China Wants to Build Moon Bases Using Lunar Soil and 3D-Printing Tech
Chinese scientists plan to use the Chang'e 8 lunar probe to test the use of 3D-printing technologies for constructing buildings on the Moon.
The robotic probe is expected to launch in 2028, after Chang'e 6 (2025) and Chang'e 7 (2026) head to the Moon's south pole as part of China's development of an autonomous lunar research station.
"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 Weiren, chief designer of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, said in a statement published by China Daily(Opens in a new window).
While its predecessors collect samples and explore resources, Chang'e 8's on-board robot will attempt to 3D print bricks out of lunar soil (the dense dust and dirt that accumulated on the Moon over 4.6 billion years) for use in assembling local science bases.
"Lunar soil will be our raw material and it will be printed into construction units," Wu said. "Professors at several domestic universities […] have already begun studying the possible applications of 3D printing technology on the Moon."
This month, NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) announced the four astronauts who will venture around the Moon on Artemis II—planned for late 2024, in what will be the first human fly-by of Earth's satellite since Apollo 17 in 1972.
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