China to explore 3D printing on moon to build habitats

China wants to start building a lunar base using soil from the moon in five years [File: Henry Romero/Reuters]

China will explore using 3D printing technology to construct buildings on the moon as Beijing solidifies plans for long-term lunar habitation.

In the 2020 Chinese lunar mission – the Chang’e 5, named after the mythical Chinese goddess of the moon – an unmanned probe took back to Earth China’s first lunar soil samples.