China To Try And Make "Moon Bricks"

https://www.dw.com/en/chinese-space-mission-blasts-off-to-test-lunar-bricks/a-70635495

. . .

   The plan is to 'do stuff' with lunar soil, in a 0-G
   environment, it an attempt to turn it into hard
   construction parts ... what you'd build a lot of a
   moon base from.

   However you just can't "melt dirt" and expect a good
   product. Conventional fired bricks require a mix of
   high-melt and low-melt components. Even then the
   heating cycle is important plus the energy required
   is kind of extreme.

   Dirt/sand, lunar or otherwise, COULD be cut with
   borosilicate glass. This might deliver a fair brick
   at lower temperatures.

   Do consider WHERE they ultimately want to make the
   bricks however. It's not gonna be thousands of
   slaves doing it - has to be totally automated.
   Most likely yer machine(s) would need to be making
   the things a year or two in advance of the actual
   construction initiative.

   Instead of thinking "bricks", earthly, the better
   quicker tact might be to just tunnel into a handy
   hill-side. Then spray the insides with a good
   polyureathane - 'Rhino-Coat' - to make 'it
   air-tight (and add a bit of strength).

   If you just HAVE to have some 'bricks', mix lunar
   dust with catalyzable polyureathane into a really
   thick putty - then harden the plastic. 'Paint' it
   with something after to keep the UV from shortening
   the life of the plastic binder. 'Bricks' would be
   kinda boring though, you could form kinda complex
   shapes using this method.

   The olde-tyme sci-fi flix are not a great guide as
   to what a 'moon base' should look like. The radiation
   problem is kinda severe and thin metal domes and such
   won't offer much protection. The 'hillside tunnel'
   really IS the better fix.

   Some of you will puke, but contact The Boring Company
   and see what Musk's people could do here. Excavate,
   line, waterproof (ok, 'airproof' on the moon). This
   is what they're good at and Musk IS into 'AI' managed
   equipment. No actual human should be there until there
   are maybe 20,000 cubic meters of hab minimum.

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