NASA is trying to build its first permanent structure on the moon: a lunar base equipped with work and daily space for astronauts, runways, roads and storage. The program will be part of its next space mission to the moon called Artemis and will be launched in stages. Construction is expected to begin by the end of the next decade.
NASA would use moon dust to build on the moon
A Texas start-up company says it has the solution: build a structure using moondust 3D printing. ICON is a company with extensive experience in 3D printed buildings. Since 2018 he has dedicated himself to building houses in Mexico and Texas and in 2015 he participated in NASA’s 3D Printed Habitat challenge, demonstrating a construction method and technologies that can be adapted for applications beyond our planet. “Since the founding of ICON, we have been thinking about building this planet,” Ballard said.
The idea is to develop a technology that can turn the monthly dust, the top layer of the moon’s soil, into a concrete-like material, ICON founder Jason Ballard told CNN.
According to a report from Markets to Markets, 3D printing technology could reduce construction waste by 30% – 60%, labor costs by 50% – 80% and construction time by 50% – 70%.
ICON has worked closely with other NASA departments, such as the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to test milk powder simulators and various processing and printing technologies. “We want to increase the readiness of technology and testing systems to demonstrate that it would be feasible to develop a large-scale 3D printer that could build infrastructure on the moon or Mars,” said Corky Clinton, associate director of Office of Science and Technology. Marshall Technology.
For NASA, building on the moon would be the first step before making it to Mars.
A project of this magnitude (and outside this world) is expected to have some obstacles. This includes not only the transformation of moon dust into construction material, but also the construction of comfortable and strong structures, resistant to “high levels of radiation, violent monthly earthquakes, extreme temperature changes”.
According to Space.com, the temperatures on the Moon during the day are around 100 degrees C and at night, as cold as 173 degrees C.
Eighteen astronauts will be part of the Artemis program
Eighteen astronauts and aircraft experts were selected to train for the mission, including two Hispanics, Joseph M. Acabá and Francisco C. Rubio. The last time a man stepped on the moon was in 1972. This time nine women will have the opportunity to make history and glide through the star.
The astronauts are Joseph M. Acaba, Kayla J. Barron, Raja Chari, Matthew S. Dominick, Victor J. Glover, Warren Hoburg, Jonathan Kim, Christina H. Koch, Kjell N. Lindgren, Nicole A. Mann, Anne C. McClain, Jessica U. Meir, Jasmin Moghbeli, Kathleen Rubins, Francisco C. Rubio, Scott D. Tingle, Jessica A. Watkins, and Stephanie D. Wilson.
The first flight of the program that will send astronauts into space is scheduled for 2023.