3D printed bunker protects astronauts on the Moon

The AI ​​SpaceFactory's base will have a Roman-style dome covering more than 2.5m of lunar soil along with 3 independent clusters surrounding the common courtyard. Each cluster has an area of ​​75m2 while the central area is 90m2. The 3D printed outer shell design also integrates a photovoltaic tree to collect solar energy.

3D printed bunker named LINA. (Photo: AI SpaceFactory)

Over the next decade, NASA's Artemis mission will bring astronauts to the Moon's south pole, an area where the Sun regularly shines. The LINA (Lunar Infrastructure Asset) base will be built by autonomous robots near the Shackleton crater. This is a place where the light reaches almost continuously, allowing the use of solar energy. Not only that, the shadow part of the pit wall also helps to collect ice water conveniently.

According to the design team, with a lifespan of at least 50 years, LINA can accommodate pressurized manned autonomous robots such as Space Exploration Vehicles, telecommunications equipment and living modules. The Moon bunker will be covered by topsoil, providing maximum protection against solar and cosmic radiation, micrometeorites, seismic activity such as earthquakes, and extreme thermal fluctuations. LINA's design is the result of a collaboration between AI SpaceFactory and NASA to develop technology to build on the Moon's surface within the timeframe of the Artemis program.

To build the base, AI SpaceFactory is developing a 3D printing system that can operate in a vacuum with a temperature range of -170 to 70 degrees Celsius. The first prototype is being tested at the Space Center. Kennedy in an environmental simulation chamber at the Moon's south pole. AI SpaceFactory hopes the work can support long-term settlement and travel to many other planets.

After the unmanned Artemis 1 mission around the Moon, the Artemis 2 mission will launch in May 2024 and fly to the Moon without landing. Next, the Artemis 3 mission will land on the lunar surface as early as 2025. This will be the first manned mission to the Moon in more than 50 years, since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972.