On Monday (Apr 24), the official China Daily reported that China plans to explore the use of 3D printing technology for constructing buildings on the moon, as Beijing solidifies its plans for long-term lunar habitation.
In the 2020 Chinese lunar mission, the uncrewed probe Chang’e 5, named after the mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, collected China’s first lunar soil samples and returned them to Earth.
China intends to land an astronaut on the moon by 2030 and will launch the Chang’e 6, 7, and 8 missions before then. The Chang’e 8 mission has the task of searching for reusable resources on the moon that can support long-term human habitation.
China Daily quoted Wu Weiren, a scientist at the China National Space Administration, as saying that the Chang’e 8 probe will conduct on-site investigations on the lunar surface to analyze the environment and mineral composition.
Furthermore, the probe will assess the feasibility of using technologies such as 3D printing for construction purposes on the lunar surface.
“If we wish to stay on the moon for a long time, we need to set up stations by using the moon’s own materials,” Wu said.
China wants to start building a lunar base using soil from the moon in five years, Chinese media reported earlier this month.
An expert from the Chinese Academy of Engineering has stated that a robot will be launched during the Chang’e 8 mission, around 2028, with the task of making “lunar soil bricks”.
The race to set foot on the moon has intensified in recent years, particularly with the United States.
This month, NASA and Canada’s space agency named four astronauts for the Artemis II mission planned for late 2024, in what would be the first human fly-by of the moon in decades.