ASTRONAUTS could one day live inside towering homes on the Moon – built from lunar rock.
Nasa images reveal what the buildings might look like, and the mining robot that would harvest the materials needed for construction.
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The space agency is currently preparing to return humans to the surface of the Moon.
That’s expected to properly begin with the Artemis III mission, which is set to take place no earlier than September 2026.
It’ll see Nasa astronauts landing at the Moon’s south pole, and will mark the beginning of plans to create a sustained human presence on the lunar surface.
And as part of the long-term vision, Nasa is hoping to be able to mine lunar regolith – a layer of surface rock – to create structures cheaply on the Moon.
The vision is to create “fully outfitted facilities and buildings to support a permanent lunar settlement and vibrant space economy”.
Nasa has already been testing virtual versions of mining robots in computer simulations – internally nicknamed “Moon Tycoon”.
A real version of the robot excavator will eventually fly to the Moon “in the next several years”, to demonstrate that it can successfully harvest “up to 10 metric tons of regolith”.
“This will be the first time excavating for mining operations, or in other words, where the intent is to actually use the resources,” said Nasa robotic engineer Jason Schuler.
Once Nasa can successfully harvest Moon rock, it can then begin trials to actually build structures on the lunar surface.
Nasa calls this type of home a “Class III” structure.
A Class I building is made on Earth, then delivered to the Moon.
For Class II, you’ll deploy it on the surface of the Moon, but it needs assembly and outfitting up there.
And Class III is when the building is totally manufactured on the Moon, built from local resources.
The rock would be collected, and then potentially 3D-printed into whatever kind of building Nasa needs.
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NASA ARTEMIS MISSIONS – THE TIMELINE
The Artemis mission is designed to reestablish a human presence on the Moon.
The exploration program will involve a series of missions, including the create of a permanent Moon base.
As with all space missions, planned timings can be wildly off – but here’s what we’re expecting…
Artemis I (2022) – Successful uncrewed test of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
Artemis II (2025) – Planned crewed test flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft.
Artemis III (2026) – Crewed landing on surface of Moon – the first American landing since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Artemis IV (2028) – Second crewed lunar landing mission using Orion, as well as Starship HLS that will dock with Lunar Gateway station near the Moon.
Artemis V (2030) – Third crewed landing, including the delivery of Nasa’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle.
Artemis VI (2031) – Fourth crewed landing, integrating the Crew and Science Airlock with the Lunar Gateway Space Station.
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The space agency has already showcased stunning 3D-printed building designs created by architecture whizzes at AI. SpaceFactory, a future-gazing company based in New York.
Nasa says that this third strategy wouldn’t just work on the Moon – but potentially also Mars.
Importantly, the material that Nasa will be harvesting with its mining robot isn’t meant to be just for space homes.
Nasa hopes that it can harvest regolith and use it to build almost anything on the Moon.
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And this process can be simulated on a computer in advance – to make sure it all works as intended.
“We can excavate the regolith and use it as construction material,” Schuler explained.
“We can build landing pads, leveling areas for site preparation, build berms, and compact pathways all in simulation.
“All of these capabilities are important for enabling a sustainable human presence on the Moon.”
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Nasa said that it could use the material to build 165-foot towers, miles of roads, and launch pads measuring 330-foot launch pads.
On top of that, it could create “shelters and habitats” with “thousands of cubic metres” of volume.
Nasa said this would provide “asset and crew protection” from “thermal, radiation” dangers.
And the goal would be that these systems would last at least 10 years – or potentially even longer.
The Moon – our closest neighbour explained
Here’s what you need to know…
- The Moon is a natural satellite – a space-faring body that orbits a planet
- It’s Earth’s only natural satellite, and is the fifth biggest in the Solar System
- The Moon measures 2,158 miles across, roughly 0.27 times the diameter of Earth
- Temperatures on the Moon range from minus 173 degrees Celcius to 260 degrees Celcius
- Experts assumed the Moon was another planet, until Nicolaus Copernicus outlined his theory about our Solar System in 1543
- It was eventually assigned to a “class” after Galileo discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter in 1610
- The Moon is believed to have formed around 4.51billion years ago
- The strength of its gravitational field is about a sixth of Earth’s gravity
- Earth and the Moon have “synchronous rotation”, which means we always see the same side of the Moon – hence the phrase “dark side of the Moon”
- The Moon’s surface is actually dark, but appears bright in the sky due to its reflective ground
- During a solar eclipse, the Moon covers the Sun almost completely. Both objects appear a similar size in the sky because the Sun is both 400 times larger and farther
- The first spacecraft to reach the Moon was in 1959, as part of the Soviet Union’s Lunar program
- The first manned orbital mission was Nasa’s Apollo 8 in 1968
- And the first manned lunar landing was in 1969, as part of the Apollo 11 mission
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