The Lab Making Fake Moondust For Artemis

NASA's Artemis missions have generated a new interest in lunar simulant for testing our future spacecraft and equiptment on the harsh surface of the moon. I visited the University of Central Florida's Exolith Lab to find out how we're making LHS.
Check out Exolith at: spaceresourcetech.com/
--------- II ---------
0:00 That's no moon
0:36 We need better simulants
3:11 Make the moon
6:41 Bake the moon
10:26 Results
This video was brought to you by our awesome Patrons at / atomicfrontier . You can also buy me a coffee at ko-fi.com/atomicfrontier.
--------- II ---------
Hi, I'm James. I explore the world looking for engineering stories which explore complex issues in interesting ways. I studied Mechanical Engineering from the University of Western Australia and am currently undertaking a PhD in space robotics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
My website is www.atomicfrontieronline.com, I occasionally tweet from / atomicfrontiers , and you can join the Atomic Frontier Discord server to talk about cool engineering stuff at / discord . You can help support my work and see some cool behind-the-scenes content at / atomicfrontier or ko-fi.com/atomicfrontier.

[@AtomicFrontier]

Three months later and I'm still finding moon dust in my trousers!

[@LeifNelandDk]

I once read this: "she found sex on the beach highly overrated. She still had sand coming out of her private parts three lovers later" ;-)

[@lazymass]

Fun fact: the explosion in 5:00 wouldn't look like that, mushroom cloud happens only in atmosphere, since it's created by hot air raising up, it wouldn't be mushroom on the moon.

[@dadutchboy2]

@@lazymass moon mushrooms 😵‍💫

[@lazymass]

@@dadutchboy2 😵‍💫🍄

[@capatainnemo]

@@dadutchboy2 im sure ive eaten some of those in the past

[@fireaza]

"The bean counters told me we literally couldn't buy 7 dollars of moon rocks, much less 70 million. Bought 'em anyway, ground 'em up, mixed 'em into a gel. And guess what? Ground up moon rocks are pure poison! I am deathly Ill." -Cave Johnson

[@denifnaf5874]

**Conversion gell falling in the background**

[@tommydoez]

@@denifnaf5874 You can stand under it with your unprotected skin being dosed and your vision even whitening.... probably with no ill effects later

[@MrJakson112]

???????

[@luckyblockyoshi]

@@MrJakson112 portal

[@jacobbaumgardner3406]

Literally heard this earlier today. 😂

[@SupremeRuleroftheWorld]

4:45 its amazing how that meteor missed that building and parking lot by just inches.

[@sebastiangudino9377]

Underrated

[@bankrupt3am932]

wow

[@blindleader42]

Proof that space is fake.

[@DeletedDevilDeletedAngel]

@@blindleader42 joke or seriousness?

[@blindleader42]

@@DeletedDevilDeletedAngel😁 I considered writing a long screed about how the crater is really just a failed iron mine, that the owners decided to make a tourist attraction to recoup some of their investment. But, the comments seem to show that this channel doesn't attract the nut cases like a lot of other science channels do. So I figured no one (since there few if any science deniers here) would have any doubt about the joke.

[@thames_music1219]

Vsauce, SmarterEveryDay, Veritasium, Tom Scott, Alpha Phoenix, Steve Mould, and now Atomic Frontier. His content is already up there with the greats after being on the platform only a fraction of the time.

[@frantaspacek]

if by fraction you you mean something like 7/10 then yes

[@thames_music1219]

@@frantaspacek more so in the consistent upload realm and/or amount of experience and videos produced :)

[@BlueBloxRoblox]

V S A U C E

[@dcfromthev]

Who the heck is Tom Scott?

[@bagelgeuse5736]

@@dcfromthev kzbin.info/www/bejne/fWGVZqKurrypZqc&ab_channel=TomScott

[@hrand5793]

I’m very impressed with the increasing budget of this show. The trip to the moon just for that intro (and some cheese I presume) could not have been cheap!

[@blindleader42]

Nah. Wallace loaned him his rocket after Grommit got it back in working order. The whole trip cost less than taking the Wensleydale Voyager bus from Gayle to Wensley.

