Everyone has heard of the space race that took place in 20the century. The battle between the Soviet Union ended in 1975, but did you know that a new space race has broken out? This time, scientists around the world are working toward a variety of goals, including working to find a way to colonize other planets and make it suitable for humans to live in outer space. To achieve this goal, 3D printing is one of the main technologies being considered for space colonization thanks to its adaptability, cost-effectiveness and, of course, the ability to use local materials, a key need if we really want to move to other bodies. planetaries. . We take a closer look at some of the many different ways additive manufacturing is being used to make it possible to live on the Moon or other planets in our Solar System.
ICON and NASA create a 3D-printed surface habitat for Mars
In another project to bring us closer to future space exploration, NASA turned to 3D printing and specifically the expertise of the famous 3D printing construction company ICON. In the latest project, which will look at the possibilities of creating habitats on other planets, the startup recently announced that it will 3D print a simulated Mars surface habitat in collaboration with architecture firm BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, which will be the first of its type. Named MARS DUNE ALPHA, the estimated 1,700-square-foot structure will be used to simulate a realistic Mars habitat in NASA’s year-long Mars mission analog study. As soon as production is complete, the model will be delivered to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, which is located in Houston, Texas.
Photo credits: ICON
Life on Mars through 3D printing?
Since 2014, NASA has been running a competition called the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, which aims to imagine structures that could be 3D printed in space to support life on a planet other than Earth. One of the projects that won awards a few years ago was the MARSHA project, which developed a concept for 3D-printed houses on Mars. The American company AI Spacefactory is behind these cone-shaped structures, which are 34 square meters in size. It would rely on the resources found on the red planet to erect the tiny houses, thus freeing itself from the constraints of transporting materials from Earth. Finally, MARSHA has been designed with a double-layer system to isolate living spaces from structural limitations caused by temperature changes on Mars.
Photo credits: AI Spacefactory
3D printed space suits to colonize the red planet
It is no secret that many projects are being developed to get to Mars. If it’s important to know how to get there, it’s equally important to make sure we can set foot on the planet without dying. That is why companies like NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) are working on the issue. With this in mind, the company Mars One, launched in 2011, has come up with a spacesuit designed using 3D technologies. Thanks to digitization and additive manufacturing, the company has developed a suit perfectly adapted to the morphology of astronauts to guarantee their survival on Mars.
Photo Credits: Mars One
Zebro robots pave the way to colonize Mars
Researchers at Delft University of Technology have found another way to use 3D printing to help build structures on Mars, this time with robots! Delft’s Zebro Swarm robots have been designed to excavate subterranean habitable spaces on the Red Planet, using 3D printing to solidify walls with Martian materials. Swarms of autonomous robots will function similarly to ants building a colony, communicating with each other and dividing tasks while burrowing underground. Scientists hope that living underground would be more suitable for humans on Mars, since the strong temperature changes present on the planet would be less noticeable. In fact, ESA itself has recognized the importance of the project, giving the team a grant to continue developing it.
Luyten and 3D printing structures on the Moon
Like several companies, Luyten specializes in additive manufacturing for space exploration. As part of the Meeka project, the Australian 3D printer manufacturer is collaborating with the University of New South Wales (UNSW). The goal of this program is to use the Platypus Galacticus 3D printer to build structures on the moon. Using this technology and from regolith, a lunar material, the company hopes to build structures up to 12 meters long and 9 meters high. Also, to identify buildable areas, Luyten plans to send rovers to accompany Platypus Galacticus. Some will be able to assess the areas while others will collect regolith.
Photo credits: Luyten
3D bioprinting in space
Obviously, life in space isn’t always fun; the lack of gravity greatly affects the bones and muscles of astronauts. For this reason, ESA researchers have been working on a 3D bioprinting project to design skin and bone samples. The printing process was done in reverse to demonstrate that it can be transferred into space, under microgravity conditions. If astronauts could have a 3D bioprinter on their journeys, they could respond to medical emergencies; in the case of burns, for example, the crew could print new skin. In the case of the ESA, various skin and bone samples were 3D printed from plasma, methylcellulose and alginate.
Sample printed with human skin cells using human blood plasma as a nutrient-rich bioink (photo credits: ESA – SJM Photography)
Moon Village, the 3D printed lunar base
Today, 3D printers can be used to print all kinds of parts, from cars to houses to organs. The potential of the technology is enormous and the European Space Agency (ESA) knows it. In collaboration with Russia and China, ESA wants to 3D print a lunar base called “Moon Village”. To achieve this, scientists intend to use lunar materials, since transporting materials from Earth is too expensive. For this reason, for several years, experts in additive manufacturing and in the space industry have been working to study the viability of the project that, for now, seems feasible.
The Moonrise Project
In January 2021, for the first time, a team of researchers from the Technical University of Braunschweig and Laser Zentrum Hannover (LZH) succeeded in 3D printing regolith. To carry out this experiment, called “Moonrise”, scientists equipped a lunar rover with a laser to melt lunar materials and obtain regolith. Once this step was completed, the researchers used the IRAS MIRA3D rover, a lunar rover designed specifically for 3D printing in space. Thanks to him, the team behind the project claimed to be able to design objects from regolith. A first, which could in the future open the field of possible construction on the Moon.
Photo credits: LZH
3D printed bioadhesive plasters
As part of the space mission called Cosmic Kiss, in which astronauts carry out different tests on the ISS, German astronaut Matthias Mauerer recently tested the use of bioprinted adhesive strips in space. Bioprint First Aid, as these innovative plaster strips are called, have the ultimate goal of facilitating future medical first aid in desolate areas or in extreme conditions. The handheld mechanical bioprinter is used by applying it directly to the desired location on the skin, where it immediately prints a plaster-like strip with a special biological ink. Due to the compact form of the printer and its easy handling, the scientists behind the project see its possible future use in medical practices, as well as in complex areas such as in space or on earth, such as the Arctic region.
The LavaHive project
We talked about it before, in March 2015, NASA launched the 3D Printed Habitat Challenge. And among the 160 entries, one stood out especially for the jury. Called LavaHive, the concept was developed by members of the European Astronaut Center and the Austrian group Liquifer Systems. Like the Moonrise project, the researchers’ idea was to use regolith as a 3D printing material. Specifically, the LavaHive project incorporates a central inflatable habitat reinforced with walls printed in 3D from lunar material. Furthermore, to obtain a large enough living space, this inflatable zone is connected to three sub-habitats, by a kind of tunnel also printed in 3D.
Photo credits: LavaHive
What do you think about the use of 3D printing to colonize space? Let us know in a comment below or on our Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter pages! Don’t forget to sign up for our free weekly newsletter here, bringing the latest 3D printing news straight to your inbox! You can also find all our videos on our YouTube channel.
Leave a Reply