When ancient craft meets deep space | Josh Simpson | TEDxBoston

Quick Overview

Glass artist Josh Simpson discusses his decades-long work creating glass art inspired by cosmology and space travel, culminating in a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) funded study to use lunar regolith and solar power to 3D print large, transparent habitat spheres on the Moon.

Key Points: Josh Simpson has been a glass artist for over 50 years, focusing his work on themes of cosmology, astrophysics, and space travel. He collaborated with architect Martin Bermudez on a NASA NIAC concept study to build lunar habitats using local resources. The core concept involves using microwave energy to melt lunar regolith (which is about 50% silica) and flux it with calcium and magnesium to create glass. The process involves blowing molten lunar glass into large, spherical enclosures (habitats) that protect inhabitants from the Moon's extreme temperature swings (-250°F to +250°F) and radiation. The resulting glass sphere provides structural integrity, thermal insulation, and allows for natural light exposure, unlike dark soda-lime glass which contains iron that causes a green tint. The proposed habitat design is a multi-story vertical structure inside the sphere, featuring living spaces, civic areas, and farming areas, all powered by solar arrays. Simpson references the extreme environment of the Moon, noting that without a spacesuit, exposure results in instant death due to vacuum and temperature extremes.

Context: Josh Simpson, a glass artist with over 50 years of experience, presents his ambitious concept for creating permanent human habitats on the Moon using in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). This concept, which won a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) study award, aims to turn lunar dust (regolith) into large, transparent glass spheres that can shield future colonists from the harsh lunar environment, including extreme temperature fluctuations and radiation.

Detailed Analysis

Josh Simpson, a glass artist specializing in themes related to cosmology and space travel, describes his NIAC-funded project to build self-repairing glass habitats on the Moon using lunar regolith. He explains that lunar dust is approximately 50% silica, the primary ingredient for glass, along with calcium and magnesium. The process involves using microwaves to melt the regolith and flux it into a liquid state, which is then blown into large, spherical structures, similar to how glass is traditionally blown. Simpson notes that unlike terrestrial soda-lime glass, which turns green due to iron content in the sand, the lunar glass created from this specific regolith composition would be clear, allowing for natural light inside the habitat. The proposed structure is a giant sphere enclosing a multi-tiered, vertical habitat core designed to minimize structural density while maximizing functional and social spaces, including living quarters, farming areas, and civic plazas. This habitat offers robust thermal insulation against the Moon's extreme day/night temperature swings (a swing of almost 500 degrees Fahrenheit) and protection from micrometeorite impacts and radiation. The presentation concludes with visualizations of these massive, self-sustaining lunar habitats thriving under the stars, fulfilling humanity's drive to explore and settle beyond Earth.