A 3D-printed model of a chemical laboratory called ProSPA, which will enable scouting of the Moon\u2019s surface to establish if it is possible to extract water from Moon dust, will be unveiled at the exhibition alongside research looking at the possibility of using microwaves to process lunar dust to build 3D-printed structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The team is being led by renowned lunar scientist, Dr Mahesh Anand<\/a>, Reader in Planetary Science and Exploration at The Open University who was among the first scientists to discover water in lunar samples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said: \u201cOver\nthe past 50 years since the Apollo 11 Moon landing there has been a lot of\nresearch. We have analysed lunar samples brought back by the astronauts and new\ndiscoveries are still being made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think\ndiscoveries made in the last five years have made it much more likely that we\nwill see people going to the Moon for extended periods of time in the not too\ndistant future. There is definitely a global demand for this as many more\npowers enter the space race.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs well as the\n3D printed models, we will have some of the Apollo samples on display and\nvisitors will also be able to see (and hold!), for the first time, a 1.3 kg lunar\nmeteorite, about the size of a small rugby ball, which was found recently in\nNorth West Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\nwill also be on display a prototype of an instrument used in the Rosetta\nexpedition to a comet<\/a>; heritage for ProSPA developments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Visitors will also get the chance to explore the surface of the Moon through virtual reality and examine lunar samples under a microscope. They can also operate a lunar rover on the surface of the Moon, using virtual reality and take a look at a real bit of the Moon, the largest piece in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Find Out More<\/p>\n\n\n\n