China plans a basic crewed International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) near the Moon’s south pole by 2035, following a targeted first crewed landing around 2030.[1] The proposed base would use bricks manufactured from lunar soil by 3D printers, with the technique scheduled for lunar testing during the uncrewed Chang’e-8 mission around 2028.[1]
Regolith-based fabrication could produce structural elements locally, reducing the mass, cost, and schedule risk of transporting construction materials from Earth. South-pole access to suspected water ice also supports life support, fuel production, and industrial processes; however, long-term Ark habitats still require validated radiation shielding, micrometeorite protection, thermal control, vacuum-compatible binders, dust mitigation, and autonomous repair. Construction is expected to require coordinated reconnaissance, hauling, printing, and precision-assembly robots rather than a single machine.[2]
The Ark team should track Chang’e-8’s launch, landing site, payload, print method, material strength, dimensional accuracy, energy consumption, and degradation under lunar vacuum, radiation, and thermal cycling. Establish a parallel regolith-ISRU programme covering sintered bricks, geopolymer or sulfur-based binders, buried habitat shells, robotic construction swarms, and qualification standards; require independent demonstrations of sealed-habitat integration before treating the 2035 ILRS target as operational evidence.[1][2]