Using moon dirt with 3D printing to build future lunar colonies

Novel additive manufacturing systems may help future space explorers better survive extreme environments.
Novel additive manufacturing systems may help future space explorers better survive extreme environments.Photo: Getty Images

Simulated lunar dirt can be turned into extremely durable structures, potentially paving the way to more sustainable and cost-effective space missions, a new study suggests. Using a special laser 3D printing method, researchers melted fake lunar soil—a synthetic version of the fine dusty material on the moon surface, called regolith simulant—into layers and fused it with a base surface to manufacture small, heat-resistant objects.

If utilized on the lunar surface, the material may help build sturdy, nontoxic habitats and tools for future astronauts, capabilities that would be vital to the NASA Artemis missions that aim to establish a long-term human presen...

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Study suggests one common amino acid may affect how long men live

Study suggests one common amino acid may affect how long men live

A large new study suggests that higher levels of a common amino acid called tyrosine may be linked to a shorter lifespan in men.

The research, published recently in the journal Aging, examined whether blood levels of two amino acids, phenylalanine and tyrosine, were connected to how long people live.

Amino acids are building blocks of protein. They are found in protein-rich foods such as milk, eggs and meat, and are also sold as dietary supplements.

Researchers from the University of Hong Kong and the University of Georgia analyzed health and genetic data from more than 270,000 people in the U.K. Biobank, a large long-term health study in the U.K.

At first, both amino acids appeared to be tied to a higher risk of death...

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‘Solar battery’ stores sunlight for days, then releases hydrogen on demand

'Solar battery' stores sunlight for days, then releases hydrogen on demand
Catalyst solutions with luminescent ruthenium dye, which are irradiated with visible light in the reactor. Credit: Elvira Eberhardt, Ulm University

A new material can store energy from sunlight and convert it into hydrogen days later. The material, jointly developed by researchers from Ulm and Jena, can do this even in the dark. The process is reversible and can be reactivated several times using a pH switch. The results are published in the journal Nature Communications.

Green hydrogen is one of the most important pillars of the energy transition. It is produced from sunlight using photocatalytic processes. There are now a variety of technologies for converting and storing solar energy into chemical energy...

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A lost moon may have created Titan and Saturn’s rings

Cassini gazes upon Titan in the distance beyond Saturn. Credit: NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute.

Titan may be the battered survivor of a colossal moon merger that reshaped Saturn’s rings and rewrote the planet’s history.

Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, may have been born in a colossal cosmic crash. New research suggests Titan formed when two older moons slammed together hundreds of millions of years ago—an event so violent it reshaped Saturn’s entire moon system and may have indirectly sparked the formation of its iconic rings. Clues come from Titan’s unusual orbit, its surprisingly smooth surface, and the strange behavior of the tumbling moon Hyperion.

New research suggests that Saturn’s brilliant rings and its largest moon, Titan, may share a violent past shaped by c...

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