(CTN NEWS) – The first conference of China experts to explore the construction of a crewed outpost on the moon has taken place.
The Extraterrestrial Construction Conference was conducted at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan on Saturday, with participation from more than 100 scholars from domestic universities, research centers, and space contractors.
They discussed many issues, including how to recreate Earth’s lunar climate and construct basic infrastructure on the moon
“The growth of extraterrestrial life is still very young.
According to Ding Lieyun, head scientist of the National Centre of Technology Innovation for Digital Construction at the university and an expert in intelligent construction, this conference aims to foster discussion, collect ideas, and forge consensus as the community advances.
In the end, Ding told China Science Daily during the conference, “creating habitation beyond the earth is essential not only for all of humanity’s pursuit of space exploration, but also for China’s strategic needs as a space power.”
According to China Science Daily, Ding spoke at the conference about the most recent achievements at his lab, including the production of samples of replicated lunar soil.
Earlier proposals for lunar bases by Ding’s team included the egg-shaped Lunar Pot Vessel, which is built of bricks derived from moon dirt and produced using 3D printers and lasers.
His team then assembled the bricks using a Chinese Super Mason robot using conventional Chinese building methods, a procedure Ding likened to assembling Lego and claimed was less dangerous and more effective than printing the entire tower.
Building a moon base presents several difficulties, according to Ding, including the absence of water, low gravity, regular moon tremors, and intense cosmic radiation.
Ding stated that the first block manufactured from lunar dirt will be constructed on the Chang’e 8 mission in around five years in a separate interview with Changjiang Daily.
He continued that the first block will be made on the moon using actual moon soil.
The Chang’e 6, 7, and 8 missions fall under the fourth phase of China’s lunar exploration project
The principal designer for this phase has warned that scientists may have misjudged the difference between day and night temperatures on the moon.
According to the most recent statistics, the moon’s hottest and lowest temperatures are 120 and minus 200 degrees, respectively.
This discrepancy is greater than we anticipated and makes in-situ construction more challenging, according to Yu Dengyun of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
The Journal of Deep Space Exploration published the Clover and Red Star moon bases’ comprehensive drawings in February, created by Yu and researchers from the Harbin Institute of Technology in northeastern China.
Clover and Red Star, published in February in the Journal of Deep Space Exploration.
The Chang’e 6 mission will launch in 2025 to gather samples from the far side of the moon, the Chang’e 7 mission will launch the following year to look for water ice, and the Chang’e 8 mission should land about two years later.
