# University of Arkansas sintered lunar regolith simulant by laser into interlocking bricks, up to 3.4 MPa

- Published: 2026-11-12 07:32 UTC
- Section: Machines & Making › Manufacturing
- Tags: lunar regolith simulant, LHS-1, laser sintering without binder, interlocking building blocks, lunar base construction, powder bed fusion, compressive strength 3.4 MPa, in-situ resource utilization, npj Advanced Manufacturing
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-5b6fcadc8331c89bcc04a422_university_of_arkansas/

**In lab tests, researchers sintered the LHS-1 lunar regolith simulant without a binder; the interlocking bricks, a few centimetres wide, are not yet tested for load-bearing use.**

![University of Arkansas sintered lunar regolith simulant by laser into interlocking bricks, up to 3.4 MPa](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/44b95c7b7480c631.webp)
*scinexx*

Researchers at the University of Arkansas, with colleagues from the University of Houston and Tampere University, used a laser to sinter a lunar regolith simulant into interlocking building blocks without any binder. The work was published on 29 August 2026 in npj Advanced Manufacturing and is available on nature.com [1]. The group around Wan Shou worked in a laboratory on Earth with LHS-1, a commercial mineral material that imitates regolith of the lunar highlands. Real lunar dust was not used [1].

## Binder-free laser sintering

Building on site reduces the mass that has to be shipped from the Earth. Earlier 3D-printing attempts with regolith simulants often relied on binders, which would complicate supply for a lunar base unless they could be obtained locally. The authors therefore tested light-based direct sintering without a binder [1].

In the powder-bed process, a thin layer of powder is spread and the laser heats selected areas, so the grains fuse into a solid; further layers are then added. The team varied the laser parameters, first for single layers and then for thicker multi-layer parts, to obtain controllable sintering in three dimensions [1]. As first author Cole McCallum put it, nothing else binds the material: the regolith powder bonds to itself.

## Interlocking bricks and compressive strength

Instead of printing whole walls, the team made small reconfigurable elements a few centimetres wide, some cross-shaped and others resembling the letter H. Like Lego bricks, they can be fitted together and rearranged into different structures without additional joining material [1].

For strength tests the researchers produced cubic samples and evaluated their compressive strength and porosity. The peak strength was about 3.4 MPa [1]. This value describes the tested samples and does not establish the load capacity of whole structures. Parts made without binder are more porous and mechanically weaker than comparable parts with additives.

According to McCallum, the structures can support themselves, but he is cautious about claiming that the method suits anything carrying additional loads. The samples were made in a terrestrial laboratory from a simulant. How the laser process behaves in vacuum and under lunar gravity has yet to be investigated, and the mechanical properties of the bricks would need improvement and testing against the requirements of specific components.

## Sources

1. [nature.com](https://www.nature.com/articles/s44334-026-00111-x)
2. [scinexx](https://www.scinexx.de/news/technik/mondstaub-mit-laser-zu-lego-aehnlichen-bausteinen-verarbeitet)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-5b6fcadc8331c89bcc04a422_university_of_arkansas/