Conference organized in China to study how to build on the moon
Chinese scientists have held the first conference on plans to build a manned base on the moon. More than 100 researchers from domestic universities, research institutes and space companies attended the Extraterrestrial Construction Conference held at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan on Saturday.
Discussions covered a wide range of topics, including plans to build basic infrastructure on the moon, the use of robots, and ways to simulate the lunar environment on Earth.
“Extraterrestrial construction is still in its infancy. The purpose of this conference is to foster dialogue, gather ideas and form consensus as the community moves forward,” said Ding Lieyun, smart construction specialist and chief scientist of the university's National Technology Innovation Center for Digital Construction.
“ Eventually, the construction of homes beyond the Earth is essential not only for mankind's pursuit of space exploration, but also for China's strategic needs as a space power, ” Ding told China Science Daily during the conference. .
According to the China Science Daily, Ding outlined the latest developments from his lab at the conference, including the creation of simulated lunar soil samples.
Ding's team had previously proposed lunar base designs, such as the egg-shaped Lunar Pot Vessel, made from lunar soil-based bricks created with 3D printers and lasers.
His team then used a robot called the Chinese Super Mason to put the bricks together using traditional Chinese building techniques – a process Ding likened to building with Lego and which he said was less risky and more efficient than printing the brick. whole structure.
Ding said the challenges of building a lunar base are many, including lack of water, low gravity, frequent lunar earthquakes and strong cosmic radiation.
In an interview with the Changjiang Daily, Ding said that the first brick made of lunar soil will be built during the Chang'e 8 mission in about five years. “ We will use real lunar soil to make the first brick right there on the Moon ,” he added.
Meanwhile, the chief designer of the fourth phase of China's lunar exploration project – which includes the Chang'e 6, 7 and 8 missions – warned that scientists may have underestimated the gap between day and night temperatures on the Moon.
“Our latest data has shown that the highest temperature on the Moon is around 120 degrees and the lowest is around minus 200 degrees. This difference is greater than we expected and increases the difficulty of in situ construction,” Yu Dengyun, of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, told China Science Daily.
Yu and researchers at the Harbin Institute of Technology in northeastern China published detailed plans for two lunar bases, named Clover and Red Star, in the Journal of Deep Space Exploration in February.
Basic proposal Red Star
Clover was designed for the surface of the Moon, while Red Star was designed for lunar craters. Both designs consist of four cabins that could accommodate three or four astronauts for a short-term stay.
“It may take 20-30 years or more to settle on the Moon, but we need to start working together now,” Yu said at the conference. China plans to send its first tachyonaut mission (as the Chinese call astronauts) to the moon in 2027.
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The article A conference organized in China to study how to build on the Moon comes from Scenari Economics .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/in-cina-organizzata-conferenza-per-studiare-come-costruire-sulla-luna/ on Wed, 12 Apr 2023 20:15:03 +0000.