Produced by: Manoj Kumar
Indian scientists from Bengaluru are turning bacteria into moon masons. Using Sporosarcina pasteurii, they’ve created bricks from lunar dust simulant—cheap, light, and Earth-free.
The bacteria produce calcium carbonate, acting like natural cement. Just mix with guar gum and regolith, and microbes do the masonry—no cement truck needed.
Bringing bricks from Earth is wildly expensive. These biobricks form on-site, saving payload costs and making permanent moon habitats more plausible.
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A second method uses heat and polyvinyl alcohol to make sturdier, sintered bricks—but they’re brittle. Lunar extremes crack them easily, threatening habitat integrity.
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Moon bricks face wild temperature swings and micrometeorites. A single crack can doom an entire wall, making repairs critical to long-term survival.
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The solution? Let bacteria fix what bacteria built. A slurry of microbes and gum repairs damaged bricks, restoring up to 54% of their strength.
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Worried the microbes wouldn’t bond with hardened sintered bricks, researchers were shocked—they not only stuck, but healed the material with surprising effectiveness.
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To prove this works in space, India will send the bacteria into orbit aboard its Gaganyaan mission. How they perform in microgravity is the next big test.
If it succeeds, bacteria could be the future of off-world construction—self-repairing, self-sustaining, and ready to build the first moon cities.
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