China Joins US and Europe in Musing on 3D-printed Moon Bases
upstart writes:
Chang'e 8 missions will check whether regolith harbors appropriate materials:
China's space program has decided to no longer worry about hauling construction materials to the Moon and just 3D print buildings onsite instead, said state-sponsored media on Monday.
China Daily said the Chang'e 8 lunar mission would conduct onsite investigations to see if lunar materials would be appropriate for the job. Wu Weiren, a leading scientist at the China National Space Administration (CNSA), told the outlet that lunar soil would be printed into the construction units.
He added that [scientists] at Tongji University in Shanghai and Xi'an Jiaotong University in Shaanxi Province had "already begun studying the possible applications of 3D printing technology on the Moon."
It is globally understood that astronauts will work and live on the Moon and will need not only infrastructure, but also the ability to repair and construct tools and resources independently.
"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 told China Daily.
[...] China achieved its first lunar landing in 2013. Chang'e 8 is expected to launch in 2028 after Chang'e 6 and 7. China plans to place an astronaut on the lunar surface by 2030.
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