[@niallsb]

Choosing to shoot the simulant creation process in a white shirt was either the most deliberate decision or James' biggest oversight to date. Fantastic video.

[@kateapple1]

I don’t get it. What does the white T-shirt have to do with anything

[@danteseleniumcaelo5287]

@@kateapple1White clothes tend to show dirt and stains far more than other colors.

[@denver9529]

7:20 mate thats not baking thats a particle accelerator from the hit game Satisfactory

[@samuellove9619]

I know clickbait is good for metrics, but i was legit concerned 'moon landing was faked content' made it onto my feed. Im glad to have encountered this channel.

[@Drummr88]

Yep. You'd hate to catch even a momentary, peripheral glance at the obvious truth. Can't afford to have your myopic, dogmatic faith in "MuH sCiEnCe" challenged. Hahaha, pathetic.

[@CerealExperimentsMizuki]

So this channel and video isn't something that tries to prove that thr Moon and the Moon Landing are fake?? I hope not becsuse I don't want to waste my time on trash like conspiracy theories.

[@Apollo13Mission]

Lol same, I don't wanna be dumbed out but this video is a miracle.

[@Apollo13Mission]

@@mikesmithz how does that indicate it's fake? There are still a lot of missing and deleted images and videos of historical events like 9/11 and Tiananmen massacre

[@Apollo13Mission]

@@mikesmithz What? Nothing is preserved forever, nothing is fake in the moon landing all because something original footage is deleted, NASA have recovered videos of different missions ranging from Apollo 8 and all the way to Apollo 17, these happened during the space race, don't you think they would gain something if they realized that the Saturn V and Lunar Module didn't made it the moon? Also Epstein, I don't know that conspiracy theory, but why do you think that he didn't kill himself.

[@poletooke4691]

Shocked that KZbin fed me a video posted 49 minutes ago by a KZbinr Im not even subscribed to, but it wasn't wrong - I love it. Great video, keep it up!

[@NNZaero4066]

Oh My God! You used the Satisfactory particle accelerator in baking part! I'm So Happy!

[@FianFreigeist]

Sir, you must change your title to "How to Make The Moon"! No seriously, great Video mate! It's just the right lengh for the info you have put in, great sceneries at the craters and, without a doubt, your quality improved with this video again! Keep up the beautiful work^^

[@CristinaAlmarazLopez]

"Rocks the size of small rocks" top tier 0:47

[@Fs3i]

Were there no health concerns or anything that warranted wearing a mask? Sharp, fine particles don't seem great for your lungs, from what I remember, so I'm genuinly curious

[@DampeS8N]

Silicosis usually requires years of exposure

[@ThePCguy17]

I accidentally misread this as "How to fake the moon landings," and expected a very different video. But honestly, I'm not disappointed. This is much more interesting.

[@maximianocoelho4496]

It reminds me of my experiments on the Geotechnics Laboratory for my course in engineering...Its nice to see advanced application of methods to advance our knowledge of space, I wish space geology becomes a thing in the future, totally worth going back to college to update my references.

[@troysvisualarts]

The title made me first think, oh god is this one of those how the moon landing was fake conspiracy videos, but on watching glad it's not and it's incredibly informative on how moon dust can be simulated on Earth, learned a lot from this video thanks for sharing!

[@Lithrus_]

Great video as always James. Really appreciate the subtitles as well, so many bigger channels don't even use them. FYI, your description has some typos: you wrote "Artimus" instead of "Artemis" and "interrest" instead of "interest"

[@b33thr33kay]

Also "crude" instead of "crewed", and "pretty short" instead of "pretty sure". But I agree, thank you for adding subtitles!

[@AtomicFrontier]

Thanks! Should be mostly fixed!

[@Keovar]

Sounds like auto-incorrect or voice-to-text errors. AI still can’t quite replace a human who pays attention to detail. Imagine Terminator 2050, in which the only way to tell humans and secret killer androids apart is to catch the ‘bots using the wrong homophones. Bet all the people who currently can’t tell the difference between “apart” and “a part” get their sh¡t straightened out pretty quick.

[@Axodus]

@@Keovar Unfortunately humans lose a lot of their ability to discern good and bad grammar when in life-threatening situations.

