CHINESE researchers are pushing ahead with plans to build egg-shaped housing domes on the lunar surface, according to state media.
The domes, called Yuehuzun, will be homes and workspaces for Chinese astroscientists.
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Researchers at China’s Huazhong University of Science and Technology believe they can 3D print blocks to build oval shelters from lunar soil.
“3D printing technology allows us to quickly build some structures on the lunar surface,” explained Zhou Cheng, professor at Huazhong University of Science and Technology.
“It’s a method that allows us to use materials in-situ and also a way to complete large-scale construction on the lunar surface.”
The egg shape is supposed to be able to withstand extreme environmental conditions, as well as violent lunar earthquakes.
Just like the strong tremors felt on Earth, lunar earthquakes can cause damage to buildings and future astronauts.
However, lunar earthquakes can last for several hours, unlike those on Earth.
Researchers are therefore developing an airbag that would be incorporated into Yuehuzun to protect the structures from shocks and also insulate them from the cold temperatures of the moon.
“The eggshell-shaped ‘Yuehuzun’ can meet the Moon’s extreme environmental challenges,” Zhou added.
“In addition, its design features a two-story hollow structure that incorporates an internal heating system.
“This can reduce material consumption, so it is possible to achieve a balance between how they are consumed and their performance.”
In previously released CGI clips of China’s master plan for the Moon, it’s clear that the country wants a lunar base on a city-like scale.
It features multiple launch sites, habitation dome fields, and fleets of autonomous robots.
‘Long-term exploration’
China’s space city, currently aimed at the lunar south pole, will “support humanity” in traveling to “deeper space,” according to the country’s space agency.
Both China and the US plan to use the Moon as a refueling base to fly to Mars and beyond.
While the US fears that China plans to claim the Moon as its own territory, Beijing is adamant that the base was intended for research only.
The lunar base, formally known as the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), is a partnership between 11 countries, including Russia, Belarus, Pakistan, Egypt and South Africa.
By 2035, it is expected that a basic model of the ILRS will have been built to house lunar science experiments.
A decade later, in 2045, China aims to have a city-like base, in what it calls an “extended model” of the basic ILRS.
As things stand today, China intends to begin work on its Disneyland-sized International Lunar Research Base (ILRS) no sooner than 2028.
Race to the moon
By Millie Turner, technology and science reporter
Continuing chest pressure between the US and China has triggered a Renaissance for the 1960s space race.
And NASA chief Bill Nelson also didn’t shy away from calling it a “race”.
Both nations are taking their tech war around Earth – where the pair are currently spotted shaking fists over computer chips, AI and TikTok – to the stars.
While China was late to the first round of the space race, Beijing is investing heavily to become the second nation to land humans on the Moon by 2030.
Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, China has spent about $14 billion (11.2 billion) on its ambitious space program in 2023, according to Statista.
Washington and Beijing currently have the most developed plans to secure separate permanent bases on the Moon of any country in the world.
But the White House and NASA intend to be the first to arrive.
In January, Nelson said he believed the “race” for China was over and that the US was heading towards its final stretch.
Nelson has openly expressed his fears if China puts them in office.
China’s military presence in the South China Sea signals how the country could behave on the lunar surface, Nelson said, which would violate the 1967 Outer Space Treaty.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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