Second-Scale Fabrication of Chang’e-6 Agglutinate-Inspired Lunar Glass

Siqi Zhou; Qi Zhou; Feng Li; Wanpeng Li; Baodong Chen; Yutong Deng; Jiayuan Liu; Hao Wang; Yu Jiang; Zhiqian Lin

doi:10.1016/j.eng.2026.10.006

Engineering ›› :202610006 DOI: 10.1016/j.eng.2026.10.006

research-article

Second-Scale Fabrication of Chang’e-6 Agglutinate-Inspired Lunar Glass

Author information +

History +

PDF (6573KB)

Abstract

pathway for fabricating mechanically robust glass from lunar soil was demonstrated. We established a reliable and accessible proxy for systematic experimental investigation by developing the BH-6 simulant-a material exhibiting high fidelity in terms of mineralogy, major oxide chemistry, and particle size distribution relative to its lunar counterpart. Our results validate that the combination of die compaction and rapid Joule heating can transform the lunar soil simulant into a dense, amorphous, and mechanically robust glass in approximately 60 s. This fabrication time is two orders of magnitude shorter than that required for fabrication via conventional sintering techniques, representing a substantial improvement in processing speed and time efficiency. The resulting glass shows a more homogeneous microstructure than the examined natural agglutinate glass. This, in turn, leads to enhanced and more uniform mechanical properties at the microscale, with a hardness of 8.84 GPa and a Young’s modulus of 106.07 GPa. Despite these promising results, the experiments were limited to small laboratory-scale specimens using simulated lunar soil. Further investigations are needed to evaluate process scalability, energy requirements, macroscale mechanical performance, and long-term durability under lunar conditions. Nevertheless, this study establishes an experimental foundation for rapid, on-demand vitrification of lunar-soil-derived materials and highlights its potential for future lunar ISRU and infrastructure applications.

Keywords

Chang’e-6 / In situ resource utilization / Lunar glass fabrication / Ultrafast Joule heating / Lunar soil simulant

Cite this article

Download citation ▾

Siqi Zhou, Qi Zhou, Feng Li, Wanpeng Li, Baodong Chen, Yutong Deng, Jiayuan Liu, Hao Wang, Yu Jiang, Zhiqian Lin. Second-Scale Fabrication of Chang’e-6 Agglutinate-Inspired Lunar Glass. Engineering 202610006 DOI:10.1016/j.eng.2026.10.006

登录浏览全文

4963

注册一个新账户忘记密码

References

Publishing order | Descend order by publishing year | Descend order by cited within

[1]	He H, Li L, Hu S, Gao Y, Gao L, Zhou Z, et al. Water abundance in the lunar farside mantle. Nature 2025; 643(8071): 366-70.

[2]	He H, Ji J, Zhang Y, Hu S, Lin Y, Hui H, et al. A solar wind-derived water reservoir on the moon hosted by impact glass beads. Nat Geosci 2023; 16(4): 294-300.

[3]	Zeng X, Wu Y, Yu W, Mo B, Wen Y, Zhao X, et al. Unusual Ti minerals on the moon produced by space weathering. Nat Astron 2024; 8(6): 732- 8.

[4]	Yao Y, Wang L, Zhu X, Tu W, Zhou Y, Liu R, et al. Extraterrestrial photosynthesis by Chang’e-5 lunar soil. Joule 2022; 6(5): 1008-14.

[5]	Gupta N, Dawara V, Kumar A, Viswanathan K . Synthetic space bricks from lunar and martian regolith via sintering. Adv Space Res 2024; 74(8): 3902-15.

[6]	Ding M, Chen X, Li Y, Song L, Shi Y, Luo L, et al. Vacuum sintering of the self-developed Chang’e-5 lunar regolith simulant. Constr Build Mater 2024; 438: 137343.

[7]	Jiang Y, Li F, Zhou S, Liu L . Investigating the microscopic, mechanical, and thermal properties of vacuum-sintered BH-1 lunar regolith simulant for lunar in-situ construction. Case Stud Constr Mater 2025; 22: e04132.

[8]	Zhou S, Lin Z, Tao X, Li W, Chen B, Li F, et al. Sintering of Chang’e-5 high-fidelity lunar soil simulant for providing high-strength materials for lunar base construction. Sci China Technol Sci 2025; 68(8): 1820602.

[9]	Zhang X, Liu Y, Zhao S, Song J, Yao W, Wang W, et al. Melting and rapid solidification of lunar regolith particles returned by Chang’e-5 mission. Research 2024; 7: 0486.

[10]	Jiang Y, Zhou Q, Feng Q, Li F, Zhou S . From lunar regolith samples to infrastructure: insights into in-situ construction technologies on the Moon. J Build Eng 2025; 114: 114371.

[11]	Li L, Zhang G, Zhang H, Xiao Y, Zhao S, Song J, et al. Transport of volatiles in agglutinates from lunar regolith of Chang’e-5 mission. Research 2025; 8: 0638.

[12]	Li C, Hu H, Yang MF, Liu J, Zhou Q, Ren X, et al. Nature of the lunar far-side samples returned by the Chang’e-6 mission. Natl Sci Rev 2024; 11(11): nwae328.

