Astronaut urine could help build moon bases

Working with ESA, scientists from Norway, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy explored the use of urea - found in urine – as a plasticiser, helping to soften concrete-type mixes and make them more pliable before hardening.

Using a combination of astronaut urine and local regolith would give lunar colonists a regular supply of building materials, avoiding the huge costs of transporting inventory to the Moon. According to the researchers, shipping just 0.45kg from the Earth to space costs about $10,000. Their work is published in the Journal of Cleaner Production.

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"To make the geopolymer concrete that will be used on the Moon, the idea is to use what is there: regolith [loose material from the Moon's surface] and the water from the ice present in some areas," said Ramón Pamies, a professor at the Polytechnic University of Cartagena (Murcia) and one of the authors of the study.