Building a permanent base on the Moon out of things found there is one of the main goals for future exploration. Scientists have attempted to make bricks using a variety of materials, including blood and potatoes. Researchers from the European Space Agency (ESA) have just tried out a new method. They 3D-printed LEGO bricks from stuff that was formed in space billions of years ago. They work just like regular LEGO bricks, which means that stepping on one would still hurt.

Regolith, which is soil made of sharp rocks, covers the moon’s surface. It was formed by meteor impacts and charged particles from the sun and other places over billions of years. We don’t have that on Earth, but we can make something that looks like it by mixing it with polylactide, a bio-based polymer that breaks down naturally.

The mix was more realistic because it had a third ingredient. They ground up a meteorite that fell in North Africa in 2000 and added it to the mix. Meteorite dust is the closest thing to regolith that we have on Earth. The end result is a strong brick that looks great in space gray.

Even though the 3D printing process adds flaws that regular bricks don’t have, the space LEGO bricks work the same way as regular ones and click together. But the experiment does show that it is possible to make structures from Moon materials that can fit together. This gives us a lot of options when we think about building bases for a possible future mission.

“No one has ever built something on the Moon, so it was fun to be able to try out different designs and building methods with our space bricks.” ESA Science Officer Aidan Cowley said in a statement, “It was fun and helpful for learning about the limits of these techniques from a scientific point of view.”

“I love creative building, and so did my team. We thought it would be fun to see if space dust could be shaped into a brick like a LEGO brick so we could try out different ways to build.” “It’s amazing, and the bricks may look a little rougher than usual, but the clutch power still works, so we can play with and test our designs,” Cowley said in a second statement.

The test will now be used to get younger people interested in science and engineering. The bricks will be on display at many LEGO stores in the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia until September 20.

“Everyone knows that scientists and engineers in the real world sometimes use LEGO bricks to test their ideas. An ESA official, Emmet Fletcher, said, “ESA’s space bricks are a great way to get young people interested in space science and show them that play and imagination are also important in space science.”

Hong Kong’s Beijing Tianbing space company launched a rocket by accident on Sunday while testing its first-stage power system.

The company, which is also known as Space Pioneer, tried to test the first stage of the Tianlong-3 rocket by firing it up. However, because of a structural flaw, the rocket was sent into space, where it was destroyed.

“The engine thrust reached 820 tons during the test run,” the company said in a statement. “The first-stage rocket ignited normally.” “Due to structural failure at the connection between the rocket body and the test bench, the first-stage rocket separated from the launch pad.”

Soon after the rocket took off without warning, the computer on board turned off by itself. The rocket was seen flying straight up for a short time before turning horizontal and falling back to the ground.

Wow. This is apparently what was supposed to be a STATIC FIRE TEST today of a Tianlong-3 first stage by China's Space Pioneer. That's catastrophic, not static. Firm was targeting an orbital launch in the coming months. https://t.co/BY9MgJeE7A pic.twitter.com/L6ronwLW1N

— Andrew Jones (@AJ_FI) June 30, 2024

The rocket went into the mountains about 0.9 miles (1.5 km) from where it was launched in Gongyi City, Henan Province, China. According to the company, there have been no reported injuries, and all personnel had been evacuated from the area before the launch.

Another view here. Got to hope that there are no casualties. This is absolutely wild. And Space Pioneer has already reached orbit with Tianlong-2, so this is just staggering. https://t.co/QlQT13FNtI pic.twitter.com/F58tJhVoRJ

— Andrew Jones (@AJ_FI) June 30, 2024

It’s not often that something like this happens in space history. Harvard University astrophysicist Brad Tucker told the New York Times that the last time something similar happened was in 1952, when NASA’s Viking 8 broke free of its anchors and landed 8 kilometers (5 miles) away in the desert.

The Tianlong-3 rocket is meant to be used more than once so that the very high cost of space travel can be cut down. The newest version should be able to send up to 17 tons into low-Earth orbit or 14 tons into an orbit around the sun. Beijing Tianbing says the unintended flight was the most powerful system test of any test done in China, though the debris on the nearby hills shows it wasn’t exactly a resounding success.

Beryl is the first named hurricane of the Atlantic season this year. It has already made history before it even got to the Caribbean this morning, and officials say it looks like it will keep doing so.

When does the Atlantic hurricane season start? It starts on June 1 and ends on November 30. The first named hurricane usually happens in early to mid-August, and the first major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) usually happens between late August and early September.

Hurricane Beryl has already gone against the flow twice. A tropical storm gave it its start in late June, on Friday, the 28th. Second, it quickly became a major hurricane. On Sunday, its strong winds made it a Category 4 storm, making it the earliest storm of that strength to ever form in the Atlantic.

An advisory from the National Hurricane Center this morning said that Beryl will still be an “extremely dangerous” hurricane when it hits land in the Caribbean, even though it has weakened back down to Category 3.

“Hurricane-force winds, a life-threatening storm surge, and damaging waves could be very bad when Beryl goes over parts of the Windward Islands. St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada will have the highest risk of the core starting later this morning,” the center said.

The storm’s strongest sustained winds are now estimated to be around 195 kilometers per hour (120 miles per hour). Winds that are that strong can uproot trees and do a lot of damage to even well-built homes.

The National Hurricane Center also said that the storm surge could raise water levels up to 1.8 to 2.7 meters (6 to 9 feet) above normal tide levels. This would bring “large and destructive” waves to coastal areas.

With 7.6 to 15.2 centimeters (3 to 6 inches) of possible rain, it’s easy to see why people in the Caribbean islands that will be hit by the hurricane first are being told to get ready as much as they can.

If your home is unsafe or could suffer damage from flooding or wind, stay put or move to a safe place. Food, water, and medicine should be kept safe for at least seven days in containers that won’t leak. Drains outside should be clear, and any loose items should be safely in place by now. “Put sandbags by all of your home’s doors,” the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service warned early Monday morning.

It’s going to stay a “powerful hurricane” even after Beryl moves across the Caribbean Sea and over those first islands.

The damage from this hurricane is already clear, but it might not be the only one this year. The National Weather Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in May that the 2024 hurricane season would be “extraordinary,” with four to seven major hurricanes possible.