At a super cool science conference held in the Netherlands that included over 200 engineers, scientists, and industry experts, the European Space Agency unveiled plans to build 3-D printed villages — on the moon.

The lunar colony, slated to begin construction in about 5 years, will be the first permanent off-world settlement for humans. Designed to replace the International Space Station (ISS), the main focus will be studying Mars and creating a springboard for deeper space projects.

And the agency is on a fast track: they say the new base (which will be constructed by robots before humans arrive — and how cool is that?) will be move-in ready by 2030.

Hard to believe we could be living and working on the moon in just 15 short years. But...15 years ago, it would have been hard to believe a lot of Things (like tablets and drones) that we live and work with every single day now.

Like the ISS, the lunar village will be staffed by trained astronauts. And it will probably be a while before regular people like you and me get a chance to live off-planet. But if you ask me, this sounds like a one giant leap in the right direction!

See you next week,
Bobby