I sat glued to an Al Jazeera news story. It was fascinating. The European Space Agency is collaborating with architects to work out if it is feasible to create a building suitable for human habitation on the moon. In the seventies in the excitement of the first man on the moon, we thought that it wouldn't be long before humans would build their homes, create villages, towns, even cities on the moon. Cost benefit analysis soon left the idea to science fiction. Thirty or so years later the idea has resurfaced.
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What, the moon is an antihuman environment! You'd need to first create an airtight conservatorium filled with an earthly atmosphere. And that's only the first problem. Just how would you get all the building supplies up there? You'd need a road train of rockets. Would the building materials need to be light weight to be able to transport? Slip back 150 years ago and one of the reasons wool became our major export was its comparative light weight and high yield in woollen products. Do we have a building material that is light enough to transport yet sturdy enough to withstand life on the moon? Ah, but is this the relevant question?
Enter the 3D printer! Already the 3D printer is revolutionising manufacturing. Machine components are being manufactured using 3D printing processes. Sculpturers are making large objects, structures even, using printers. Architects have been playing around with 3D printers to produce whole structures. 3D printers are becoming affordable and with the right specifications and cartridges everyone will be able to make objects of their choice. Imagine the cost savings in manufacturing and distribution if the buyer became his own manufacturer. Now take this step and apply it to an old dream..... living on the moon. That's right! Robots could print homes in the hostile moon environment. All that would be required is the right 'ink' in the cartridge.
The right ink, that's what the lunar habitat project is working on. And it's not just the 'ink' but also the 'paper'. British firm, Monolite, have developed a printer and are working on the ingredients: magnesium oxide mixed with simulated lunar soil for the 'paper'. The ink is a binding salt which converts the paper into a stone like solid.
I sat fascinated watching the simulation of the proposed housing... igloo like structures moulded from the surrounding moonscape. No need to worry that your view of the moon will be spoilt by nasty little prefabs! The 'moogloos' blend into their surrounds. You'll be flat out seeing them.