Moon dust as building material: 3D Lego bricks to help with building on the moon
What material can be used to build on the moon? An ESA research team is exploring this question. To answer it, they have printed 3D Lego bricks from moon dust.
The surface of the Lego bricks made of moon dust is slightly rougher than the original - but just as adhesive.
(Image: Lego)
Lego bricks made from space dust? Almost. The European Space Agency (ESA) has printed 3D bricks from a 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite material. These are based on the Lego system and are intended to help researchers understand how they could build launch pads and houses for astronauts on the moon. Lego and space fans can admire the bricks in some Lego stores until September 20, according to Lego.
For the construction mission on the moon, the research team wants to use material that is already available on the moon in order to save transportation routes: Moon dust, i.e. so-called regolith. So far, there have only been samples of this on Earth from the Apollo mission. The ESA is therefore using a similar material from a meteorite that was found in northwest Africa in 2000. The meteorite is made up of various space substances. These included metal particles and chondrules. In order to print the Lego-like 3D parts, the scientists mixed the regolith with polylactide and a simulant solvent for meteorite dust.
Search for material and structure
The Lego construction method allows the team to test different construction methods. Attempts to build something on the moon have so far been unsuccessful, explains Aidan Cowley, ESA Science Officer. The team therefore not only had to find a way to build structures, but also which building materials could be used to do so. "Transporting every building block to the moon is almost an impossibility," says Cowley.
The surface of the meteorite dust Lego brick is somewhat rougher than its plastic counterpart. "More importantly, however, it has the same clamping force as a LEGO brick," explains the Science Officer. "This enabled us to try out different building techniques and test our model designs."
(Image: Lego)
Fifteen of the bricks can be viewed by interested parties in various Lego stores and at Lego House in Billund, Denmark. In Germany, some of them will be on display at the Lego Store in Munich city center and the Lego Store in Cologne until September 20.
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