The machine that manufactures bricks on the moon

To vary, a Chinese research team developed it. They made the machine that manufactures bricks on the moon. Thus they could build houses on the moon with local materials. The 3D Lunar Soil Printing System was made by the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL).

They use concentrated solar energy to melt and mold the lunar soil. This was reported by Xinhua citing Science and Technology Daily. Yang Honglun, senior engineer of the DSEL, says it. The machine to make lunar bricks uses a parabolic reflector to concentrate solar energy. This concentrated energy is transmitted through a fiber optic beam. At the end of this beam, solar concentration can exceed 3,000 times normal intensity. A high precision optical system focuses on this sunlight concentrated in a small point. Heats it more than 1,300 degrees Celsius to melt the lunar soil.

Life bricks

The bricks produced by the machine are manufactured entirely with lunar soil resources in situ, without additional additives. They have high resistance and density. They would serve for buildings and infrastructure as platforms for road equipment and surfaces. The machine that manufactures bricks on the moon brings great advantages. "The bricks will serve mainly as surface protective layers for habitats. They must be integrated with rigid structural modules and inflatable soft cover modules. Thus they can complete the construction of a lunar base," they add.

Habitat modules are designed to withstand the air pressure needed for human occupation. They are also equipped to integrate with the lunar brick manufacturing machine and surface construction robots. It is a complete construction system.

Future mission

China started the International Lunar Research Station (Ilrs). It is an experimental scientific installation consisting of sections on the lunar surface and the lunar orbit. It is projected that it will be built in two phases. A basic model, which will be built by 2035 in the South Lunar Pole region, and an expanded model, which will be built in the 2040s.

Chinese scientists made simulated lunar soil bricks. They were sent to the Chinese space station through the Tianzhou-8 load spacecraft. Astronauts aboard the space station will carry out space exposure experiments with these bricks. They hope to evaluate their mechanical properties, thermal performance and radiation resistance, in order to obtain crucial data for the future lunar construction.