[13]	Zeng X, Liu D, Chen Y, Zhou Q, Ren X, Zhang Z, et al. Landing site of the Chang’e-6 lunar farside sample return mission from the Apollo Basin. Nat Astron 2023; 7(10): 1188-97.

[14]	Wang Z, Li Y, Li J, Zong K, She Z, He Q, et al. Chemical compositions of Chang’e-6 lunar soil and substantial addition of noritic crust ejecta from Apollo Basin. Geology 2025; 53(7): 557-61.

[15]	Zhang M, Fa W, Jia B . Provenance and evolution of lunar regolith at the Chang’e-6 sampling site. Nat Astron 2025; 9(6): 813-23.

[16]	Che X, Long T, Nemchin A, Xie S, Qiao L, Li Z, et al. Isotopic and compositional constraints on the source of basalt collected from the lunar farside. Science 2025; 387(6740): 1306-10.

[17]	Zhang QWL, Yang MH, Li QL, Liu Y, Yue ZY, Zhou Q, et al. Lunar farside volcanism 2.8 billion years ago from Chang’e-6 basalts. Nature 2025; 643(8071): 356-60.

[18]	Zhou Q, Yang W, Chu Z, Zhu H, Yang S, Zeng X, et al. Ultra-depleted mantle source of basalts from the South Pole-Aitken Basin. Nature 2025; 643(8071): 371-5.

[19]	Long T, Qian Y, Norman MD, Miljkovic K, Crow C, Head JW, et al. Constraining the formation and transport of lunar impact glasses using the ages and chemical compositions of Chang’e-5 glass beads. Sci Adv 2022; 8(39): eabq2542.

[20]	Wang BW, Zhang QWL, Chen Y, Zhao W, Liu Y, Tang GQ, et al. Returned samples indicate volcanism on the Moon 120 million years ago. Science 2024; 385(6713): 1077-80.

[21]	Chen Z, Zhao Y, Chi X, Yan Y, Shen J, Zou M, et al. Geological timescales’ aging effects of lunar glasses. Sci Adv 2023; 9(45): eadi6086.

[22]	Li C, Hu H, Yang MF, Pei ZY, Zhou Q, Ren X, et al. Characteristics of the lunar samples returned by the Chang’e-5 mission. Natl Sci Rev 2021; 9(2): nwab188.

[23]	Zhao R, Shen L, Xiao D, Chang C, Huang Y, Yu J, et al. Diverse glasses revealed from Chang’e-5 lunar regolith. Natl Sci Rev 2023; 10(12): nwad079.

[24]	Zhang L, Wang CY, Xian HY, Wang J, Zhang YQ, Bao Z, et al. Large magnesium isotopic fractionation in lunar agglutinatic glasses caused by impact-induced chemical diffusion. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 2024; 378: 71-81.

[25]	Sommer C, Straehle C, Köthe U, Hamprecht FA . Ilastik: interactive learning and segmentation toolkit. In: Proceedings of the 2011 IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging: From Nano to Macro; 2011 Mar 30-Apr 02; Chicago, IL, USA. Piscataway: IEEE; 2011. p. 230-3.

[26]	Lasdon LS, Waren AD, Jain A, Ratner M . Design and testing of a generalized reduced gradient code for nonlinear programming. ACM Trans Math Softw 1978; 4(1): 34-50.

[27]	Wang C, Ping W, Bai Q, Cui H, Hensleigh R, Wang R, et al. A general method to synthesize and sinter bulk ceramics in seconds. Science 2020; 368(6490): 521-6.

[28]	Abràmoff MD, Magalhães PJ, Ram SJ . Image processing with ImageJ. Biophoton Int 2004; 11(7): 36-42.

[29]	Lin Z, Zhao X, Wang C, Dong Q, Qian J, Zhang G, et al. Rapid pressureless sintering of glasses. Small 2022; 18(17): e2107951.

[30]	Warren PH . Lunar rock-rain: diverse silicate impact-vapor condensates in an Apollo-14 regolith breccia. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 2008; 72(14): 3562-85.

[31]	Nemchin AA, Norman MD, Grange ML, Zeigler RA, Whitehouse MJ, Muhling JR, et al. U-Pb isotope systematics and impact ages recorded by a chemically diverse population of glasses from an Apollo 14 lunar soil. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 2022; 321: 206-43.

[32]	Yang W, Chen Y, Wang H, Tian HC, Hui H, Xiao Z, et al. Geochemistry of impact glasses in the Chang’e-5 regolith: constraints on impact melting and the petrogenesis of local basalt. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 2022; 335: 183-96.

[33]	Zellner NEB, Spudis PD, Delano JW, Whittet DCB . Impact glasses from the Apollo 14 landing site and implications for regional geology. J Geophys Res Planets 2002; 107(E11): 5102.

[34]	Elkins-Tanton LT, Chatterjee N, Grove TL . Experimental and petrological constraints on lunar differentiation from the Apollo 15 green picritic glasses. Meteorit Planet Sci 2003; 38(4): 515-27.

[35]	Wentworth SJ, McKay DS, Lindstrom DJ, Basu A, Martinez RR, Bogard DD, et al. Apollo 12 ropy glasses revisited. Meteoritics 1994; 29(3): 323-33.

[36]	Wenk H, Joswig W, Tagai T, Korekawa M, Smith BK . The average structure of An_62-66 labradorite. Am Mineral 1980; 65(1-2): 81-95.

[37]	Peacor DR. Refinement of the crystal structure of a pyroxene of formula M_IIM_III(Si_1.5Al_0.5)O₆ . Am Mineral 1967; 52(1-2): 31-41.

[38]	Domeneghetti MC, Tazzoli V, Boffa Ballaran T, Molin GM . Orthopyroxene from the Serra de Magé meteorite: a structure-refinement procedure for a Pbca phase coexisting with a C2/c exsolved phase. Am Mineral 1996; 81(7-8): 842-6.

[39]	Wechsler BA, Prewitt CT . Crystal structure of ilmenite (FeTiO₃) at high temperature and at high pressure. Am Mineral 1984; 69(1-2): 176-85.

[40]	Birle J, Gibbs G, Moore P, Smith JV . Crystal structures of natural olivines. Am Mineral 1968; 53(5-6): 807-24.

[41]	Levien L, Prewitt CT, Weidner DJ. Structure and elastic properties of quartz at pressure. Am Mineral 1980; 65(9-10): 920-30.

[42]	Su B, Chen Y, Wang Z, Zhang D, Chen H, Gou S, et al. South Pole-Aitken massive impact 4.25 billion years ago revealed by Chang’e-6 samples. Natl Sci Rev 2025; 12(6): nwaf103.

[43]	Britt DT, Cannon KM, Donaldson Hanna K, Hogancamp J, Poch O, Beck P, et al. Simulated asteroid materials based on carbonaceous chondrite mineralogies. Meteorit Planet Sci 2019; 54(9): 2067-82.

[44]	Metzger PT, Britt DT, Covey S, Schultz C, Cannon KM, Grossman KD, et al. Measuring the fidelity of asteroid regolith and cobble simulants. Icarus 2019; 321: 632-46.

[45]	Teng Y, Wang S, Cui Y, Pang Y . Influence of loading conditions on mechanical behaviors of lunar regolith simulant WHU-1 based on Chang’e-5 returned samples. Acta Geotech 2025; 20(5): 2327-44.

[46]	Ruan R, Yang W, Zhang D, Tian HC, Zhao Q, Zou Y, et al. A moderate-Ti lunar mare soil simulant: IGG-01. Acta Astronaut 2024; 224: 148-60.

[47]	Xu G, Li Y, Pang R, Chen Z, Ren X. Constitutive model analysis of Chang’e-5 simulated lunar regolith solidified bodies under compression. Case Stud Constr Mater 2024; 21: e03704.

[48]	Zou Y, Wu H, Chai S, Yang W, Ruan R, Zhao Q . Development and characterization of the PolyU-1 lunar regolith simulant based on Chang’e-5 returned samples. Int J Min Sci Technol 2024; 34(9): 1317-26.

[49]	Wang H, Zhou S, Zhang X, Zhou Q, Jiang Y, Deng Y, et al. Particle morphology controls bulk mechanical behavior of far-side lunar regolith from Chang’e-6 samples and deep Learning. Research 2026; 9: 1064.

[50]	Nie J, Wang S, Cui Y, et al. Analyzing the mechanical heterogeneity of the Chang’e-5 lunar breccia clast: implications for the elastic modulus of lunar rock. J Geophys Res-Planets 2025; 130(6): e2024JE008849.

[51]	Gualtieri T, Bandyopadhyay A . Compressive deformation of porous lunar regolith. Mater Lett 2015; 143: 276-8.

[52]	Meurisse A, Beltzung JC, Kolbe M, Cowley A, Sperl M . Influence of mineral composition on sintering lunar regolith. J Aerosp Eng 2017; 30(4): 04017014.

[53]	Fateri M, Sottong R, Kolbe M, Gamer J, Sperl M, Cowley A . Thermal properties of processed lunar regolith simulant. Int J Appl Ceram Technol 2019; 16(6): 2419-28.

[54]	Han W, Ding L, Cai L, Zhu J, Luo H, Tang T . Sintering of HUST-1 lunar regolith simulant. Constr Build Mater 2022; 324: 126655.

[55]	Warren P, Raju N, Ebrahimi H, Krsmanovic M, Raghavan S, Kapat J, et al. Effect of sintering temperature on microstructure and mechanical properties of molded martian and lunar regolith. Ceram Int 2022; 48(23, Part B): 35825-33.

[56]	Li J, Thakur A, Li Y, Yang M, Yuxiang G, Linke S, et al. Phase formation and mechanical properties of graphene reinforced regolith composites. Mater Today Commun 2023; 35: 106112.

[57]	Ginés-Palomares JC, Fateri M, Schubert T, de Peindray d’Ambelle L, Simon S, Gluth GJG, et al. Material aspects of sintering of EAC-1A lunar regolith simulant. Sci Rep 2023; 13(1): 23053.