Architecture Firm and ESA To 3D Print Building On the Moon 113
An anonymous reader writes "Internationally acclaimed architecture firm Foster + Partners built the Hearst Tower, the Millennium Bridge, and the Gherkin here on earth — and now they're setting their sights on outer space with plans to produce a 3D printed building on the moon. Today the firm announced that it has partnered with the European Space Agency to develop a lunar base for four people that can withstand the threat of meteorites, gamma radiation and temperature fluctuations. Since transporting building materials to space is a challenge, the team is considering using on-site 3D printing as a solution."
For certain values of "to" (Score:4, Insightful)
Summary: "Architecture Firm and ESA To 3D Print Building On the Moon"
Article: " to explore the possibilities of 3D printing to construct lunar habitations."
I'm all for cool stuff, but I prefer it when the cool stuff isn't just pie in the sky.
Re:PC Load letter (Score:2, Insightful)
They aren't. This is just one of a million different studies to test the feasibility of a technology that the agency has no intention of funding on its limited budget. The ESA, like NASA, has no focus. If the ESA or NASA were building an vessel to sail across the Atlantic Ocean they would first spend billions to determine if it should be done with sailboats, speed boats, or submarines. 15 years later, a 15 kg unmanned hybrid speed boat sailboat submarine powered by an RTG with radiation shielded computers and the most advanced and lightweight scientific instruments ever invented would depart from London on its mission to the Azores. Once the technology was demonstrated, they would cancel further missions since their research on how to avoid icebergs ate all of the budget (the laser to bore a hole through the iceberg had significant cost overruns).