Hong Kong scientists work on replicating lunar soil to help China build on the moon
- Ahead of Chang’e 8 mission, which aims to set up a lunar research station, researchers are looking at the technologies needed to build on the moon
- Structural engineering professor says rather than taking materials to the moon, machinery should be transported from Earth to make use of lunar resources
Hong Kong deep space exploration researchers are looking to replicate lunar soil as closely as possible here on Earth, and then make bricks or a 3D print from the simulated soil to help construction projects on the moon.
“Chang’e 8 will be looking at construction on the moon. We’re going to do some research to determine the key technologies for building on the moon,” the chair professor of precision engineering said.
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China successfully lands Chang’e 5 probe on moon to collect lunar samples
“Many people around the world make simulants. But [they might] not be as accurate as we are because they may not be able to look into each grain of the lunar regolith [an area of lose rocks covering a bedrock] to make a simulant that exactly resembles [lunar soil].”
They developed the scoops and sealed container used by the mission to collect and bring back surface soil and rocks from the moon – the first collection of lunar samples in more than four decades.