China To Build A House On The Moon Surface Using 3-D Printing Technology

China wants to be the first country to establish a base on the moon and says it will build it using 3D printing technology. 

Officials from the Chinese space agency also said the country will return to the moon by the end of the year with the Chang’e-5 mission.

Three successive missions will further explore the barren surface and the viability of building houses there.

China National Space Administration (CNSA) said they also have plans to go to Mars in 2020, a timeline that would likely make them the first to do so, beating out the US, Russia and the plethora of private firms looking to colonise space.

China successfully achieved a global first with its trip to the far side of the moon when it landed in the Von Kármán crater on January 4.

Speaking at a conference earlier today, the high-ranking CNSA staff claimed the ground-breaking mission only cost the same as building one kilometer of underground railway.

The lander and its corresponding rover – Yutu-2 – sent back images of the equipment and the moonscape last week after the rover, called Jade Rabbit 2 in English, woke from an enforced ‘nap’.

Dr Wu Yanhua, deputy director of the National Space Administration and deputy commander of lunar exploration projects, said in a press conference: ‘Chang’e-5 will return mission sampling from the surface of the moon around the end of this year.

He added: ‘Our country’s first Mars exploration mission will take place before and after 2020.’

China is swiftly establishing a reputation as one of the forerunners in the renaissance of the space race with its continued investment in both Martian and lunar missions.

After Chang’e-5 returns lunar rocks from the surface the next mission, Chang’e-6 will be the first mission to explore the south pole of the moon.

Chang’e-7 will study the land surface, composition, space environment in a comprehensive mission, it was claimed, while Chang’e-8 will focus on technical surface analysis.

China, America, Russian and Europe are reportedly discussing whether to build a base station on the moon using 3D printing for example to build houses and other infrastructure.

Mission number eight will likely lay the groundwork for this as it strives to verify the technology earmarked for the project and if it is viable as a scientific base.

Chang’e-4’s 360° lens captured the Yutu-2 – or Jade Rabbit 2 – rover in front of the grey moonscape last week.

It revealed the potholed surface and barren expanse of land inside the mysterious Von Kármán crater near the lunar south pole.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF CHINESE SPACE EXPLORATION?

Officials from the Chinese space agency have said the country will return to the moon by the end of 2019 with the Chang’e-5 mission.

This will collect rocks from the near side of the moon and return them to Earth for further study.

Chang’e-6 will be the first mission to explore the south pole of the moon.

Chang’e-7 will study the land surface, composition, space environment in a comprehensive mission, it was claimed, while Chang’e-8 will focus on technical surface analysis.

China is also reportedly working on building a lunar base using 3D printing technology.

Mission number eight will likely lay the groundwork for this as it strives to verify the technology earmarked for the project and if it is viable as a scientific base.

China’s space agency the China National Space Administration (CNSA) also say they want to travel to mars by 2020.

Pictures posted on Chinese social media also showed that Chang’e-4 and Yutu-2, took images of each other.

This celestial photoshoot gives an astonishing look at the tandem of cutting-edge machinery that China is currently using to explore the previously unknown region.

Eternally immortalised tracks left from Yutu-2’s maiden voyage away from Chang’e-4 on January 4 can also be seen snaking over the untouched surface.

Jade Rabbit 2 entered ‘nap’ mode after the initial landing in order to survive the blistering 200°C (390°F) lunar daytime which lasts for 14 Earth days.

It was stirred from its forced slumber as the brutal temperatures subside ahead of the transition to a 300-hour-long lunar night.

Footage also emerged towards the end of the week of a first-person look at the final approach of Chang’e-4 as it completed its pioneering landing on the tempestuous terrain of the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin, the largest and deepest impact crater in the solar system.

A statement from the Chinese space agency, CNSA, said: ‘Researchers have completed the preliminary analysis of the lunar surface topography around the landing site based on the image taken by the landing camera.’

Chang’e-4, the Yutu-2 and the Queqiao relay satellite that beams data back to Earth are all ‘in a stable condition, and all work was carried out as planned,’ the statement concluded.

A post from the Yutu-2 rover’s social media account on Chinese microblogging website Weibo on January 11 at 11:22 Beijing time read: ‘Would you like to take a 360-degree moon walk? Here is a high-resolution panoramic photo of the moon taken by my fourth sister.

‘Just now, my fourth sister looked around and captured the environment around us with a ring-shaped topographic camera, which included me, can you see?’

China’s communist party has since issued a statement praising the endeavour which marks the first time the secretive government has formally recognised the mission’s success.

It was reported by China Central Television Station and read: ‘The central committee of the Community Party of China, State Council and Central Military Commission send messages of congratulation to the successful completion of the Chang’e 4 moon-probing project.’