need to move from launch pad to an enviroment where technician's can repair test and maintain in shelter.
Yes launchpads I can see, and short stretches of fortified paths to and from those, but I find it highly unlikely that there will ever be the need to construct roads for overland travel on the moon.
Agreed. Only time I can see it being needed. Is if we end up with multiple nation colonies. Trade between them may be a reason.
But its far from clear.
But landing pads alone. Seems like a valid reason to consider the tech.
It may also lead to the production of movable regalth sheets. (Assuming structural integrity can be resolved. ) Used to build shelters.
I can see a future possible. Where people lay rebar like grids in the dust. Cover it. Satalite uses sunlight to power lasers to melt the dust. And that generates a sheet of ceramic material used for all lorts of production.
If they can work this out it would be neat if they could do this either from a satellite or with a Rover so the surfaces could be prepared before missions
the first thirty missions should be cargo-only missions.
Transport on Mars is much easier than on moon.
On Mars, there is Water and CO2, all the ingredients needed to make life. And sunlight and building material, needed to make industry. You can make roads on Mars similar to railway on Earth.
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The researchers fired laser beams at lunar soil to create interlocking pavers that could be used to construct paved roads and landing pads.
The hardened molten regolith is tough enough to withstand the weight of rovers and other spacecraft with minimal dust kickup, and it could all be made right there on the Moon.
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On Earth, rock, glass, and other materials in soil are constantly exposed to weathering forces such as wind, rain, and flowing water, which is why grains of sand are often smooth around the edges.
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Any spacecraft that lands on or traverses the Moon is at risk from the dust it kicks up because unweathered shards of rock and glass can easily scratch sensitive instruments and wear away at surfaces.
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During this process, the research team found that any crisscrossing or overlap of laser beams could lead to internal cracking, especially since lunar regolith is full of glass and other silicates.
The laser that proved most effective ended up having a 45 mm (about 1.8 inches) beam that could move over dust in a specific pattern that produced triangular shapes.
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