NASA’s Artemis program aims to establish a permanent moon habitat. The program will use lunar soil (regolith) to cut costs to build structures instead of transporting materials from Earth.
A few years ago, IISc researchers developed a method using Sporosarcina pasteurii bacteria. This bacteria creates calcium carbonate crystals to bind soil particles with guar gum, forming eco-friendly, low-cost bricks from lunar and Martian soil simulants.
Now, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed a bacteria-based technique to repair bricks that can be used to build lunar habitats if they get damaged in the moon’s harsh environment.
Researchers used a slurry of S. pasteurii, guar gum, and lunar soil simulant to repair artificial defects in…