Researchers in China have developed a new kind of construction material that could be used to build a base on the moon using materials found on its surface. The team demonstrated that moon dust could be repeatedly melted at high temperatures to create an incredibly durable fiber that could be used to construct a moon base. Current estimates for transporting one pound of construction material to the moon range between $23,000 and $41,000 according to a report in the South China Morning News. To test their idea for an alternative construction material, the team used volcanic dust from an active volcano in the Changbai Mountains, near the Chinese border with North Korea. A current NASA proposal to build a moon base would require 12,000 tons of construction material, which would cost more than $1trillion to transport from Earth.

Source: Daily Mail June 26, 2020 01:03 UTC