China has announced plans to build a moon base within the next decade, using bricks made from lunar soil. The proposal was discussed during a summit in Wuhan attended by over 100 of the country's top experts, who worked to identify the infrastructure needed to establish the first-ever surface base of this kind. The process will require advanced robotics and careful engineering.
In recent weeks, Nokia has also revealed its plans to put internet access on the moon. The project would allow almost real-time communication with the moon's inhabitants, and is expected to be in place in time for the next Avengers movie.
China has been exploring the possibility of constructing a moon base for some time, but the cost of transporting the necessary tools and equipment to the moon is prohibitive. The fastest possible route to the moon takes over three days of spacecraft travel, requiring a more than 240,000-mile one-way trip and several dangerous calculations along the way.
This is where the concept of lunar bricks comes into play. Huazhong University of Science and Technology scientist Ding Lieyun and his team of engineers were able to create a prototype of the China moon base using 3D-printed bricks of lunar soil. A lunar module robot, known as the Chinese Super Mason, then laid the bricks on top of one another, constructing an egg-shaped habitat suitable for human inhabitants on the moon's surface.
The Chang'e-8 mission is scheduled to begin before 2028, with a further mission called Chang'e-6 set to study the far side of the moon in collaboration with French scientists, scheduled to begin in 2025.
Recent research has also shown water lurking beneath the moon's crust. This discovery could lead to the creation of a lunar refuelling station for oncoming spacecraft.
China's plans to construct a moon base would revolutionize humanity's relationship with outer space. As science continues to create previously unthinkable possibilities for the future of our civilization, the construction of a lunar base could lead to even greater discoveries.