China is testing 3D printing technology on the moon to build habitats
China plans to explore using 3D printing technology to build buildings on the moon, the official China Daily newspaper reported Monday, as Beijing bolsters plans for long-term lunar habitation.
In 2020, on a Chinese trip to the moon, Chang’e 5, an unmanned probe named after the mythical Chinese moon goddess, brought back China’s first lunar soil samples to Earth. China, which made its first lunar landing in 2013, plans to land an astronaut on the moon by 2030.
Since then, China has launched the Chang’e 6, 7 and 8 missions to search the Moon for reusable natural resources for long-term human habitation.
The Chang’e 8 probe will conduct on-site surveys of the environment and mineral composition, and also determine whether technologies such as 3D printing can be used on the lunar surface, China Daily reported, citing China’s National Scientist Wu Weiren. Space Administration.
“If we want to stay on the moon for a long time, we need to establish stations with the moon’s own materials,” Wu said.
China wants to start building a lunar base on lunar soil in five years, Chinese media reported earlier this month.
According to an expert from the Chinese Academy of Technology, a robot tasked with making “lunar earth bricks” will be launched during the Chang’e 8 mission around 2028.
The race to the surface of the Moon has accelerated in recent years, especially with the United States.
This month, NASA and the Canadian Space Agency named four astronauts for the Artemis II mission, scheduled for late 2024, which would be the first human flyby of the Moon in decades.
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