China plans to use its space exploration program to test the feasibility of using 3D printing technology to build buildings on the moon’s surface, local media reported on Monday.
The Chang’e-8 probe, whose launch date has not yet been announced, will be tasked with investigating the moon’s environment and mineral composition, as well as checking whether 3D printing can be used on these surfaces, the scientist said. Wu Weiren of the Center. China Space Administration, quoted by the official newspaper in English China Daily.
“If we want to be present on the Moon in the long term, we have to install stations that use lunar materials,” said the expert.
Several Chinese universities, such as Tongji and Jiatong, have begun to study possible applications of 3D printing technology on Earth’s natural satellite.
Chang’e-8 will be the third probe to land on the Moon, in the next phase of China’s lunar exploration program. Chang’e-6 and Chang’e-7 are expected to launch first.
The Chang’e program (named after a goddess who, according to Chinese legend, lives on the moon) began with the launch of a first probe in 2007.
The Asian country has invested billions of dollars in its space program in recent decades.
China sent its first astronaut into space in 2003. In early 2019, a spacecraft landed on the far side of the moon, a world first. In 2020, it brought back samples from the Moon and finished Beidou, its satellite navigation system, a competitor to American GPS.
In 2021, China landed a small robot on Mars and plans to send humans to the Moon by 2030.
Source: TSF
