Scientists have proposed paving the Moon with paving stones using sunlight

German scientists from the University of Aalen in Germany have proposed a method for producing durable tiles from lunar soil. This material in the future could become the basis for future roads and landing sites on the Earth’s satellite. The study was published in the scientific journal Scientific Reports.

Moon dust is made up of volcanic rock. It sticks well to objects due to a static charge and has strong abrasive properties due to the sharp edges of the particles. This nature of the powder makes it dangerous for spacecraft, space suits and human lungs.

Laying roads on the Moon will protect ships and lunar rovers from dust, but transporting building materials from Earth will require enormous costs.

Specialists from the University of Aalen conducted an experiment to transform an analogue of lunar soil into paving stones using powerful pulses of energy. To do this, fine-grained material EAC-1A was melted with a laser power of up to 12 kilowatts.

As a result, scientists obtained triangular tiles with a hollow center, about 25 centimeters wide and 2.5 centimeters thick.

To focus a beam of this power on the Moon, you would need a lens with a diameter of about 1.75 meters.

“In this way, tiles could be created directly on the Moon in a relatively short time using simple equipment,” said aerospace technology specialist Juan Carlos Ginés-Palomares.