Lunar Soil Fiber Sample Enters China Space Station for Long-Term Exposure Test
Source:China Composites Expo  May 21, 2026
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BEIJING - On May 11, a fiber experimental sample made from lunar soil was launched aboard the Tianzhou cargo spacecraft to the China Space Station, where it will undergo long-term validation in the extreme space environment-including high vacuum, intense radiation, and severe temperature fluctuations-on an exposed external platform.

The principle of turning lunar soil into fiber is not complex. Researchers liken lunar soil to "space white sugar" and draw on traditional melt drawing techniques: melting the material at high temperatures into droplets and then drawing it into fibers. The challenge lies in the high vacuum and microgravity conditions of the Moon, which render conventional equipment inoperable.

Leveraging the State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials at Donghua University, researchers designed the world’s first spinning device adapted for lunar environment conditions. Using just 0.5 grams of actual lunar soil brought back by the Chang’e-5 mission-a basaltic sample that has undergone billions of years of space weathering-they produced a continuous fiber approximately three meters in length and as fine as a human hair.

This core technology, which has complete independent intellectual property, previously received an award at the China International Industry Fair. On April 1 of this year, the fiber was already featured at the National Museum of China as part of an exhibition marking the 20th anniversary of China's lunar exploration program.

The research has been ongoing for a decade. Starting in 2016 with a focus on extreme-environment materials, the successful return of lunar soil by Chang'e-5 in 2020 marked a critical turning point. The research is aimed at the future construction of lunar research stations. Given the high cost of Earth-Moon transportation, in-situ resource utilization-using local lunar materials to produce structural components-has become an important direction. Potential applications for lunar soil fibers include flexible structural materials and reinforced lunar concrete. The research is still in the fundamental validation stage, with practical applications still some distance away. The current space station exposure experiment is designed to obtain critical performance data to inform future exploration efforts.