From Lunar Soil to Lunar City: An Interdisciplinary Project-Based Learning Module on In-Situ Resource Utilization for High School Chemistry

The critical need for lunar in situ resource utilization (ISRU) to enable long-term lunar habitation provides a compelling context in chemistry education. This paper introduces “Simulating the Construction of a Lunar Base”, a Project-Based Learning (PBL) module for high school chemistry. Students, acting as “Lunar Engineers and Geochemists”, apply core chemical principles to the design and construction of a lunar base. A key feature of this module is the rigorous integration of core chemical principles─including redox reactions, chemical equilibrium, and nuclear chemistry─into a comprehensive, open-ended design challenge. The activities encompass model-based lunar resource exploration, chemical feasibility analyses of nonmetal resources such as silicon (for photovoltaics), water (for life support and fuel), and helium-3 (for nuclear fusion), and a hands-on experiment simulating the extraction of titanium dioxide (TiO2) from ilmenite (FeTiO3). This approach fosters interdisciplinary thinking by connecting chemistry to engineering, geology, physics, and environmental science. The project cultivates students’ innovative abilities, systems thinking, and sustainable development awareness. Its effectiveness was validated through a qualitative analysis of student design proposals by using a specially developed performance assessment framework.