所谓“月壤砖”，是我国科学家模拟月壤成分烧制而成的，拟用于未来建造月球基地。再过一段时间，这种“月壤砖”就将搭乘“天舟八号”货运飞船飞向中国空间站，到太空去做暴露实验。

Bricks made from simulated lunar soil, a potential building material for future habitats on the moon, will be sent to China's space station aboard the Tianzhou 8 cargo spacecraft for exposure experiments.

据国家数字建造技术创新中心、华中科技大学教授周诚介绍，“月壤砖”呈榫卯结构，密度与普通砖块相当，抗压强度却是普通红砖、混凝土砖的三倍以上，相当于每平方厘米能承受1吨多重量。

The bricks made from simulated lunar soil have a density comparable to that of ordinary bricks, but their compressive strength exceeds that of standard red bricks and concrete bricks by more than three times, with one square centimeter able to support over one ton of weight, said Zhou Cheng, a professor from National Center of Technology Innovation for Digital Construction.

未来月球基地的建造中，可能采用这样的结构形式进行拼装建造。

• 月面月昼温度超过180℃，月夜又到-190℃，想要盖房子，首先要接受温度剧烈变化的挑战。

Building a house on the lunar surface could face challenges due to drastic temperature changes on the moon, with temperatures exceeding 180 C during lunar days and reaching -190 C at lunar night.

• 因为没有大气保护，大量宇宙辐射和许多微陨石会撞击月球表面。

Without atmospheric protection, significant levels of cosmic radiation and many micrometeorites would also hit the surface of the moon.

• 同时还有震动频率高的月震。

And there is frequent moonquake activity.

这些都会对月面建筑材料的力学性能、热学性能和抗辐射性能提出苛刻要求。

All of these will place demanding requirements on the mechanical, thermal and radiation resistance properties of lunar surface construction materials.

The lunar bricks will be sent to China's space station aboard the Tianzhou 8 cargo spacecraft to verify their mechanical and thermal performance, as well as their ability to withstand cosmic radiation. The first lunar brick is expected to return to Earth by the end of 2025.

• “月壤砖”的力学性能。太空环境下，样品的力学性能会不会退化十分关键。

  
  

• “月壤砖”的热学性能的变化。

  
  

• 辐射作用对“月壤砖”的影响。因为月球是真空环境，存在大量宇宙辐射，所以“月壤砖”能否经受住宇宙辐射作用，也非常值得验证。

Zhou outlined three key properties of the bricks that will be verified, including the potential degradation of their mechanical properties, their heat preservation and insulation effectiveness, and their ability to withstand cosmic radiation on the moon.

The whole process of making such bricks by vacuum hot pressing and sintering is divided into three steps, Zhou explained.

• 第一步，先把模拟月壤进行称重，按照重量放入模具，因月壤非常松散，所以需要在模具容器里进行压制。

Researchers need to weigh the simulated lunar soil and then place it in the mould according to its weight. They have to press it into the mould container as the lunar soil is very loose.

• 压力施加完毕后，工程师会把压制成型的、带有模拟月壤的模具放到真空热压炉中，加上隔热设施，将它升温烧结。
  

The researcher will then put it into the vacuum hot-pressing furnace. After locking the whole vacuum experimental device, it can be heated up and sintered.

• 第三步，对“月壤砖”进行高温烧制。

The lunar soil material that the researchers modeled in the lab is similar to the Earth's soil, which is dispersed. To process it, researchers must subject it to high temperatures.

Zhou noted that the process does not involve any additional material additives, making it a highly promising construction method for future lunar base development.

These simulated bricks will be exposed to experiments in space to accumulate scientific data for building houses on the moon in the future, so as to optimize the actual scheme.

编辑：左卓

实习生：杨雅琳

来源：新华社 央视新闻 环球时报