LEGO Bricks Out Of Meteorite Dust

The race back to the moon is on, and the European Space Agency are working out how to build a base there. 

 

Of course, sending building material to the moon is impractical if not impossible, so ESA scientists need to figure out how to build using material already on the moon. The moon is covered in regolith from billions of years of meteoroid impacts, providing a plentiful source of raw material. 

 

NASA's Apollo missions and China's Chang'e-6 mission brought back small amounts of lunar material but nowhere near enough to test with, not that either agency would be willing to part with it. 

 

Undeterred, ESA scientists came up with a solution: they made their own version of lunar regolith by grinding up a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite discovered in Northwest Africa in 2000. The dust from the meteorite formed the basis of a mixture that was then used to 3-D print some LEGO-style space bricks. 

 

ESA's space bricks click together in the same way as regular LEGO bricks but are a bit rougher – and only come in one colour – a stylish space grey! 

 

The space bricks gave ESA's space engineers the flexibility to build and test a variety of structures using this new material.

 

 

And fifteen of these space bricks will be on display at the Lego House in Billund, Denmark, as well as in 14 select Lego stores worldwide (i.e., Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, UK and USA). 

 

What an epic way to inspire the next generation of space enthusiasts and builders! Come to the exhibit from June 24 to September 20, 2024, to see these extraordinary bricks for yourself.