This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.

The US and China are racing to build bases on the moon, with NASA hoping to establish a small lunar city by the end of the century. But the moon is a tremendously hostile place to set up camp.

A sprawling lunar base must be safe for its inhabitants, protected from falling asteroids, endless cosmic radiation, razor-sharp lunar dust, and torturous temperature swings. It also must be somewhat self-sustaining.

That will require autonomous robots, nuclear power, and a way to use the moon’s resources to keep the base operating. But the chief obstacle may be one of political will.

Find out what stands in the way of a city on the moon.

This story is from the next issue of our print magazine. Subscribe now to get your hands on a copy as soon as it lands on Wednesday 21 October!  

Brimstone is one of MIT Technology Review’s10 Climate Tech Companies to Watch 2026, available exclusively to subscribers.

Brimstone is a code-switching climate tech company for these polarized political times. The US startup is part green cement company, part critical mineral producer.

During the Biden administration, its primary pitch was cement that generates about 60% fewer greenhouse-gas emissions. It achieves this by switching to silicate rocks instead of standard limestone, which releases carbon dioxide when heated.

Under the Trump administration, however, the company is emphasizing another benefit of its process: the ability to extract valuable materials from those same rocks.

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