[@Keovar]

@@Axodus - Some humans don't have the ability to discern good and bad grammar under any situation, but that's the point of the joke. Having a poor understanding of the difference between "a part" and "apart" would be a terrible shibboleth because there would be too many false positives.

[@Veriflon88]

Great storytelling and great content, as always. Also, good job on rotoscoping the intro

[@randomviewer3494]

I think Tom Scott introduced us to your channel, and man am I grateful for that. Your videos are great!

[@custardpanda6209]

Amazing stuff! Love your format & presentation style - keep up the grind!

[@benmcreynolds8581]

What seems the biggest challenge is the amount of static charges causing the sharp dust to stick to & destroy the lunar space suits. It would take very unique circumstances to mimic the conditions of that static sticky sandpaper like issues..

[@TheReaverOfDarkness]

My very first thoughts on the footage in the beginning: That looks too much like Earth minerals. I don't know what it is, but it just doesn't look like lunar regolith to me. Also there is no sunshield on the astronaut's faceplate and the suit isn't pressurized. And the light, though bright enough, looks like a spectrum that isn't quite a match to the Sun. That one was harder to spot, though. And now I will watch the video!

[@TheReaverOfDarkness]

Aha! It IS Earth minerals, and the light spectrum looks wrong because it is altered by Earth's atmosphere! (via Rayleigh Scattering) But I suppose that means necessarily that the lighting was not bright enough to simulate sunlight on the lunar surface. Whoops! Strike one for me!

[@harold2718]

The particle accelerator was very Satisfactory

[@SupremeRuleroftheWorld]

that broke me a bit. that can only means James is one of us.

[@karicallegra8194]

Came to say something similiar... but you did it WAY better. ONE OF US, ONE OF US

[@emmashafer4893]

Great video!! I went to UCF for my B.S. in aerospace engineering, and I did some undergraduate research in the physics (specifically planetary science) department. It’s nice to see UCF in a video!

[@robo8478]

This video takes on a funny character when you read/hear stimulant instead of simulant when you are half asleep. I look up and was like what? Then read sub title as we need stimulants then had meltdown for a second. Was confused for a minute there😂😂😂

[@HistoryOnPaper]

Now the flat earthers are going to use this as proof now

[@GoombaNL]

Fascinating video, never really thought about this but it's so cool to know :D Honestly I feel like "How To Make Moon Dust" would be a more accurate title and would've gotten me to click faster cuz this is fascinating haha Loving the visuals, graphics and the jokes :) The quality of this channel and the way you explain things and break things down are incredibly good As for feedback, perhaps something that I feel like most videos could use is some way of tracking the current topic visually, be it through "steps" on the left side for example, or a short vsauce type word "card" to just break it up That way it'd be a bit easier to digest in one go

[@NATESOR]

Appreciate your content, I hope you had a lot of sun screen on! It looks brutally bright out there.

[@Alex-dx2lp]

I just graduated from UCF and had no clue we made LHS! Very cool stuff, great vid and informative as always ❤

[@perhapsyes2493]

The chosen image of a particle accelerator is ... Satisfactory.

[@Synystr7]

I'm not on the Moon... I'M ON MARS! Top 10 anime twist endings.

[@danielhale1]

From the icon I briefly worried that you were becoming a moon landing denier, haha! But I know your channel too well to worry for long. Thanks for the cool video! Hopefully NASA can figure out how to deal with the damage and clinging problems caused by real moon dust. That stuff is terrible, as is Mars dust.

[@AtomicFrontier]

Haha, getting a couple of conspiracy theorists in the comments which is hilarious! Glad you liked the video! Yup, they've got some cool prototypes

[@francisros9115]

Bro is the new Tom Scott

[@MundustAlpha]

clicked to see how do i do CGI moon. wasnt expecting this. wasnt disapointed.

[@KalleLeskinen]

A great video once again with great locations and animations

[@xaver1069]

Love the Satisfactory reference xD

[@unironicallyunfunny]

anyone else notice the satisfactory particle accelerator?

[@ripvanwinkle5647]

When you order everyday astronaut from walmart Just joking, very informative video keep up the good work

[@Carhill]

Seeing you casually handle the regolith simulant without a respirator towards the end of the video had me nervous.

