Construction on the Moon: Pads, Berms and Printed Shells
What can be built on the Moon with local materials, and what is worth building first?
Chapter summary
The first construction projects are humble: landing pads to stop rocket plumes sandblasting the base, berms and covers of piled regolith to shield habitats from radiation, and graded roads for rovers.
Key takeaways
- 1
Each uses lunar regolith and needs excavators, power and time rather than shipped mass.
- 2
More ambitious ideas, such as 3D-printed regolith shells, sintered bricks and cast basalt, are under study by NASA, ESA and companies and could house larger crews from the late 2030s.
- 3
Setcoin's view is that construction equipment and robotic operators will be one of the first commercial markets at the base, worth hundreds of millions of dollars over the 2030s.
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Life Support Closure and Logistics Mass per Person-Year
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