Lego officially makes pieces from meteorite dust so humans can build on the Moon

Lego and the European Space Agency (ESA) have partnered to create the first Lego pieces made with meteorite dust. While the creation may appear to be just for a few laughs, it actually has practical implications for the future of space exploration.

The Lego pieces will be on display at select Lego store locations until September 20. Check out the locations below. As for the practicality of the meteorite-infused Lego pieces, the project was a proof-of-concept to demonstrate that structures can be built using moondust or its equivalent. The value of being able to make structures out of dust like lunar regolith will be an absolute game-changer when it comes to constructing colonies on different moons or planets.

Having a consistent and reliable means of making structures out of dust would mean we won't have to transport materials from Earth, saving on expensive rocket launches. So, how did researchers make this meteorite-infused Lego piece? The team first took meteorite dust and ground it up into a mixture that was then placed into a 3D printer. The printer then spat out a lunar Lego piece that works exactly the same as a normal Lego piece.

"Nobody has built a structure on the Moon, so it was great to have the flexibility to try out all kinds of designs and building techniques with our space bricks. It was both fun and useful in scientifically understanding the boundaries of these techniques," said ESA Science Officer Aidan Cowley

The ESA Space Bricks will be on display in the following LEGO Stores:

USA

• The LEGO Store, Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota
• The LEGO Store, Disney Springs, Florida
• The LEGO Store, Water Tower Place, Chicago
• The LEGO Store, Disneyland Resort, California
• The LEGO Store, 5th Avenue, New York

Canada

• The LEGO Store, West Edmonton

UK

• The LEGO Store, Leicester Square, London

Germany

• The LEGO Store, München Zentrum
• The LEGO Store, Cologne

Denmark

• The LEGO Store, Copenhagen
• LEGO House, Billund

Spain

• The LEGO Store, Barcelona

France

• The LEGO Store, Paris

Netherlands

• The LEGO Store, Amsterdam

Australia

• The LEGO Store, Sydney