Recently, China successfully developed its first lunar soil brick-making machine at the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory. This machine uses concentrated solar energy to melt and shape lunar soil, potentially enabling the construction of buildings on the Moon using local materials.
The lunar soil brick maker works by using a parabolic reflector to achieve high-concentration solar energy, which is transmitted via optical fiber bundles. At the end of the fiber bundles, the solar energy concentration reaches over 3000 times the normal sunlight. Through a precise optical system, sunlight is focused onto a small spot, rapidly raising the temperature above 1300°C to melt the lunar soil.
Since the experiment was conducted indoors without direct sunlight, the development team used a solar simulator to deliver energy equivalent to 3000 times sunlight onto simulated lunar soil for melting tests. The bricks produced are made of 100 percent lunar soil without any additives. Moreover, the lunar soil bricks possess high strength and density, making them suitable not only for building houses but also for infrastructure such as equipment platforms and road surfaces.
Source: Xinhua, July 28, 2025
http://www.news.cn/tech/20250728/df414226df8e4e2ca9abf5bb3aac8a5e/c.html