Texas A&M University graduate student Mauricio Coen focused his project on avoiding situations like those. With a 3D printer, he believes, broken tools and other necessities could easily be replaced on site.
“We hypothesize that astronauts will be able to adapt more quickly to changing mission goals,” said Coen. “Crew time is one of the most valuable assets in any space exploration mission, and hopefully, 3-D printing embedded in their daily operations will reduce time spent in cumbersome tasks, especially with repairs.”

Michael Muller, Principal Investigator for A3DPT-2-Mars, checks the Skriware 3D printers inside the habitat, in preparation for an upcoming expedition. [Image: OeWF / Florian Voggeneder]
Coen’s project focused on how 3D printing could help with geological sampling, which is a novel experiment – while 3D printers have been used for a while on the International Space Station to 3D printed tools and other supplies, the station has not specifically focused on how 3D printing can be used in the kind of geological testing that would be carried out on Mars.

Analog astronaut Joao Lousada takes a geological sample using a 3D printed modular scoop as part of a scientific expedition outside the habitat. [Image: OeWF / Florian Voggeneder]
“The good thing about this is that instead of being limited, maybe three months in, NASA can say ‘Hey, you found some interesting geological features in this area we’re investigating, we need you to get an extra 500 samples,'” Coen said. “If you could take a 3-D printer then you could change the mission, it wouldn’t be set in stone four years before it happens. That’s where I think the huge advantage is.”
Having a 3D printer on board a Mars mission would also allow for fewer supplies to be carried along, reducing the weight and cost of the flight. Astronauts could simply 3D print what they needed when they needed it, melting down old tools and using them to produce new ones at any time.
The simulation in the Dhofar desert is the second Mars simulation where Coen has tested his experiment since he came up with the idea less than two years ago. The first was called PMAS 2017 and took place last year in Poland, organized by the Space Exploration Project Group of the Space Generation Advisory Council.
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[Source: Houston Chronicle]
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