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The design of this tower was inspired by a biomimetic study of the Cactaceae family. The plant's selfshading logic was then combined with a camera diaphragm mechanism. This drove the form-finding logic for a double skin, which was populated on the facade through scripting according to an analysis of sun exposure during different times of the day and seasons of the year.

The cost of transporting raw materials into Space is prohibitive ‐ potentially US$2 million for a single brick to be shipped to the Moon. This means that the future of extraterrestrial construction rests on the development of technologies that are able to employ in‐situ materials, such as lunar dust. Guest‐Editor Neil Leach is a NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Fellow, collaborating with colleagues from the University of Southern California (USC) on a research project developing a robotic fabrication technology capable of printing structures on the Moon and Mars. Here he describes the inroads that NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) consortia are independently making into 3D‐printed fabrication technologies.

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seek pheromone range = 35 seek angle range = +/-15°m ax Force = 1.5 max Velocity = 4.0 wander = 1.65 in relation to stigmergic builder: seek pheromone range = 45 pheromone route agent seek pheromone range = 40 seek angle range = +/-25°m ax Force = 7.5 max Velocity = 8.0 wander = 0.65 in relation to stigmergic builder: seek pheromone range = 65

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Contour Crafting is a digitally controlled construction process invented by Professor Behrokh Khoshnevis that fabricates components directly from computer models, using layered fabrication technology. By obviating the need for formwork used in traditional concrete construction, CC can reduce costs and construction times significantly. The technique has great potential as a robotic form of construction reliant on relatively minimal human labor as a form of construction in relatively hazardous environments, such as the Moon with its radiation levels that can prove highly damaging. Current research funded by NASA has been exploring the potential for using CC on the Moon to build structures making use of readily available regolith that is found in great abundance on the surface of the Moon. This article offers an overview of this research and evaluates the merits of using CC on the Moon.

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