For what could be the first ever human settlement that will be put up outside of the Earth, the European Space Agency revealed that 3D printing technology could be the key to put up an inflatable base on the Moon.
Almost half a century since humans were able to first set foot on the Moon, there has been no progress made yet on solving the problem of how to transport building materials cost effectively to the Moon to be able to create safe and permanent settlements for humans.
ESA officials believe that the solution has been found with the advent of 3D printing technology, with estimates stating that the first humans could already be settling down on the Moon in as soon as 40 years.
The latest video briefing released by the ESA revealed detailed plans on how robotic 3D printers, equipped with wheels, would be initially tasked with the collection of material from the Moon's surface, which would then be converted into a coating for a structure that will be resistant to both space radiation and meteor strikes.
The ESA has long proposed sending out self-contained, pod-like houses to the Moon using several rockets. Several pods, once safely on the surface of the Moon, could then be connected to form bigger networks of structures the ESA calls as "terraces," with each one having its own technical support module and airlock.
However, the new video briefing by the ESA reveals how regolith, the dusty material from the Moon's surface that the robotic 3D printers will first collect, can be utilized to serve as a protective coating for the inflatable domes.
The research was developed by the ESA in partnership with Foster + Partners, an architecture company. Foster + Partners, however, said that as with all the other plans for the human colonization of the Moon, the 3D printer proposal for erecting structures on Earth's lone satellite is still "on the drawing board."
There is excitement on the potential of the proposal though.
According to Scott Hovland from the human spaceflight team of the ESA, 3D printing technology represents a possible method of facilitating human settlement on the Moon, paired with a reduction on the logistics required to transport the required materials and equipment from Earth.
"As a practice, we are used to designing for extreme climates on Earth and exploiting the environmental benefits of using local, sustainable materials," said Xavier De Kestelier, a member of Foster + Partner's specialist modelling team.
"Our lunar habitation follows a similar logic," De Kestelier added.
