TEMPLE, Texas — The building blocks of the future?
If you or your children are fans of LEGO, you are not alone. Apparently, some scientists at the European Space Agency (ESA) are too, and their interest in the popular building toy could possibly help astronauts build shelters, launch pads and other structures on the moon.
According to LEGO and an article by Robert Z. Pearlman with Space.com, scientists at the ESA have 3D printed bricks similar in style to the iconic LEGO bricks out of meteorite dust as a way to test whether space materials, such as moon dust, could be used to create structures in space.
These "ESA Space Bricks" are reportedly a small-scale test of whether materials found in space could even be made into building materials, which could allow astronauts to build full-scale structures on the moon using materials found there.
Pearlman states the natural resource on the moon would be regolith, the layer of loose rock and dust that covers the lunar surface. Since very little regolith exists on Earth, scientists reportedly used dust from a 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite, a very similar material, mixed with a small amount of polylactide and regolith simulant, to make the bricks.
“Our teams are working towards the future of space travel and take inspiration from not just what’s above us, but also what we can find on Earth," said ESA Science Officer Aidan Cowley in a statement to LEGO. "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. My team and I 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. The result is amazing and whilst the bricks may look a little rougher than usual, importantly the clutch power still works, enabling us to play and test our designs."
Beginning on June 24, 15 of the Space Bricks will go on display at LEGO stores around the world, in stores in the U.S., Canada, UK, Germany, Denmark, Spain and Australia, as well as the LEGO House in Billund, Denmark. The bricks will reportedly be on display until Sept. 20.
"With the ESA team using the LEGO System-in-Play to advance space travel, it shows kids the sky really is the limit when it comes to LEGO brick building and we hope it encourages children to have a go at building their own space shelters!” said Creative Lead at The LEGO Group Daniel Meehan.
More information on the bricks and where they'll be displayed can be found at this link.
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