system can also have essentially zero losses if it has a thin highly conductive wall or the wall is transparent in the infrared (e.g. pure quartz). Unfortunately lunar soil has high concentrations of iron which make the glass opaque, thus transparent material cannot be produced without extensive beneficiation or downstream processing. It is possible that lunar oxygen production may produce an iron-free material which would be suitable but this is unlikely. The orientation of the radiator in the vertical or horizontal plane has the single largest impact on losses (the liquid droplet radiator must be operated in the vertical position as it is the best single phase radiator for wall losses is also the worst from the standpoint of reradiation losses). A two-phase radiator can operate at any angle but it is harder to remove the condensate from a horizontal radiator so a slight angle of 5-10° is required. This has a minor effect on efficiency if properly designed.
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