The process of interstellar immigration is speeding up! UNSW will help Luyten advance the research and development of lunar 3D printers

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) has agreed to help Australia
architecture
Industry startup Luyten accelerates its ability to3D printingThe development process of the lunar material machine.
UNSW’s assistance program will be carried out as part of the Meeka project, and they will jointly promote a new type of gantry-type lunar thunderstone3D printingMachine development and testing. The printing system is playfully named “Platypus Galacticas” (Platypus Galacticas), which aims to quickly build lunar infrastructure up to 9×12m in size, and ultimately help Australia achieve its goal of establishing a permanent residence on the lunar surface.

Luyten CEO Ahmed Mahil said: “We are very happy and honored to work with the University of New South Wales, which makes it possible for us to build a residence on the moon. The University of New South Wales is known for its academic leadership and world-class research. We are very happy to work with it. Our cooperation will consolidate Australia’s leading position in the world’s fast-growing space economy. Our comprehensive expertise and passion for innovation and outstanding architectural results will help mankind speed up the moon and other planets The process of interstellar migration.”

Luyten’s Platypus combination

Luyten, which was just established last year, is a start-up company whose stated goal is to bridge the technology gap between the construction and manufacturing sectors.In order to achieve this goal, the company has developed a series of modular “Platypus” concrete3D printingIt is not only sold for 31-35,850 U.S. dollars (USD), but it is also sold as a service for building huge one-off structures.

Currently, Luyten’s product portfolio includes the original entry-level Platypus and the more advanced Expeditionary system.Although the two machines have a similar gantry layout, the former is designed to enable novice architects to carry out complex prototypes.3D printing, And the latter is to provide users with greater mobility so that they can carry out on-site construction where they need it.

The company has also begun to develop another Platypus version that focuses on portability, called “X12”, which can be transformed into a 12×16m version in 20 minutes.3D printingmachine. The outside world knows very little about this upcoming system, but it is said that its scalability is achieved by a robotic transformer. Luyten said it will be a sturdy, mobile and lightweight device.

Before the announcement of the Meeka project, Luyten’s technology has been widely used in the construction of houses on earth, claiming to be “the first in the southern hemisphere to meet the requirements.”3D printingThe structure “will be completed in December 2021. However, after Platypus has established the low-cost, fast and customized potential of its ground-based architectural printing technology, Luyten is now also focusing on the extra-terrestrial space.

Mahil explained: “When we developed concrete with breakthrough features3D printingAt the opportunity, we believe that we have the ability to solve building and construction problems around the world. But with the rapid development of the entire space industry, we are now considering trying to solve the construction and construction problems on the moon. Therefore, we participated in the Meeka project. “

△Luyten3D printingConceptual drawing of the effect of lunar architecture. The picture comes from Luyten Company.

Action on the moon

As part of a collaborative project (MoU) between the two organizations, the University of New South Wales has now pledged to help develop a new member of the Luyten lineup, Platypus Galacticas. The machine’s research and development project code-named “Meeka” (meaning the moon in the Australian aboriginal language), it is very light, but it is 3 x 4m wider than other Platypus models, and it is expandable and compatible with lunar rock materials. compatible.

If Australian astronauts want to establish a permanent base on the moon, then this3D printingThe completion of the aircraft is expected to greatly reduce the amount of machinery and materials that need to be launched to the moon. Matthias Haeusler, an associate professor at the University of New South Wales, said that by adopting such a CAD-based design method to establish settlements, it is even possible to make them unique custom-built structures on the moon.

△Architectural printing process and finished product imagination

Haeusler said: “With computer design, people have a way to design protective covers for residential areas on the moon, because extraterrestrial colonization first considers the requirements of human settlements. For example, it will be based on how to protect humans from the sun. And scientific knowledge of cosmic radiation to enter the script to generate a shelter with a solid material over 80 centimeters thick.”

At present, the project has been confirmed to be implemented, and various organizations are adjusting and testing different lunar materials and designs, but the technology still has a long way to go before its final use.For example, if it is deployed on the moon, Platypus Galacticas will have to be assembled before the minestone mining vehicle is launched. The subsequent minestone mining vehicle will also need to transport the materials required for construction to the base, where they can be sintered and printed intohousingstructure.

However, according to Mahil, the benefits of developing this scalable technology are not only felt on the moon, but also on the earth, and the experience accumulated from this task will also provide a reference for housing construction in extreme climates.

Mahil concluded: “Many of the daily conveniences that Australians expect are actually supported by aerospace technology. It is easy to forget, such as Internet access, weather forecast, global positioning system, online banking and emergency response to natural disasters. Responses depend to a large extent on innovative technologies floating in space above the surface of the earth.”

△ Companies like Redwire are alsoaerospaceThe agency commissioned a test of the lunar thunderstone simulation material. Photo from Redwire.

Is AM based on Thunderstone material taking off?

Although based on the moon thunderstone3D printingIt is still in the early stages of development, but several related research projects around the world have now received support from their respective national space agencies, and each project is seeking to investigate the potential of its lunar base construction.
For example, Redwire, an expert in space systems, has cooperated with the United States
aviation
The space agency signs a contract to assess the need for Thunderstone3D printingThe feasibility of forming a lunar structure. Redwire’s Thunderstone Printing (RRP) research program is carried out on the International Space Station and is intended as a technical demonstration of using lunar dust to simulate materials to create orbital buildings.

Similarly, the Texas construction company ICON was also commissioned by NASA to evaluate3D printingPotential for the production of non-Earth structures, albeit for Mars instead of the Moon. Using its Vulcan system, the company has established a 1,700-square-foot “Martian Dune Alpha” habitat, which NASA intends to use as a means to assess the long-term effects of long-term exposure to Martian conditions.

In Russia, the country’s Roscosmos agency has started a similar task to3D printingShelter based on magma.The same is true of the China National Space Administration, who revealed his3D printingLunar base plan.

(Editor in charge: admin)

The process of interstellar immigration is speeding up! UNSW will help Luyten advance the research and development of lunar 3D printers

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