From Dirt To Space is a project organised by three maker groups in the Netherlands: RevSpace, Hack42 in Arnhem, and SparkShack. The project’s aim is to make iron from locally found bog ore (an especially poor-quality form of iron ore) and get the resulting metal object into space.
The team have built their own portable version of a blast furnace, which reaches temperatures of up to 1200 °C. All it is is a chimney of bricks, charcoal, and iron ore, plus two leaf blowers to keep up a steady flow of air, and to make sure the charcoal burns hot enough to melt iron.
The team have made three attempts so far, learning and refining the process, and attempt number four is due to take place at the end of April 2020.
Find out more about the project here.
Photo credits: Richard Kraaijenhagen, for the Joint task force of SparkShack, RevSpace, and Hack42.
