Can China Build a Moon Colony in 10 Years?
The Chinese space agency announced their nation is planning to place a moon station on the lunar surface within a decade. Zhang Kejian, leader of the China National Space Administration (CNSA), made the announcement on Space Day, April 24, according to a report published in the news agency Xinhua.
The Chinese moon station will be built near the Moon’s south pole, using 3D printing technology. Water has been detected collecting in frozen pools at the poles of our planetary companion.
“We hope [to] test some technologies, and do some exploring for the building of a joint lunar base shared by multiple countries. For example, can we build houses on the moon with lunar soil using 3D printing technology?” asked Wu Yanhua, deputy head of the CNSA.
It’s Almost Launch Time!
China’s space plans include launching their newest lunar probe, the Chang’e-5 to the Moon by the end of 2019. That mission, originally scheduled for takeoff in the second half of 2017, was delayed following a failure of the Long March 6 Y2 rocket in July of that year.
“China will launch the Chang’e-5 lunar probe to collect and return lunar samples back to Earth at the end of 2019… Shaoshan, the hometown of China’s late leader Mao Zedong, will be one of the permanent storage centers of the lunar samples,”…
