Building a base of operations for the human being on the Moon is not an easy task, since it would involve several months of works, working in unfavorable conditions and in the absence of gravity, and the astronaut-workers would have to remain on our satellite at all times. that the work lasted. However,new 3D printing technologies offer an alternativewhich makes the idea of having a moon base seem so difficult to come by.
3D printing is already being used on Earth, and it has diverse applications: manufacturing prostheses, creating sculptures, obtaining replicas of archaeological finds, artistic montages or visualization of architectural designs. 3D printersallow to build three-dimensional structures, and for this they fill the successive layers of the object in question with different materials.
Now, the European Space Agency (ESA) intends to carry out an ambitious project that will allow it to “print” a base of operations on the surface of our satellite: it would be a kind of dome with walls designed to protect astronauts from the radiation and micrometeorite impacts. Following the philosophy of thesustainable construction, most of the materials used would come from the same surface of the moon, thus minimizing the transport of raw material from our planet.
“3D printing technology has made it possible to produce entire structures here on Earth,” argued Laurent Pambaguian, project manager. “Now we are going to see if we can use them to build a lunar habitat. This technique provides us with a possible means of facilitating lunar settlement with very little logistics from Earth.”
ESA, which has partnered with Norman Foster’s architectural firm to carry out this project, has presented as a demonstrationa block weighing 1.5 tonsthat has been manufactured using this technology. “First of all, it is necessary to mix the supposed lunar material with magnesium oxide. This makes it a kind of ‘paper’ with which it can be printed,” explained Enrico Dini, from the UK Monolite company, which has designed the printer used. “Then a binding salt is applied which turns the material into a stone-like solid. Our current printing has a build rate of around two meters per hour, while the next generation of printers will be able to reach 3.5 meters. per hour.the construction of an entire building would be completed in a week“.
The future is here. If ESA finally carries out its project, in a short time we will be able to see how a kind of robot quickly builds a shelter for the astronauts who are part of the next manned missions to the Moon.
