NASA unveils plan for astronauts to live on moon in lunar dust bubbles

NASA has unveiled plans to send astronauts to live on the moon – inside glass bubbles made from lunar dust. 

The US space agency is funding research into the large livable spheres which would be created in situ, the Telegraph reports.

Tiny pieces of so–called lunar glass – a component of the moon’s soil, or regolith, along with rocks and mineral fragments – would be collected upon arrival from Earth. 

The material would be melted down using the same technology as in a domestic microwave oven, along with a ‘smart microwave furnace’.  

A ‘smart microwave furnace’ will be developed to aid melting and blow the glass into a bubble, which would harden into a large, transparent structure. 

The idea has been dreamt up by US space engineering company Skyeports, which has already proven that glass balls can be blown from lunar dust in this way.   

The firm’s test spheres are only a couple of inches wide – but the goal is to expand them by hundreds or thousands of feet, into workable astronaut homes. 

The compound used to build a spherical habitat – which is hoped to be between around 1,000ft and 1,600ft wide – could be altered to make the eventual glass self–healing. 

It is a special type of glass made of polymers which can reorganise themselves after any breaks caused by micrometeorites or ‘moonquakes’.

The moon homes could also be fitted with solar panels to generate their own energy. 

Skyeports chief executive Dr Martin Bermudez hoped to one day see entire cities of the spheres, connected by glass bridges, on the moon – and elsewhere in space. 

‘You will never replicate Earth, but this is something that gets pretty close, and we could even put them into orbit one day,’ he said. 

He has always been interested in space and wanted to start using his architecture background to explore how to make structures on the moon or Mars.  

Chemical compounds called silicates, often used to make glass, can account for up to 60 per cent of lunar dust – which first got him thinking about the bubbles. 

And with further research, he discovered glass can be adapted to become less brittle – and even stronger than steel.  

He contacted NASA around two years ago with the idea, which he said the agency liked from the start.

The concept is now being researched under the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) programme, for projects which have the potential to transform aerospace. 

And its in situ construction is attractive – it is hard to build things on the moon, with shipping materials to its surface hugely expensive. 

Enormous gas pipes would be used to blow the melted glass – and repurposed to create the entrance once the bubble has been created. 

Any interior fittings would be 3D printed using materials gathered from the surface of the moon. 

Skyeports has said a sphere was chosen because it is a particularly structurally sound shape, with an even distribution of pressure. 

Using transparent glass to build it, meanwhile, was said to be beneficial for astronauts’ mental health. 

Dr Bermudez added: ‘The spherical shape happens automatically, because at that temperature it becomes an amorphous liquid, and when it is extruded out of a furnace in low gravity it will form the shape of a sphere.’ 

Along with the lunar glass, metals like titanium, magnesium and calcium will need to be mixed into the raw compound for strength. 

It is also hoped that layers of bubbles could be created, with one warmer surface and another cooler to create condensation. 

This would allow astronauts to plant vegetables and plants and create an ecosystem to produce oxygen. 

And development teams also hope a glass bubble of that size could be used to produce enough electricity to power the whole system.  

The blowing technique will be tested in a thermal vacuum chamber in January, before moving to a micro–gravity environment. 

It will eventually be trialled on the International Space Station – and tests on the moon itself could happen in the next couple of years.  

While NASA works out if humans could live on the moon, astronauts may well return to it for a visit. 

The agency could put men on the moon within the next five years under its Artemis programme and is currently searching for appropriate habitats for that mission. 

Dr Bermudez said: ‘We’re in a race against time because Artemis is moving so fast.’ 

Clayton Turner, from NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is responsible for tech innovation, said: ‘Our next steps and giant leaps rely on innovation, and the concepts born from NIAC can radically change how we explore deep space, work in low–Earth orbit, and protect our home planet.

‘From developing small robots that could swim through the oceans of other worlds to growing space habitats from fungi, this programme continues to change the possible.’

The study comes after researchers at Aalen University in Germany suggested in 2023 that  buildings and roads could be built on the moon using bricks made from lunar dust zapped with a laser. 

The space agency’s description of the research notes: ‘This innovative approach involves in–situ melting of lunar glass compounds and the creation of a large spherical shell structure, representing a significant departure from current habitat construction methods.

‘Traditional construction methods, such as using prefabricated parts, 3D printing, inflatable systems and complex assembly, are labour–intensive and time–consuming.

‘In contrast, the concept of blown scalable glass structures utilizes lunar glass resources and introduces a novel in–situ manufacturing approach.’ 

It adds: ‘The idea of constructing monolithic glass habitats on the moon holds immense promise for the future of space exploration and habitation. 

‘It inspires a pioneering spirit by envisioning a new era of self–sustaining off–world habitats, offering significant benefits to NASA, the aerospace community, and humanity as a whole.’