Is it possible to construct houses on moon? By 2024, the US space agency NASA hopes to have residential buildings built on the moon after awarding a $60 million contract to a technology firm to carry out the project.
The residences, which would be built after a 3D printer was launched into the Earth’s natural satellite, would not only be for astronauts but also for civilians. Rocks, mineral shards, and lunar surface dust would be used to build the structure.
Other components of the house, such as the doors, tiles, and furniture, have already been constructed thanks to NASA’s collaboration with a number of organizations and for-profit businesses.
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It is part of a long-term plan that calls for the astronauts to land on Mars and establish a base there.
Is it possible to construct houses on moon?
Things are currently in their very early stages, but this could change over the next few years. Additionally, the cost for a civilian to stay on the moon has not yet been disclosed by the US Space Agency.
ICON uses 3D printing in its construction methods. The technology uses a filament made of a cement, sand, and water mixture.
One by one, each component of a house is printed before being slotted together. The printer can construct properties as soon as 48 hours, according to reports.
The Austin-based company has been in operation since 2018 and has since constructed hundreds of homes.
The project gained popularity and momentum because it could be easily assembled into a house and, in the opinion of developers, could put an end to the US housing crisis.
Although he does not envision typical Americans living on the moon in his lifetime, Raymond Clinton, deputy director of the science and technology office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Centre, said that he hopes it will be possible for future generations. I wish I could have witnessed it.
He said: “When we talk about a sustainable human presence, to me, that means that you have a lunar settlement and you have people living and working on the moon continuously. What that could be is only up to the imagination of entrepreneurs.”
The company stated that for building a house on the moon, the structure must be resistant to thermal radiation and micrometeorites.
ICON co-founder and CEO, Jason Ballard, said: “To change the space exploration paradigm from there and back again to there to stay, we’re going to need robust, resilient, and broadly capable systems that can use the local resources of the Moon and other planetary bodies.”
The ICON printer will be tested in February at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Centre to see how it responds to the radiation and vacuum of space.