[@unitrader403]

Your Intro Spacesuit looks familiar.. but well, it isnt everyday that you meet an astronaut.

[@harutoraa]

9:28 The particle accelerator from satisfactory is golden

[@kylesmith4202]

It's about time you released another video I was just thinking the other day is he gonna release another video. Thanks for another video. If that fake moon dust is anything like drywall dust they can keep it 😂

[@Concreteblockmachineug]

Presentation and explanation of knowledge is very understandable..🤝🤝

[@that_tabby]

My first impression is that a white shirt was a bad choice for this factory visit... but on second thought same can be said to the space suits that were used on the moon, so I guess spot on!

[@RCSVirginia]

To hear "Keep looking up" at the end of the video brought back fond memories of Jack Horkheimer.

[@ConWolfDoubleO7]

Amazing video as always James!

[@Harry_Fullick]

incredible work dude, quality stuff.

[@linecraftman3907]

I was suprised to learn how affordable the stuff it (45$ per kg), you could absolutely buy some to make a very accurate diorama at home, or just play around with it.

[@bubbleaquas4062]

You're using the Satisfactory particular acceletor at 9:24 no wonder this is taking so long.

[@Volvith]

Fun fact: That hammer mill is basically a scaled down replica of a car shredder. ... Like, way scaled down. _No i'm serious car shredders are some of the most terrifying machines i've seen in my life._

[@Z38_US]

It's a machine built specifically to destroy cars entirely, how can that not be terrifying lmao

[@protheu5]

That explosion on the moon: it wouldn't have a mushroom cloud, there is no atmosphere for it to form.

[@carn109]

Amazing to see the process behind making moon dust simulant

[@glasgowmcglasgowfacevotegr7049]

This looks like a TV show/BBC property - great production quality

[@iliqiliev]

Great video as always

[@therealspeedwagon1451]

I don’t like moon regolith. It’s course it’s rough it’s irritating, and it gets everywhere.

[@corruptedname8839]

9:23 that's the satisfactory loops at the bottom. In-game they are called particle accelerators used to make plutonium from spent uranium. Dont know why it here

[@doesntmatter7710]

Dear Atomic Frontier. You mentioned that the simulant isn't supposed to make contact with moisture after it's been desiccated. Yet the video shows simulant being exposed to regular earth atmosphere. Was that only for demonstration purposes? Are actual experiments with simulant conducted under controlled atmospheres? (Such as low pressure & ~0 moisture)

[@AtomicFrontier]

It depends on what the test is for. Ideally you'd have it desaccated for something like material construction or life support system interactions with dust... but for basic first-pass maechanical testing of a rover or as plant food it doesn't matter as much. Of course, making and maintaining a controlled atmosphere is a pain so typically people stick to the "desiccate only if needed" approach.

[@Draxis32]

Your channel is incredibly underrated

[@devbud]

truly a great video

[@HaiDefinitions]

well, how do you get rid of it after walking outside? and could you use some magnetic shielding? would be a bit annoying to have to cough the whole time you spend on moon.

[@ronrozen2105]

Fascinating, thank you!

[@TheWorldsOkayestUSMarine]

3:51 That's a really good simulation of how that likely occurred.

[@Systox25]

The satisfactory particle accelerator making moon dust ^^

[@the20thDoctor]

Excellent content. ✌️

[@jemmerllast8492]

Dr. James Carter was another important figure in moon regolith development and production. He was sent some material from the first Apollo mission by NASA and helped analyze its composition! Years later, he (plus still existant company) was contracted to produce material to supply Houston, like the Florida company (which probably supplies Kennedy). He passed away a couple years ago, before I got to meet him personally, unfortunately. Some of his simulant is used by the university he taught at for their graduate ring ceremony!

[@TheMinihunter]

I spot a Satisfactory reference.

[@thatprogramer]

Very good video!!!

[@jozefnovak7750]

Super! Thank you very much!

[@smellthel]

Awesome video!

[@JamesNewton]

I'd be very curious to know how later moon missions managed the dust problem?

