Xavier De Kestelier, and 4 co-authors reported in 2014 in a chapter of the book entitled: Fabricate 2014 - Negotiating Design & Making by Gramazio and two co-authors that in 2009, the European Space Agency awarded a General Study Program contract entitled 3D Printing Building Blocks for Lunar Habitation to an industrial consortium comprised of Foster + Partners, Alta SpA, Monolite Ltd, and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna.
The main objective of the study was to investigate whether 3D printing of Moon dust is a viable construction technology for possible future lunar colonization. Each of the companies in the consortium brought their unique expertise and specialized knowledge. The research was led by Alta Spa, a space engineering company. Foster + Partners provided the overall design concepts, computational modelling and visualizations. The Perceptual Robotics Laboratory (PERCRO) of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna provided the know-how for control systems and robotics and Monolite UK delivered the printing technology.
The authors concluded that many more years of research will be needed, of course, before the first robotic 3D printers could be sent to the Moon. But it does show the potential for using 3D-printed regolith as a construction methodology for shielding on the Moon, and suggests how this could be integrated into an overall design strategy for future Moon bases.
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