Every scientist has, at one time or another, used LEGOs, whether in their childhood or even as a way to build complex physical models. LEGOs aren’t just for kids; you probably know someone who spent hours constructing the Millennium Falcon with the hinge so you can view inside the ship. Building a rocket ship out of LEGOs was one way to spark the imagination, wondering what it would be like to explore space.
LEGO fans are in for a treat. The Danish toy brand is working with the European Space Agency (ESA) to create 3D-printed bricks that mimic the moon’s surface as part of a project to design (and soon build) launch pads and astronaut shelters on the moon. Fifteen bricks, which can snap and pull apart just like traditional ones, were on display at the LEGO House in Denmark and select stores globally from June 24 to Sept. 20.
While the building material is similar to the moon’s surface, the bricks are not made from regolith, the moon’s main surface material. Unfortunately, there’s no supply of moon regolith on Earth other than a few samples harvested by the Apollo missions in the 1960s and 70s.
So, scientists went for the next closest thing — a 4.5-billion-year-old meteorite discovered in Northwest Africa in 2000.
They mixed meteorite dust — the closest thing to regolith — and polylactide and threaded it through a 3D printer. The result is the dark-gray LEGO bricks.
Photo Courtesy 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,” Aidan Cowley, ESA science officer, explained in a news release.
The idea behind the prototype display at LEGO stores was to inspire the next generation of astrophysicists and space pioneers.
LEGO marketing research found that 87% of Gen Alpha kids admire space in some capacity.
The company sees this as the perfect opportunity to show how close, yet so far, we are to understanding the universe.
“With the ESA team using the LEGO System in Play to advance space travel, it shows kids the sky 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!” Daniel Meehan, creative lead at the LEGO Group, said. The bricks will be available for viewing in select U.S., Canadian, European, and Australian LEGO stores — they can’t be purchased.
Photo Courtesy Xavi Cabrera
LEGO has used alternative materials for the iconic bricks for some time, mostly for sustainability. The company wants to produce more sustainable blocks by 2032, tapping into recycled plastic, sugarcane, kitchen worktops, and upcycled fishing nets for materials — creating a circular economy while keeping the quality of LEGO bricks.
It even made a brick prototype out of PET plastic bottles to reduce plastic waste. However, it moved on from development because there wasn’t enough overall carbon reduction to meet its goals.
LEGO uses a mass balance approach “to increase the amount [of] renewable and recycled input in the raw materials” it buys. Its suppliers mix renewable materials and virgin fossil fuels to produce its products. LEGO tests more than 600 materials to see what works best for the customer and the planet. People are also encouraged to donate old LEGOs to children’s charities.
“It’s no secret that real-world scientists and engineers sometimes try out ideas with LEGO bricks,” Emmet Fletcher, head of ESA’s branding and partnerships office, said in a press release.
“ESA’s space bricks are a great way to inspire young people and show them how play and the power of the imagination have an important role in space science, too.”
LEGO recently announced the Supplier Sustainability Program, which requires its biggest suppliers to share emissions data gathered from the production of goods and services sold to the toymaker. Measures will be taken to lower greenhouse gas emissions across the supply chain.