[@locrain7]

use those for portal surfaces

[@pufferfish9166]

This guy could probably make aperture science real. He even feels like cave johnson. He even has the same logo

[@ff-zn9oe]

what shoes are you wearingf in the first clip they look so freaking cool

[@SuprSBG]

9:25 hold up, that’s the satisfactory particle accelerator at the bottom!

[@xpndblhero5170]

I want a bag of this for a little zen garden.... 😊

[@jonathancrowder3424]

How in the actual did I not find this channel before today

[@CptnKase]

respect for the tintin rocket @1:24 hehehe..

[@chrisgaming9567]

When I saw the title I thought this video would be... quite different

[@tilnation14]

9:23 I see you, Satisfactory's Particle Accelerator

[@n1vg]

I've still got a jar of JSC-1A around here. Someone gave me a 5-gallon bucket of the stuff reclaimed from a project. I ended up passing most of it on to a friend at JPL since the stuff is hard to come by now. I keep meaning to try sintering it. For now I just get to show it off as my genuine imitation moon dust.

[@Infinity-ty1pl]

Cool video

[@swatbdaim1888]

hey, does the moon have these types of rocks? ive just seen an "even" surface when looking at nasa footage. what does these type of rock formation accur? and it would be able to happen on the moon?

[@originaldude8686]

That Thea vs Earth animation blows me away. Everything just looks like a liquid in that scale

[@jonathandevries2828]

good one!

[@user-re4jf2sb4q]

Um, can we get a guide for your filming locations please?

[@tmantactical]

I look away from the screen for a second and suddenly your at my school's reflecting pond 😅

[@richard--s]

How to fake the footsteps that we see on the landing sites from lunar orbit? "lunar landing sites"

[@padraigmaclochlainn8866]

You can make glass by leaving metal rod in the sand at beaches in a lightning storm, if they're struck just dig around the sand there will be chunks of cloudy green obsidian like glass.

[@YMandarin]

Now I'm excited about seeing a starship on simulated moon dust

[@lazymass]

Wow, that was one giant leap for baking kind! 🚀🍰

[@cyrilio]

Don't forget about the 'glass' made by volcanoes. They might even be the where life on earth originated.

[@Zippy_TF2]

Cave Johnson: IMA NEED THAT

[@christopherbernhardt]

CAN SCIENCE CONTENT CREATORS STOP COMING TO THE TWO PLACES I'VE LIVED?!??! Central Florida and Tallahassee, lol Great content :)

[@IamProFish]

Nice video

[@skatalyst00]

Wonder who else notices the funny Moon pic at the end. You quickly realize that this is a composite of at least 4 different Apollo pics. The Earth was directly overhead at the landing sites so it'd never appear on the horizon, for example. Animating the astronaut is a nice little touch. With the ease of photo editing now, you actually could fake photos of a Moon landing in a way they simply couldn't in the 60's, just another of endless examples of the foolishness of hoaxers believing that it was possible then.

[@NikoDood]

Correction: You keep saying that Anthracite is one of the minerals that makes up the moon's surface. I believe you actually meant Andesite since Anthracite is a type of coal and is only found on Earth, whereas Andesite is a common igneous rock.

[@cameronwebster6866]

A label at 8:03 says "anorthosite"

[@bitmapcube4799]

yeah, its actually anorthosite. its a anothite rich igneous rock. there's just an error in the subtitles.

[@nitehawk86]

Maybe this is why America is going back to the moon. :P

[@Keovar]

@@nitehawk86 - Even if there were any _fossil_ fuels in the moon, it would be far cheaper to go completely solar than to ship coal from the lunar surface.

[@filonin2]

@@bitmapcube4799 No, he says anthracite. His script and the subs are wrong; the label on screen is correct.

[@alexlandherr]

At 1:14, you forgot the obligatory folded arms and excited tone when saying “Cheese!”.

[@petersmythe6462]

The moon's surface is not made of sand, clay, or cheese, but basically pulverized broken glass and impact-sharpened rock. It's like the most abrasive grit you can possibly think of.

[@_kett2164]

Is it a good portal conductor?

[@Zippy_TF2]

This

[@desert123100]

4:39 "unexpected" touch :)