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US: The American Space Agency NASA [The National Aeronautics and Space Administration] is said to be planning to build the first home on the moon that can be rented out to astronauts and civilians by 2040, according to The New York Times.
The plan reportedly involves launching a large 3D printer to the moon and using lunar concrete made of rocks, mineral fragments and dust to layer the structure on the surface.
The proposed lunar accommodation, which is still in the early stages of discussions, would feature doors, tiles and furniture created with the help of universities and private firms. NASA has not disclosed how much it would expect to charge travellers to stay in the accommodation.
ICON, an Austin-based firm that specialises in advanced construction technologies and large-scale 3D printing, was awarded a near $60 million contract last November under Phase III of NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research [SBIR] programme,  building on previous NASA and Department of Defense funding for ICON’s Project Olympus, to research and develop space-based construction systems to support planned exploration of the Moon and beyond.
ICON’s Olympus system is intended to be a multi-purpose construction system primarily using local lunar and martian resources as building materials to further the efforts of NASA as well as commercial organisations to establish a sustained lunar presence.
The company already uses its 3D-printing expertise on Earth to construct luxury homes layer by layer using its system, known as The Vulcan. ICON’s 3D printer can currently build properties in a minimum of 48 hours and more than 100 have already been constructed in north Austin to provide more affordable housing for communities.
NASA believes that 3D-printed homes could play a big part in its mission to learn more about the moon and space in the future as they are easy and quick to erect, although there are many more stages to overcome before a home on the moon’s surface becomes a reality.
Firstly, the space agency will need to set up landing pads for rockets to carry a 3D printer to the lunar surface. This will not happen until at least next year when NASA launches the second phase of its Artemis mission that will take astronauts to the moon, and they will return for the third phase in 2025 or 2026.
ICON will test its 3D printer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama in February to monitor how it deals with the vacuum conditions and radiation levels in space and determine the feasibility of constructing a sustainable home on the moon’s surface within the next two decades.
