China has initiated an experiment to evaluate fibers crafted from lunar regolith. Cargo spacecraft “Tianzhou-10” delivered the samples to the nation’s space station. The research aims to determine the material’s suitability for constructing lunar settlements and its resilience to extreme space conditions, as reported by interestingengineering.com.
The development is credited to a team from Donghua University. These scientists have devised a method for processing lunar soil into ultrathin fibers, comparable in diameter to a human hair. The technology bears resemblance to the process of spinning molten sugar into threads for candy making. Lunar regolith is heated until molten, then fibers are formed using vacuum suction and high-speed spinning.
Transporting building materials from Earth is exceedingly costly, making the use of local lunar resources highly promising. Currently, the scientists are utilizing a mere 0.5 grams of actual lunar soil, brought back by the “Chang’e-5” mission. Continuous fibers approximately three meters in length were produced. Subsequently, Donghua University obtained an additional 500 milligrams of lunar regolith, enabling the creation of a simulated material for further testing.
According to the innovators, this concept could enable future crews to construct bases on the Moon by leveraging indigenous materials. The fibers are also being considered as reinforcement for lunar concrete and flexible structures.
The technology is presently in its experimental phase. The scientists plan to have inhabitants of the space station collect data on the fibers’ properties within the space environment.
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