With the NASA’s Artemis mission mission, which seeks to establish a lasting human presence on the lunar surface, the construction of large-scale infrastructure, such as potential “space bricks,” would become indispensable for future missions. However, transporting building materials from Earth is too costly and unsustainable. The recent discovery of resources on the Moon, such as water ice, has rekindled interest in its potential as a sustainable space center.
Space brick manufacturing
The Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Construction Technology (KICT) has developed a technology to produce building materials using “in situ” resources from the Moon. Lunar regolith, the fine soil that covers the lunar surface, is abundant and can be sintered (compacted by heat) to create strong building blocks. The key lies in microwave sintering, a highly energy-efficient technique, especially advantageous in space environments.
[post_relacionado]The KICT research team, led by Dr. Hyu-Soung Shin, addressed two main challenges: nonuniform heating and crack formation. To do so, they implemented a step heating program and preheated the lunar regolith in vacuum to mitigate these problems. Tests showed that the sintered blocks possess the appropriate mechanical properties for use as building materials.
KICT has taken an important step towards sustainable space construction. With validation in real space environments, this technology could transform the way we build bases and structures on the Moon, paving the way for a permanent human presence on this celestial body.
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Source: EurekAlert
Photo: David Kanigan / Pexels