Colonizing other planets or space bodies remains a hot topic. The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), as well as private companies SpaceX and Blue Origin, have already expressed interest in building a permanent colony on Earth's natural satellite.
But their ambitions don't end there, as there is also talk of colonizing Mars. In both cases, these will be challenging missions. The environments of both bodies are inhospitable, as there is usually no drinking water, breathable air, or any source of food.
Such a colonization must become completely self-sufficient, because in the long term it cannot rely on regular shipments from Earth. Their cost would be astronomical. Another problem would be the long delivery time given the distance between the bodies.
These are truly complex problems that require thoughtful solutions. Hundreds of leading scientists and engineers are trying to solve them, but they are looking at the problems with an adult's eye. The European Space Agency (ESA) is now tries to breathe a little playfulness into science.
They were inspired by Lego
As ESA researchers on NASA's Artemis program brainstormed possible designs for habitats, launch pads and other structures for astronauts on the Moon, they found more than just inspiration when they looked to popular Lego building sets.
They used its plastic pieces as a template, while using 3D printers they created similar cubesThey wanted to show that the pins on the top fit into the tubes on the bottom of the printed piece, just like on the toy. However, they used an unusual material.
Up to 15 of the 16 bricks will be available in Lego stores around the world. Source: lego.com"My team and I love creative building and we thought we'd explore whether space dust could be shaped into a Lego-like brick so we could test different building techniques," ESA scientist Aidan Cowley said in a statement from Lego.
He says the result is amazing, but admits that the individual cubes look a little rougher than the original building kit pieces. He considers it important that the pieces can be connected to each other, which allows them to play and test their diverse designs.
They used a substitute for moon dust
"Nobody has ever built a structure on the moon, so we have to figure out not only how we're going to build them, but also what we're going to build them out of, because we can't take any materials with us," Cowley explained. They therefore chose a material that is abundant on the moon.
It's regolith, so a layer of loose rocks and dust, which covers the lunar surface. We also have this material on Earth, but in limited quantities, Space.com reports. It was brought here by astronauts from the Apollo missions, three robotic Russian Luna missions, as well as the Chinese Chang'e 5 probe.
A Chinese lunar mission is currently underway, which includes the successor to the aforementioned probe - Chang'e 6. China landed it on the far side of the moon, from where it should obtain about two kilograms of lunar soil and rock, as we informed you about in a previous article.
Meteorite dust was chosen as a substitute for moon dust because it is similar to it. Source: lego.comHowever, ESA researchers have chosen a substitute for regolith, namely dust from a 4.5 million year old meteoriteThis was added to polylactide – a biodegradable polymer – and a lunar regolith simulant to create the raw material for their 3D printers.
The meteorite was originally discovered in northwest Africa 24 years ago. After analysis, the rock was classified as L3-6. The rock is believed to be a breccia-like rock consisting of large metal grains, inclusions, chondrules and elements.
They will stay on Earth.
Since this is a prototype of a potential lunar building material, the printed bricks will remain on Earth. More interestingly, they won't be kept hidden in a lab. Lego will be displaying them in select Lego stores in several countries.
A total of 15 pieces will be exhibited from June 24 to September 20You can see them in the American cities of Minnesota, Florida, Chicago, California and New York, as well as in Edmonton, Canada. One cube will also make its way to London, United Kingdom.
The next two will be in the German cities of Munich and Cologne. They can also be found in Copenhagen and Billund in Denmark, Barcelona in Spain and Paris in France. The last two pieces will be exhibited in the Dutch capital Amsterdam and the Australian city of Sydney.
Lego Group creative leader Daniel Meehan said in a statement that 87 % of Generation Alpha children are interested in discovering new planets, stars and galaxies. "We hope this will encourage children to try building their own space shelters," stated.