Daring AM: China’s Lunar Brick Machine Shows a Fast Track to Moon Construction

China is rapidly shaping the future of lunar construction, one brick at a time. In April 2025, researchers at the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL) in Hefei, Anhui Province, revealed a working prototype of a “lunar soil brick-making machine.” Designed to build infrastructure directly on the Moon, the system uses focused solar energy to melt lunar soil, or regolith, and mold it into usable bricks through a solar-powered 3D printing process, without water or binders.

According to the lab, the system is made up of two main parts: an optical focusing module and a molding and manufacturing module. It uses a large parabolic mirror to concentrate sunlight, which is then transmitted through optical fibers, creating an energy concentration more than 3,000 times stronger at the tip. This intense heat (reaching around 1,400 to 1,500°C) melts regolith, which is then shaped into bricks through automated 3D printing.

The result is a dry, power-efficient construction method that uses only solar energy and local materials without water or chemical binders. Beyond brick-making, the prototype also helped prove key technologies like energy capture, material transformation, and infrastructure planning, paving the way for future lunar energy systems and base development.

This kind of innovation didn’t come out of nowhere. It is the product of focused, long-term planning by one of China’s leading space research hubs. DSEL is an official national research institute, co-founded by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), the Anhui provincial government, and the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). It is a key hub for deep space technology development and lunar mission planning. DSEL plays a critical role in China’s space program. It was created to lead strategic, long-term research in space exploration, particularly in areas like in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), lunar and Mars mission planning, and infrastructure for human spaceflight.

A Strong Foundation

The unveiling of this machine marks a big step in China’s push to build a long-term presence on the Moon, but it’s not their first.

Back in 2023, researchers from Beijing’s Beihang University used simulated lunar soil to 3D print a prototype brick. Their approach was different. Instead of melting the material, they added a binder to hold the regolith together in a traditional additive manufacturing (AM) process. The breakthrough came after years of work and was strengthened when their team received real lunar samples from the Chang’e 5 mission (60 milligrams) for testing and validation.

Then, in 2024, several universities in Wuhan proposed another method. Led by Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), the team focused on sintering lunar regolith into bricks, which were used to build moon shelters using a “robotic mason” dubbed the “Super Mud Mason.” They also explored turning lunar basalt—a type of volcanic rock—into lightweight fibers that could help build protective structures. On top of that, they suggested using natural tunnels under the Moon’s surface—formed by ancient lava flows—as ready-made shelters.

A National Push

While these projects are different in their technical details, they are all part of a much larger picture. China’s space program has made lunar construction a priority. Rather than flying in heavy supplies from Earth, they want to make ISRU the key concept to surviving on the Moon.

This effort is part of China’s long-term plan to build a research station on the Moon, starting around 2030. The fact that teams across the country are working on different ways to make bricks from moon dust shows how seriously China is taking the idea of living and building on the Moon.

China’s new solar-powered brick-making machine shows how far the country has come in developing tools that could be useful beyond Earth. Across China, scientists in universities and labs are working on different ways to solve the challenges astronauts will face during deep-space missions. While nobody is building cities on the Moon just yet, China is moving fast, and these lunar bricks may soon be more than just prototypes.

Images courtesy of China’s Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL)