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Answer: Not really. Martian regolith may be heated with microwaves. Considering this “easy” is a stretch. The two most common components of regolith are certainly not “easily” heated with microwaves.

According to https://labs.seprosystems.com/what-happens-when-you-microwave-rocks ,

“Some rocks, like those made of silica, are microwave transparent. And so the microwaves will pass through … For other materials that are highly magnetic, the materials are too conductive and microwaves will be reflected. However, materials with semi-conducting properties, such as sulfides and different metal oxides, heat very well in response to microwaves. Because ores are typically composed of different phases with different microwave properties, some phases heat while others do not.” Blockquote

Martian regolith is mostly composed of silica (it’s concentration is divided by 10 in the graph below)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_soil

So, the major component of regolith is silica, which is transparent to microwaves. Bad news for a Martian microwave smelter. According to https://space.nss.org/settlement/nasa/spaceresvol3/appendixa.htm, impurities may improve absorption above that of pure silica material.

The next must common component is ferrous oxide. According to https://web.p.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=10735623&AN=61265244&h=c5LLkiVb5SNo61U16vCnYDBo2AgaeZe6ZvAlLM2cmRk3jQmOgeXNA9rKWpUfjgm0JXRRgjdmjB04Jd6E4nZlEw%3d%3d&crl=c&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d10735623%26AN%3d61265244 ferrous oxide absorbs microwaves poorly until heated to 550-1100*C

Bottom line: the minerals which make up the bulk of Martian regolith are poor absorbers of microwaves. A work-around would be to heat the regolith “conventionally” with direct solar thermal energy before turning on the microwave oven. This would bring the ferrous oxide up to a temperature at which it could absorb the microwaves. But if you need to build a solar thermal smelter, why not let it do the whole job? Solar panels, energy storage and microwave generators seem overly complex if direct solar thermal can do the job.

Addendum: This article https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228760044_Microwave_processing_of_lunar_soil on lunar regolith explains that FeO has been converted to metallic (reduced) Fe in the top few mm of the Lunar regolith. This was done by protons in solar radiation. This Fe is what allows Lunar regolith to absorb microwaves. Martian regolith would be exposed to lower levels of radiation and Martian wind may agitate the surface enough that significant levels of metallic Fe does not accumulate without first oxidizing in the scant atmosphere. Although there is very little oxygen in Mars atmosphere, there seems to be enough to oxidize surface minerals.

Answer: Not really. Martian regolith may be heated with microwaves. Considering this “easy” is a stretch. The two most common components of regolith are certainly not “easily” heated with microwaves.

According to https://labs.seprosystems.com/what-happens-when-you-microwave-rocks ,

“Some rocks, like those made of silica, are microwave transparent. And so the microwaves will pass through … For other materials that are highly magnetic, the materials are too conductive and microwaves will be reflected. However, materials with semi-conducting properties, such as sulfides and different metal oxides, heat very well in response to microwaves. Because ores are typically composed of different phases with different microwave properties, some phases heat while others do not.” Blockquote

Martian regolith is mostly composed of silica (it’s concentration is divided by 10 in the graph below)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_soil

So, the major component of regolith is silica, which is transparent to microwaves. Bad news for a Martian microwave smelter. Impurities may improve absorption above that of pure silica material.

The next must common component is ferrous oxide. Ferrous oxide absorbs microwaves poorly until heated to 550-1100*C

Bottom line: the minerals which make up the bulk of Martian regolith are poor absorbers of microwaves. A work-around would be to heat the regolith “conventionally” with direct solar thermal energy before turning on the microwave oven. This would bring the ferrous oxide up to a temperature at which it could absorb the microwaves. But if you need to build a solar thermal smelter, why not let it do the whole job? Solar panels, energy storage and microwave generators seem overly complex if direct solar thermal can do the job.

Addendum: This article on lunar regolith explains that FeO has been converted to metallic (reduced) Fe in the top few mm of the Lunar regolith. This was done by protons in solar radiation. This Fe is what allows Lunar regolith to absorb microwaves. Martian regolith would be exposed to lower levels of radiation and Martian wind may agitate the surface enough that significant levels of metallic Fe does not accumulate without first oxidizing in the scant atmosphere. Although there is very little oxygen in Mars atmosphere, there seems to be enough to oxidize surface minerals.

