BEIJING-According to Chinese media, China aims to begin construction of a lunar outpost utilizing lunar soil in five years, possibly even this decade.

At a symposium recently held in the city of Wuhan in central China, more than 100 Chinese scientists, academics, and space contractors discussed strategies for developing a lunar infrastructure, according to local media.

According to Changjiang Daily, a team is developing a robot called "Chinese Super Masons" to create bricks out of lunar dirt, according to Ding Lieyun, an expert from the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

While conceding the challenge of attaining it in the near future, Ding added, "Building a habitat on the moon is needed for long-term lunar explorations, and will certainly be realized in the future."

According to Ding, the robot responsible for creating the "lunar soil brick" would be launched during China's Chang'e-8 mission sometime around 2028. He also noted that the nation plans to send a mission to the moon around 2025 in order to collect the first soil sample ever collected from the far side of the moon.

China's Chang'e-5 mission, which was launched in 2020, reportedly brought back soil samples from the moon's near side.

When a lunar research station is built, the nation has said it wants its astronauts to spend a lot of time there.

The Extraterrestrial Construction Conference took place this past weekend at Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, with Ding and scores of other academics in attendance.