China has sent experimental fibers made from lunar soil to its space station for testing, as researchers explore whether the material could eventually help build future habitats on the Moon.

The fiber samples traveled aboard the Tianzhou-10 cargo spacecraft and will undergo long-term exposure tests outside the Chinese space station under conditions such as high vacuum, radiation, and extreme temperature fluctuations.

Researchers hope the tests will reveal whether the material can survive the harsh environment of space and eventually support future lunar infrastructure.

The project was developed by a team from Donghua University led by materials scientist Zhu Meifang. The group has been studying how to convert lunar soil into high-performance fibers that could reinforce construction materials on the Moon.

The idea addresses one of the biggest challenges of long-term lunar exploration. Transporting building materials from Earth is extremely expensive, making in-situ resource utilization increasingly important.

Turning lunar soil into hair-thin fibers

According to a People’s Daily story translated by Global Times, the fibers are produced by heating lunar soil until it melts into droplets that are then stretched into ultrafine threads. The resulting fibers are reportedly as thin as human hair. The process has been compared to stretching molten sugar into threads during candy making.

China Daily reported that the system operates without additives and converts lunar soil powder into a molten liquid before drawing fibers through vacuum traction and high-speed spinning techniques.

Researchers say the effort resulted in what may be the world’s first equipment capable of converting lunar soil into high-performance fibers under vacuum conditions. The technology is intended to eventually operate autonomously on the Moon under low-gravity and unmanned conditions.

The material itself is considered promising because lunar soil resembles basalt, a volcanic rock already used in high-performance industrial fibers.

From Chang’e-5 samples to future lunar habitats

The project traces its origins back several years. The team began studying extreme-environment materials in 2016 while developing methods to simulate lunar conditions such as vacuum and reduced gravity. Research accelerated after China’s Chang’e-5 mission returned lunar samples to Earth.

According to the Global Times report, researchers used just 0.5 grams of real lunar soil from Chang’e-5 to produce continuous fibers approximately 3 meters long.

Donghua University later received approximately 500 milligrams of lunar material for additional experiments and developed simulated lunar soil for testing. Researchers envision the fibers being woven into flexible structures or mixed into lunar concrete as reinforcement materials.

One team member described the concept as potentially allowing future crews to “set up tents on the Moon” using local resources. The fibers have also been referred to as possible “steel reinforcement” for future lunar bases. Practical use remains distant. The technology is still in the experimental stage, and the current space station mission is focused on collecting performance data.

However, every result from the orbital tests could help determine whether lunar soil can eventually move beyond being a scientific sample and become a construction material for human settlements beyond Earth.