China is advancing its plan to build the first lunar base by launching an experiment to test if Moon soil can be used to make bricks for construction.

The test bricks, created from materials like basalt that mimic lunar soil, will be sent aboard a cargo rocket to China’s Tiangong space station.

The experiment will expose the bricks to space conditions, including extreme temperatures, cosmic radiation, and micrometeorites, to assess their durability, CNA has reported.

The results of the three-year test will help determine if lunar materials can be used for building a sustainable base on the Moon by 2035.

Written by B.C. Begley