Description
China will explore using 3D printing technology to build buildings on the moon, the official China Daily reported on Monday, as Beijing consolidates its long-term lunar habitation plans. During China's 2020 lunar mission, Chang'e 5, named after the mythical Chinese goddess of the moon, an unmanned probe brought the first samples of lunar soil from China to Earth. China, which made its first moon landing in 2013, plans to land an astronaut on the Moon by 2030. By then, China will launch Chang'e 6, 7 and 8 missions, the latter tasked with searching the Moon for reusable resources for long-term human dwellings.
The Chang'e 8 probe will carry out in situ studies of the environment and mineral composition, and will also determine whether technologies such as 3D printing can be implemented on the lunar surface, China Daily reported, citing Wu Weiren, a scientist with the National Space from China. Management.
"If we want to stay on the moon for a long time, we need to set up stations that use the moon's own materials," Wu said.
China wants to start building a lunar base using lunar soil within five years, Chinese media reported earlier this month.
A robot tasked with making "lunar soil bricks" will launch on the Chang'e 8 mission around 2028, according to an expert from the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
The race to the moon has intensified 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, in what would be the first human flyby of the moon in decades.
