China holds first conference to discuss Moon base building plans

Both China and the US are currently pushing to put boots on the Moon

Scientists in China have reportedly conducted the first conference in the country to discuss plans for building bases on the Moon.

The Extraterrestrial Construction Conference held on Saturday at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan saw over 100 scientists participate, according to the South China Morning Post newspaper.

The conference, aimed at gathering ideas and forming a consensus among researchers, covered several topics like ways to simulate the lunar environment on Earth, approaches to use robots on the Moon, as well as building basic infrastructure.

Experts have observed that China and the US are currently locked in a space race to the Moon, similar to the US-Soviet rivalry that led to the Apollo missions landing humans on the lunar surface.

Both China and the US are currently pushing to get their boots on the Moon and establish the first lunar bases.

“The Chinese government... they’re going to be landing humans on the moon. That should tell us something about our need to get off our duff,” Nasa administrator Bill Nelson said last year.

Mr Nelson also warned earlier this year that China may attempt to claim territory on the Moon if it beats the US, adding that the country may set up permanent bases on the lunar surface.

“It is a fact, we’re in a space race,” he told Politico.

As Nasa plans to put boots on the Moon in 2025 as part of the Artemis III mission, China is also currently pushing to send astronauts and establish a robotic research station there.

“Eventually, building habitation beyond the Earth is essential not only for all humanity’s quest for space exploration, but also for China’s strategic needs as a space power,” Ding Lieyun, a chief scientist of the National Centre of Technology Innovation for Digital Construction at the Wuhan university, told local news.

Mr Lieyun had previously proposed designs for a moon base including an egg -shaped Lunar Pot Vessel made of 3D printed bricks using moon soil.

In another interview, he reportedly said the first brick made of lunar soil would be made during the Chang’e 8 mission in about five years.

“We will be using real moon soil to make the first brick right there on the moon,” Mr Lieyun said, according to Changjiang Daily.