Answer: Not really. Martian regolith may be heated with microwaves. Considering this “easy” is a stretch. The two most common components of regolith are certainly not “easily” heated with microwaves.

According to https://labs.seprosystems.com/what-happens-when-you-microwave-rocks ,

“Some rocks, like those made of silica, are microwave transparent. And so the microwaves will pass through … For other materials that are highly magnetic, the materials are too conductive and microwaves will be reflected. However, materials with semi-conducting properties, such as sulfides and different metal oxides, heat very well in response to microwaves. Because ores are typically composed of different phases with different microwave properties, some phases heat while others do not.” Blockquote

Martian regolith is mostly composed of silica (it’s concentration is divided by 10 in the graph below)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_soil

So, the major component of regolith is silica, which is transparent to microwaves. Bad news for a Martian microwave smelter. According to https://space.nss.org/settlement/nasa/spaceresvol3/appendixa.htm, impurities may improve absorption above that of pure silica material.

The next must common component is ferrous oxide. According to https://web.p.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=10735623&AN=61265244&h=c5LLkiVb5SNo61U16vCnYDBo2AgaeZe6ZvAlLM2cmRk3jQmOgeXNA9rKWpUfjgm0JXRRgjdmjB04Jd6E4nZlEw%3d%3d&crl=c&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d10735623%26AN%3d61265244 ferrous oxide absorbs microwaves poorly until heated to 550-1100*C

Bottom line: the minerals which make up the bulk of Martian regolith are poor absorbers of microwaves. A work-around would be to heat the regolith “conventionally” with direct solar thermal energy before turning on the microwave oven. This would bring the ferrous oxide up to a temperature at which it could absorb the microwaves. But if you need to build a solar thermal smelter, why not let it do the whole job? Solar panels, energy storage and microwave generators seem overly complex if direct solar thermal can do the job.

Answer: Not really. Martian regolith may be heated with microwaves. Considering this “easy” is a stretch. The two most common components of regolith are certainly not “easily” heated with microwaves.

According to https://labs.seprosystems.com/what-happens-when-you-microwave-rocks ,

“Some rocks, like those made of silica, are microwave transparent. And so the microwaves will pass through … For other materials that are highly magnetic, the materials are too conductive and microwaves will be reflected. However, materials with semi-conducting properties, such as sulfides and different metal oxides, heat very well in response to microwaves. Because ores are typically composed of different phases with different microwave properties, some phases heat while others do not.” Blockquote

Martian regolith is mostly composed of silica (it’s concentration is divided by 10 in the graph below)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_soil

So, the major component of regolith is silica, which is transparent to microwaves. Bad news for a Martian microwave smelter. According to https://space.nss.org/settlement/nasa/spaceresvol3/appendixa.htm, impurities may improve absorption above that of pure silica material.

The next must common component is ferrous oxide. According to https://web.p.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=10735623&AN=61265244&h=c5LLkiVb5SNo61U16vCnYDBo2AgaeZe6ZvAlLM2cmRk3jQmOgeXNA9rKWpUfjgm0JXRRgjdmjB04Jd6E4nZlEw%3d%3d&crl=c&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d10735623%26AN%3d61265244 ferrous oxide absorbs microwaves poorly until heated to 550-1100*C

Bottom line: the minerals which make up the bulk of Martian regolith are poor absorbers of microwaves. A work-around would be to heat the regolith “conventionally” with direct solar thermal energy before turning on the microwave oven. This would bring the ferrous oxide up to a temperature at which it could absorb the microwaves. But if you need to build a solar thermal smelter, why not let it do the whole job? Solar panels, energy storage and microwave generators seem overly complex if direct solar thermal can do the job.

