space race

china Demonstrates Key Technology for Building on the moon with Sunlight & Moondust

BEIJING – Researchers at the Deep space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL) in China have successfully demonstrated a system capable of creating construction materials directly from lunar regolith – commonly known as moondust – using concentrated solar power. The breakthrough,detailed in a July publication in Acta Astronautica,represents a significant step towards establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon by minimizing reliance on Earth-supplied resources.

The innovative system employs a parabolic mirror to intensely focus sunlight, achieving temperatures exceeding 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit (1,300 degrees Celsius) – over 3,000 times the intensity of sunlight at Earth’s surface. This heat,channeled through fiber optic cables,is sufficient to melt lunar regolith,allowing it to be formed into solid shapes. Lab tests utilizing artificial lunar regolith composed of basalt, and simulated sunlight from a xenon lamp, successfully produced lines, surfaces, bodies, and complex structures.

According to Yang Hoglun, a senior engineer at DSEL and co-author of the published research, the technology validates the possibility of utilizing lunar soil as the sole raw material for construction. “This printing breakthrough has validated the feasibility of using lunar soil as the sole raw building material, enabling true in-situ resource utilization and eliminating the need to transport any additional materials from Earth,” Yang stated to Chinese state media Xinhua.

While the current prototype bricks are not structurally sound enough to withstand the pressures of the lunar vacuum and low gravity independently, researchers envision their use as protective layers for pressurized habitat modules constructed from rigid and inflatable materials. The system holds potential for creating lunar roads,equipment platforms,and building components,supporting large-scale lunar exploration and resource utilization.

China is actively pursuing this technology further. In November 2024, a cargo rocket delivered brick prototypes manufactured from lunar regolith simulant to the Tiangong space station.These bricks will undergo three years of testing in the harsh conditions of space to assess their long-term durability.

this progress places China at the forefront of in-situ resource utilization for lunar construction. While the U.S.and other nations are also developing similar technologies, China’s advancements in recent years have been notably notable, with its Lunar Exploration Program increasingly competing with – and in some areas surpassing – NASA’s Artemis program.