The European Space Agency’s long-term ambition is to colonize the Moon, which would allow more distant explorations, especially on Mars. To this end, ESA needs buildings that hold up well.
European space agencies and ESA in particular are planning to move to the moon to explore what is further away from our Earth, including Mars, which is a magnet for many curiosities. With this in mind, ESA’s ambition is to create a permanent village.
ESA’s strong ambitions to colonize the Moon
For that, we must build and find viable solutions. And it could well be that the European agency found one by constituting lunar bricks, constituted in particular of regolith. It is a lunar dust also on Earth that can be crushed, but also compressed.
Added to this is the fact that the European agency also has its own simulant of lunar dust, the latter emanating from eruptions that took place in the region around Cologne, Germany, 45 million years ago. .
Lunar dust bricks, a unique masonry technique
This volcanic powder is therefore similar to the composition of the lunar dust, a chance for ESA. Aidan Cowley, the agency’s scientific advisor, says ” Moon and Earth share a common geological history, and it’s not hard to find materials similar to those found on the moon in the remains of lava flows. “.
This expert adds that with this lunar dust, ” you can create solid blocks to build roads and launching platforms, or habitats that protect your astronauts from the harsh lunar environment .”
Rich in these perspectives, ESA aims to build a village located in the southern polar region, where there is an abundance of icy water, which allows to obtain raw materials in a satisfactory way. However, at first, a probe will be launched in 2020 to better understand the lunar environment.