“Regolith” is a broad term for loose, unconsolidated rock and dust covering a hard rock surface, however this is focused heavily on regoliths from other bodies, primarily without or with little oxygen atmosphere.
For regoliths on bodies with no atmosphere, the following tends to be true:
- The regolith is primarily composed of crystal grains, aggregates, and rock, with little to no weathering due to lack of movement.
- High ceramic and glass contents from micrometeorite and meteorite melting is common.
- Water-based minerals are often entirely absent.
- Minerals are often chemically reduced instead of oxidized, due to lack of radical oxygen to drive any oxidation processes.
- Regolith dusts are often electrically charged over time, rendering them “sticky” on equipment.
- Mineral composition is primarily igneous.
Significantly igneous regoliths tend to be able to be sintered into ceramics, usable for construction. Especially useful on bodies with enough gravity for roadways, as it allows packing and paving the regolith in place into a sturdy structure.
Common constituents of atmosphere-less body regolith are:
TODO: Study bodies with some atmosphere, i.e. mars.
Afterlight specific
Regolith from the primary living body is a major construction material within the system, being extremely cheap, plentiful, and cost efficient.
Regolith composition varies, but is consistently near 50% silica with high iron, calcium, and aluminum compound concentrations. Other common constituents are titanium, magnesium, and various alkalis. Volatiles are uncommon, and are best harvested from ice sheets instead. The most easily harvested volatile is oxygen, which is reactive enough to be a primary constituent of most regoliths.
Afterlight's primary regoliths are high in silica, aluminum, iron, calcium, magnesium, and titanium in order of occurrence, with trace amounts of calcium, hydrogen, helium, etc.