Scientists left 'Moon cement' outside the ISS for six months; it came back up to 35% stronger

When planning to shift to the Moon, where would humans live? Prior to the move, one would have to carry all the cement, water and building materials from Earth and build homes first. The entire idea seems practically impossible and this is why a recent study has provided an interesting alternative to all this hard work.Scientists created a 'Moon cement' produced with regolith simulants of lunar and Martian soil and let it spend six months outside the International Space Station where it faced vacuum, radiation and temperature variations. After returning to the station, the samples showed no degradation and one composition even recorded compressive strength 35% higher than the controls kept on Earth during the mission.The results were published in the journal Advances in Space Research on May 15, 2026 and detailed by the University of Delaware on July 9, 2026. The study conducted on NASA's MISSE-20 mission, evaluated the internal structure, chemical composition and mechanical strength of geopolymers after returning to Earth.Not from the moonDespite the name used for ease of understanding, the material was not produced with true regolith brought from the Moon's surface. Researchers m...