Humans could be hopping about on the moon again in as little as two years’ time.
That’s NASA‘s goal, as it aims to put the first woman and first person of colour on the lunar surface ahead of an ambitious goal to build a moon base for astronauts to live and work by the 2030s.
If we are to have a permanent human presence on the moon, however, it will be imperative to get around easily without having to endure the equipment-busting threat posed by the dusty lunar terrain.
That’s why new research into the possibility of creating motorways and landing pads on the moon is a potential game-changer.
Scientists on Earth believe they have come up with a way of using sunlight to melt lunar soil into a more solid substance akin to paved roads.
![The future? If we are to have a permanent human presence on the moon, it will be vital to get around easily without having to endure the equipment-busting threat posed by the dusty lunar terrain. That's why new research into the possibility of creating roads and landing pads on the moon (shown in an artist's impression) is a potential game-changer](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/12/12/76468427-12622737-image-a-14_1697110522207.jpg)
The future? If we are to have a permanent human presence on the moon, it will be vital to get around easily without having to endure the equipment-busting threat posed by the dusty lunar terrain. That’s why new research into the possibility of creating roads and landing pads on the moon (shown in an artist’s impression) is a potential game-changer
![Scientists on Earth believe they have come up with a way of using lasers to melt lunar soil into a more solid substance akin to paved roads. Pictured is what the melting would look like](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/12/13/76468429-12622737-Scientists_on_Earth_believe_they_have_come_up_with_a_way_of_usin-a-32_1697114793991.jpg)
Scientists on Earth believe they have come up with a way of using lasers to melt lunar soil into a more solid substance akin to paved roads. Pictured is what the melting would look like
Such a technological breakthrough is vital because moon dust causes all sorts of problems for lunar rovers, primarily by clogging up and damaging instruments.
This happens because a lack of gravity means the tiny granules float around when disturbed, so finding a way to mitigate this without having the costly expense of transporting construction materials from Earth would be a huge boon for NASA.
To test their theory, researchers at Aalen University in Germany carried out experiments on a lunar soil substitute developed by the European Space Agency.
They took a carbon dioxide laser and melted the soil substitute to simulate how lunar dust could be liquefied by solar radiation to turn it into a solid, layered substance.
Although the experiments were carried out on Earth, the researchers say their results show that the technique shows potential and could be replicated on the moon.
However, they added that more work still needs to be done to refine the process.
‘The next steps for the expansion of the human presence in the solar system will be taken on the moon,’ the authors wrote in their paper.
‘However, due to the low lunar gravity, the suspended dust generated when lunar rovers move across the lunar soil is a significant risk for lunar missions as it can affect the systems of the exploration vehicles.’
They added: ‘One solution to mitigate this problem is the construction of roads and landing pads on the moon.
‘In this paper, the use of concentrated light for paving on the moon by melting the lunar regolith is investigated.’
The scientists played around with laser beams of varying strengths and sizes in a bid to create the most robust material which would hold up to being driven on by lunar vehicles.
![How it works: The melting lasers produce triangular, hollow-centred geometric shapes approximately 250 millimetres in size (pictured)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/12/13/76468431-12622737-How_it_works_The_melting_lasers_produce_triangular_hollow_centre-a-33_1697114793992.jpg)
How it works: The melting lasers produce triangular, hollow-centred geometric shapes approximately 250 millimetres in size (pictured)
![The idea is that these geometric shapes could be interlocked to create a solid surface across large areas of lunar soil which could serve as roads (pictured is what the tracks could look like)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/12/13/76471775-12622737-The_idea_is_that_these_geometric_shapes_could_be_interlocked_to_-a-34_1697114793993.jpg)
The idea is that these geometric shapes could be interlocked to create a solid surface across large areas of lunar soil which could serve as roads (pictured is what the tracks could look like)
![To reproduce this approach on the moon, the authors calculate that a lens of approximately 2.37 metres squared would need to be transported from Earth to act as a sunlight concentrator in place of the laser (pictured above)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/10/12/13/76471777-12622737-To_reproduce_this_approach_on_the_moon_the_authors_calculate_tha-a-35_1697114793993.jpg)
To reproduce this approach on the moon, the authors calculate that a lens of approximately 2.37 metres squared would need to be transported from Earth to act as a sunlight concentrator in place of the laser (pictured above)
They found that criss-crossing or overlapping the laser beam path led to cracking, while the most effective strategy was to create triangular, hollow-centred geometric shapes which could be interlocked.
These interlocked shapes, each approximately 250 millimetres in size, would form a solid surface across large areas of lunar soil which could then serve as roads and landing pads, the authors said.
They added that to replicate their process on the moon it would require transporting a 25 sq/ft lens from Earth which could then be used to direct sunlight on a particular area to melt lunar soil.
This would be ideal, the researchers added, because the relatively small size of equipment needed would not be costly to organisations such as NASA.
The US space agency is due to launch the second mission of its new Artemis programme next year.
Artemis II will see a four-person crew – made up of Christina Koch, Victor Glover, Reid Wiseman and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen – take a 10-day journey around the moon.
The mission will act as a warm-up for NASA’s plan to return humans to the lunar surface by 2025 as part of Artemis III. This will see the first woman and first person of the colour step foot on the moon.
The proof-of-concept study has been published in the journal Scientific Reports.