Addendum: This article https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228760044_Microwave_processing_of_lunar_soil on lunar regolith explains that FeO has been converted to metallic (reduced) Fe in the top few mm of the Lunar regolith. This was done by protons in solar radiation. This Fe is what allows Lunar regolith to absorb microwaves. Martian regolith would be exposed to lower levels of radiation and Martian wind may agitate the surface enough that significant levels of metallic Fe does not accumulate without first oxidizing in the scant atmosphere. Although there is very little oxygen in Mars atmosphere, there seems to be enough to oxidize surface minerals.

Answer: Not really. Martian regolith may be heated with microwaves. Considering this “easy” is a stretch. The two most common components of regolith are certainly not “easily” heated with microwaves.

According to https://labs.seprosystems.com/what-happens-when-you-microwave-rocks ,

“Some rocks, like those made of silica, are microwave transparent. And so the microwaves will pass through … For other materials that are highly magnetic, the materials are too conductive and microwaves will be reflected. However, materials with semi-conducting properties, such as sulfides and different metal oxides, heat very well in response to microwaves. Because ores are typically composed of different phases with different microwave properties, some phases heat while others do not.” Blockquote

Martian regolith is mostly composed of silica (it’s concentration is divided by 10 in the graph below)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_soil

So, the major component of regolith is silica, which is transparent to microwaves. Bad news for a Martian microwave smelter. According to https://space.nss.org/settlement/nasa/spaceresvol3/appendixa.htm, impurities may improve absorption above that of pure silica material.

The next must common component is ferrous oxide. According to https://web.p.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=10735623&AN=61265244&h=c5LLkiVb5SNo61U16vCnYDBo2AgaeZe6ZvAlLM2cmRk3jQmOgeXNA9rKWpUfjgm0JXRRgjdmjB04Jd6E4nZlEw%3d%3d&crl=c&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d10735623%26AN%3d61265244 ferrous oxide absorbs microwaves poorly until heated to 550-1100*C

Bottom line: the minerals which make up the bulk of Martian regolith are poor absorbers of microwaves. A work-around would be to heat the regolith “conventionally” with direct solar thermal energy before turning on the microwave oven. This would bring the ferrous oxide up to a temperature at which it could absorb the microwaves. But if you need to build a solar thermal smelter, why not let it do the whole job? Solar panels, energy storage and microwave generators seem overly complex if direct solar thermal can do the job.

Answer: Not really. Martian regolith may be heated with microwaves. Considering this “easy” is a stretch. The two most common components of regolith are certainly not “easily” heated with microwaves.

According to https://labs.seprosystems.com/what-happens-when-you-microwave-rocks ,

“Some rocks, like those made of silica, are microwave transparent. And so the microwaves will pass through … For other materials that are highly magnetic, the materials are too conductive and microwaves will be reflected. However, materials with semi-conducting properties, such as sulfides and different metal oxides, heat very well in response to microwaves. Because ores are typically composed of different phases with different microwave properties, some phases heat while others do not.” Blockquote

Martian regolith is mostly composed of silica (it’s concentration is divided by 10 in the graph below)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_soil

So, the major component of regolith is silica, which is transparent to microwaves. Bad news for a Martian microwave smelter. According to https://space.nss.org/settlement/nasa/spaceresvol3/appendixa.htm, impurities may improve absorption above that of pure silica material.

The next must common component is ferrous oxide. According to https://web.p.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=10735623&AN=61265244&h=c5LLkiVb5SNo61U16vCnYDBo2AgaeZe6ZvAlLM2cmRk3jQmOgeXNA9rKWpUfjgm0JXRRgjdmjB04Jd6E4nZlEw%3d%3d&crl=c&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d10735623%26AN%3d61265244 ferrous oxide absorbs microwaves poorly until heated to 550-1100*C

Bottom line: the minerals which make up the bulk of Martian regolith are poor absorbers of microwaves. A work-around would be to heat the regolith “conventionally” with direct solar thermal energy before turning on the microwave oven. This would bring the ferrous oxide up to a temperature at which it could absorb the microwaves. But if you need to build a solar thermal smelter, why not let it do the whole job? Solar panels, energy storage and microwave generators seem overly complex if direct solar thermal can do the job.