ESA scientists have turned their love of LEGO brick building for a quantum leap on the moon by using dust from a 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite to 3D print blocks. They wanted to see whether the bricks could be used as a building block on small-scale versions of structures. The scientists are also working towards designing launch pads and shelters for astronauts visiting the moon.
Aidan Cowley, European Space Agency (ESA) Science Officer, said they are working for the future of space travel and take inspiration from what they can find on Earth. “No one has ever built a structure on the moon, so we have to work out not only how we build them but what we build them out of as we can’t take any materials with us,” he said.
“We love creative construction and had the idea to explore whether space dust could be formed into a brick similar to a LEGO brick so we could test different building techniques.” Cowley shared the result has been amazing. “Whilst the bricks may look a little rougher than usual, importantly the clutch power still works, enabling us to play and test our designs.”
Daniel Meehan, Creative Lead at The LEGO Group, said space remains an area of huge curiosity with 87% of Gen Alpha kids interested in discovering new planets, stars, and galaxies. “With the ESA team using the LEGO system-in-play to advance space travel, its shows kids the sky is the limit when it comes to LEGO brick building and we hope it encourages children to have a go at building their space shelters.”
To inspire children and LEGO enthusiasts, 15 ESA Space Bricks will be on display in select LEGO Stores across the world.
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