Housing shortage on the moon could be solved with 3-D printer

Hey, if it can make guns and meat, why not lunar condos? The big obstacles to constructing an inhabitable base on the moon have always been cost and the logistical problem of getting unwieldy structural pieces there. But if lunar rock and regolith can be used for construction, why couldn't a 3-D printer handle the manufacturing on site? The European Space Agency is testing such a theory with architects Foster + Partners, focusing on a cool dome design with cellular walls for protection against radiation and meteorites. A building could go up in a week, they estimate. Providing they can get a pass from zoning offcials and building code bureaucrats, of course. [Source]

Click to see more on msnNOW.com, updated 24 hours a day.