How NASA plans to use lunar dust to build structures on the Moon

The new direction of NASA has been clearly defined: the space agency returns humans to the moon, this time in a sustainable way. At least, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine says he is not interested in leaving only "flags and footprints" on the lunar surface. "This time we will stay," he said at a meeting with NASA advisers in August.

But if we set up a kind of lunar base on the moon, that means we will have to use the resources we find there to keep the astronauts alive. Fortunately, the moon has a lot to offer.

On the one hand, scientists are relatively certain that ice water is exposed at certain locations on the lunar surface. Scientists confirmed the presence of solid ice on the moon in 2008, thanks to the Indian satellite Chandrayaan-1. In 2009, NASA confirmed that the water was there after slamming its LCROSS spacecraft into a crater on the south pole of the Moon. The water is particularly attractive since the liquid is so important for us here on Earth. Astronauts could potentially use this resource to drink, bathe and water the plants. It is also possible to separate water into its basic components – oxygen and hydrogen – to make rocket fuel for vehicles traveling to and from the lunar surface.

But there is another even more abundant resource on the Moon: dirt. Scientists have been thinking of different ways to use the lunar soil, known as the regolith, as some kind of building material. We visited NASA's Swamp Works at the Kennedy Space Center, where engineers found ways to turn the simulated lunar regolith into a type of raw material for 3D printing. So rather than launching all The supplies needed for a lunar base from Earth, NASA could send excavation robots, mining facilities and 3D printers, all of which could be used to build the material that astronauts will need to live. It includes things like tools, furniture, and even large scale habitat.

There is still a long way to go before all this becomes a reality, but NASA has been thinking for a long time about how to become the pioneers of space. Check out Swamp Works' efforts in the video above.