My Research Poster from the Missouri S&T INternship
Gaining Real Experience
The summer between my junior and senior year I was fortunate to have the amazing opportunity to work on a NASA Big Idea grant at Missouri S&T under Professor Han, the head of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering departments, and Jacob Ortega, the graduate student leading the grant.
The grant was designed to prove a theory that would take moon rocks (Anorthite) and turn it into Aluminum so that we could potentially build on the moon. Right now this process would be used to create parts, but theoretically, it could be scaled one day to build structures.
It showed encouraging results and at the point I returned home it was considered successful, which was even more exciting.
Learn More
I was honored to be selected as one of six students selected from across the nation for Missouri S&T's SPARC program (Summer Program Aspiring Research Community).
NASA Big Idea Challenge
PICTURES OF OUR WORK IN THE LAB
Getting Suited Up
We had to operate with high pressure and corrosive chemicals so safety first!
Moon Rocks
Anorthosite is made from a material found in abundance on the moon but rare on earth.
Vessel
This is the vessel which holds the mixture at high pressure and temperature .
Mixed Solution
We mixed a solution of the anorthite and the hydrochloric acid.
Filtering
We filtered out the solids (silica) from the aluminum rich liquid.
Heating & Stirring Process
In the process of stirring the mixture of aluminum rich liquid after filtering the sand.
Solid Substance
After the heating and stirring we have a solid substance.
Alumina
Heating the substance at 1200 C to decompose the sample and end up with Alumina.