๐ฎ๐น #Italyโs Multi-Purpose Habitation module has met the required criteria ๐๐ of #NASAโs #Artemis programme https://europeanspaceflight.com/nasa-greenlights-next-phase-of-italian-lunar-habitat-project
Scientists ๐จโ๐ฌ at the #ESA have used dust of a 4.5-billion-year-old #meteorite โ๏ธ to print bricks in 3D to design #LaunchPads and #astronaut ๐จโ๐ shelters on the #Moon ๐ https://www.lego.com/en-us/space/article/lego-space-bricks-moon
"#LavaTubes on the #Moon ๐ are so big they can contain #Padua's entire city center. Despite the impressive dimension ๐, they remain well within the roof stability threshold because of a lower gravitational attraction. They have great potential for providing an environment in which temperatures ๐ก๏ธ do not vary from day- to night-time" โ๏ธ๐ https://phys.org/news/2020-08-lava-tubes-mars-moon-wide.html
๐จ๐ณ A 100kg #robot ๐ค will prepare a working area on the lunar ๐ surface and transfer the parts from the lander and assemble them. All of #Chinaโs planned #ChangE missions will be testing technologies to pave the way for Chinese #astronauts ๐จโ๐ to land on the #moon before ๐ 2030 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3251854/china-calls-developers-change-8-mission-make-and-assemble-moon-bricks
๐๏ธ #Lunar and #Martian #StarCrete achieved compressive strengths of 91.7 and 72.0โMPa, respectively, which is well within the domain of high-strength concrete (>42โMPa). Made from ๐ฅ starch + regolith. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/eng-2022-0390/html
Robust and affordable technology capabilities are needed before a sustained human presence on the lunar and Martian surfaces can be established. A key challenge is the production of high-strength structural materials from in situ resources to provide spacious habitats with adequate radiation shielding. Ideally, the production of such materials will be achieved through relatively simple, low-energy processes that support other critical systems. Here, we demonstrate the use of ordinary starch as a binder for simulated extraterrestrial regolith to produce a high-strength biocomposite material, termed StarCrete. With this technique, surplus starch produced as food for inhabitants could be used for construction, integrating two critical systems and significantly simplifying the architecture needed to sustain early extraterrestrial colonies. After optimisation, lunar and Martian StarCrete achieved compressive strengths of 91.7 and 72.0โMPa, respectively, which is well within the domain of high-strength concrete (>42โMPa) and surpasses most other proposed technology solutions despite being a relatively low-energy process. The flexural strength of the lunar and Martian StarCrete, at 2.1 and 8.4โMPa, respectively, was also comparable to ordinary concrete (2.5โ4.5โMPa). Graphical abstract
Spaceflight ๐
Spaceflight ๐