NASA has big plans for the Moon. Not only is the space agency planning to return humans to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years, it’s now aiming to build homes on the Moon by 2040.
That’s a much bigger step than the prospect of putting human bots on the Moon’s surface within the next decade, and given that 2040 is less than 20 years away at this point, things will have to move pretty quickly if NASA wants to make it possible.
The plan revolves around using Moon dust to prepare concrete that a 3D printer can use to create homes on the Moon. However, NASA is not content with placing houses on our satellite. The space agency wants these houses to be safe enough for civilians to live in.
To make something like this happen, NASA collaborated with ICON, a construction technology company based in Austin, Texas, that specializes in 3D printed homes. The company received its first round of funding from NASA in 2020 and another $60 million in 2022 to take space-based construction to new levels.
NASA calls its return to the Moon Artemis, and Artemis III will be the first of missions to put human boots back on the Moon. But for this housing plan, the agency will send a 3D printer to the lunar surface, where it will begin building houses on the Moon, layer by layer.
This is an intriguing idea and could lead to the first settlement on the Moon by 2040. Of course, all of this depends on the space agency meeting all its criteria, which is possible with a lot of hard work and a little luck.
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