CarderPlanet
Professional
- Messages
- 2,552
- Reaction score
- 675
- Points
- 83
By 2040, the moon could be humanity's new home thanks to NASA's 3D printing technology.
Science-fiction movies and books have long talked about people living on the moon. However, by 2040, this may become a reality thanks to NASA's program to create 3D-printed homes designed for both astronauts and civilians.
In an interview with the New York Times, seven scientists from NASA confirmed that the agency's ambitious plan to create lunar structures by 2040 is quite feasible, provided that all the planned stages are completed.
To implement the plan, it is planned to send a 3D printer to the Moon, which will create structures from lunar concrete obtained from lunar soils. In this project, NASA is partnering with ICON, a Texas-based company that has already built hundreds of buildings using 3D printing on Earth. ICON has been partnering with NASA since 2020 and received $ 57 million in funding in 2022 to build space-based construction systems.
However, building homes on the Moon, and possibly later on Mars, will present much more challenges than on Earth due to the vacuum, radiation, micrometeorites, and extreme temperatures. ICON plans to test its system for these factors at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in February.
NASA collaborates with universities and private companies to create household items such as doors and furniture. It will also be necessary to create landing pads on the lunar surface for rockets delivering a 3D printer.
The first step to realizing this dream will be the Artemis 2 mission, scheduled for next year, which will send astronauts into lunar orbit. The return of humans to the lunar surface is expected in 2025 or 2026 as part of the Artemis 3 mission with the help of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft.
Science-fiction movies and books have long talked about people living on the moon. However, by 2040, this may become a reality thanks to NASA's program to create 3D-printed homes designed for both astronauts and civilians.
In an interview with the New York Times, seven scientists from NASA confirmed that the agency's ambitious plan to create lunar structures by 2040 is quite feasible, provided that all the planned stages are completed.
To implement the plan, it is planned to send a 3D printer to the Moon, which will create structures from lunar concrete obtained from lunar soils. In this project, NASA is partnering with ICON, a Texas-based company that has already built hundreds of buildings using 3D printing on Earth. ICON has been partnering with NASA since 2020 and received $ 57 million in funding in 2022 to build space-based construction systems.
However, building homes on the Moon, and possibly later on Mars, will present much more challenges than on Earth due to the vacuum, radiation, micrometeorites, and extreme temperatures. ICON plans to test its system for these factors at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in February.
NASA collaborates with universities and private companies to create household items such as doors and furniture. It will also be necessary to create landing pads on the lunar surface for rockets delivering a 3D printer.
The first step to realizing this dream will be the Artemis 2 mission, scheduled for next year, which will send astronauts into lunar orbit. The return of humans to the lunar surface is expected in 2025 or 2026 as part of the Artemis 3 mission with the help of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft.
