Blue Origin and Lunar Resources have each claimed to have made solar cells using simulated Moon dirt, a breakthrough in developing the technology to manufacture solar panels on the Moon, which could power a permanent human settlement. The Moon's regolith, a dirt-like substance, contains metals and silicon which could be extracted and used to make solar cells. The process of molten regolith electrolysis is used to melt the regolith at high temperatures, before shooting it through with an electrical current to extract iron, silicon, and aluminum. However, the technology still needs to be tested using real lunar dirt, and scaling up production on the Moon will require shipping equipment, including reactors, to the lunar surface.