A National Science Week event.

As we get ever closer to a future where humans live on the Moon and Mars, developing technologies to support the extra-terrestrial lifestyle is of increasing importance.  In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) is an especially prominent strategy to use the local materials available in space, rather than transporting them from Earth. The most abundant local resource on the Moon – the lunar dust, or lunar regolith – is rich in oxides, and Swinburne is leading the way in developing technology to make use of these oxides to make ceramics and metals.

Join us for an exciting presentation on the groundbreaking research conducted by the Extra-Terrestrial Processing Group at Swinburne, whose aim is to ensure a future where we can extract, refine, and manufacture ceramic and metal products directly on the lunar surface with minimal reliance on Earth.

Speakers

Geoff Brooks is a Professor of Engineering at Swinburne. His background is in Extractive Metallurgy and Sustainable metal production. Geoff and his co-workers have worked extensively on the fundamentals of steel, aluminium and magnesium production, winning several major international awards for this work. He has also been busy in In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) and Dark Matter research in recent times and heads up the Extra-Terrestrial Processing Group at Swinburne. Geoff is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and recently won the Bessemer Gold Medal for his contribution to the international steel industry. He is currently in his 43rd season of Hockey and enjoys playing his Cigar Box guitar very loudly.

Belinda Rich is a PhD student within the Swinburne Extra-Terrestrial Processing Group, also known as the "lunatics". Her research focuses on investigating potential casting methods for manufacturing aluminium wire on the lunar surface. She has a Master's in Materials Engineering from University of Birmingham, UK, and has previously worked for the European Space Agency developing new concepts for lunar habitats. She has been known to talk about human space exploration at every opportunity.

Audience

All ages. Suited for high school and up.