The lunar landings of the future could involve a spider-shaped robot, Australian-made lasers and plans to build a permanent radiation-proof moon village from chunks of 3D-printed space dust.

These new technologies are on show in Sydney this week at the International Aeronautical Congress, the world’s largest gathering of astronauts, space scientists and commercial rocketeers, with all eyes on humanity’s historic return to the moon.

NASA is gearing up for the Artemis III mission in 2027, when astronauts will return to the lunar surface for the first time in half a century amid a wave of autonomous moon landers sent by private companies.

An Australian robot that can bag up materials such as sand or lunar soil and expel them as layers of a building could be part of this new wave of moon ex

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