High-Energy Detonation Based Lunar Regolith Simulation for Resource Utilization

As international lunar exploration shifts from mainly understanding the Moon to equally prioritizing its utilization, the requirement for highly similar lunar regolith simulants has grown. Current simulants, produced mainly by mechanical crushing and sieving, reproduce mechanical properties but lack space-weathered microstructures. However, this absence results in significant discrepancies in critical properties such as thermal conductivity and adsorption–desorption behavior, which undermine the reliability of ground-based resource utilization tests. To address this issue, this paper proposes a new preparation method for lunar regolith simulants, which simulates the micrometeorite impact process by utilizing the instantaneous high temperature, pressure, and high-velocity impact generated from the detonation of high-energy explosives in a sealed container. Preliminary experiments confirm that the method produces agglutinates, glass spherules, and porous structures resembling those in lunar regolith. The thermal conductivity of the modified simulant decreases significantly, approaching that of lunar regolith. Further refinement of the process, supported by quantitative 3D characterization, will enable the production of even more similar simulants, providing a reliable material foundation for lunar exploration, in situ resource utilization, and lunar construction activities.