One small hut for man: European Space Agency unveils plans for mankind's first habitable MOON BASE... built almost entirely out of lunar soil by robots
- 3D printing technology will transform raw lunar soil into livable domes
- Will house four people and protect them from meteorites and gamma radiation
- Could be ready for humans to move in within the next 40 years
By MATT BLAKE
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The outpost, designed by the European Space Agency, will be built using state-of-the-art 3D printing technology to transform raw lunar soil into livable domes.
The ESA teamed up with architectural firm Foster + Partners in a bid to set the wheels in motion for a permanent human presence on Earth's only natural satellite.
And experts say it could be ready for humans to move in within the next 40 years.
Built by robots: The structure will house four people, and can offer protection from meteorites, gamma radiation and vast temperature fluctuations
Autonomous robots will be used to 3D print a cellular structure to house four people, and can offer protection from meteorites, gamma radiation and vast temperature fluctuations.
The ESA's human spaceflight team's Scott Hovland said: '3D printing offers a potential means of facilitating lunar settlement with reduced logistics from Earth.'
The theory is that 90 per cent of the materials needed to build the structure already exists on the Moon, so only the robots and light-weight parts, such as inflatables and the solid connector and entry segments, will have to be ferried from Earth.
Ambitious: The ESA teamed up with architectural firm Foster + Partners in a bid to set the wheels in motion for a permanent human presence on Earth's only natural satellite
Autonomous robots will be used to 3D print a cellular structure fit for habitation
The few parts that would need to be made on Earth would be folded from a tubular module that can be transported by space rocket.
To ensure strength while keeping the amount of binding 'ink' to a minimum, the shell is made up of a hollow closed cellular structure similar to foam.
Xavier De Kestelier of Foster + Partners Specialist Modelling Group told Gizmodo: 'As a practice, we are used to designing for extreme climates on Earth and exploiting the environmental benefits of using local, sustainable materials. Our lunar habitation follows a similar logic.'
They say the 'hollow closed-cell structure' - reminiscent of bird bones - 'provides a good combination of strength and weight.'
The raw lunar material is turned into a pulp and sprayed to form a solid block that is then used to build walls at a rate of around two metres an hour.
Moon brick: Simulated lunar soil has been used to create a 1.5 tonne mockup and 3D printing tests have been undertaken at a smaller scale in a vacuum chamber to echo lunar conditions
3D printing robots in action: The raw lunar material is turned into a pulp and sprayed to form a solid block that is then used to build walls at a rate of around two metres an hour
