As Beijing pursues plans for long-term lunar colonisation, China is investigating the use of 3D printing technology to construct structures on the moon. The Chinese Chan’e 5 lunar mission, which was named after the lunar goddess of Chinese mythology, brought back the first lunar soil samples to Earth in 2020. China, which carried out the first lunar landing in history in 2013, aspires to send an astronaut there by the year 2030.
During this period, China will launch the Chan’e 6, 7, and 8 missions, with Chan’e 8 looking for reusable materials on the moon for potential human settlement. According to Wu Weiren, a scientist with the China National Space Administration, this mission will carry out on-site study on the environment and mineral compositions. It will also establish whether 3D printing technology can be used to the lunar surface, the article claims.
Weiren declared, “If we want to stay on the moon for a very long time, we need to build stations with the materials that the moon itself provides.” In other developments, four astronauts have been named by NASA and Canada’s space agency for the Artemis II mission, which is scheduled for late 2024. This is most certainly the first lunar fly-by by humans in many years.
China wants to start using its soil to create structures on the moon in five years. According to reports, a robot made to build “lunar soil bricks” would also be used on the Chang’e 8 mission in 2028, according to a Chinese Academy of Engineering specialist.
In other developments, NASA and Canada’s space agency have picked four astronauts for the Artemis II mission, which is slated to launch in late 2024. Without a doubt, this is the first human fly-by of the moon in a long time.
