Daring AM: Space 3D Printing Heats Up Across the Globe

July 10, 2025 by Vanesa Listek 3D Printing Asia North America Science & Technology Space 3D Printing

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We keep coming back to China’s foray into space 3D printing—and there’s a good reason for that. The country’s space program continues to turn great ideas into working technology, proving just how serious it is about building on the Moon and printing in orbit. But China isn’t alone. Around the world, researchers and institutions are racing to unlock the next era of off-Earth construction, from regolith habitats and bioplastic shelters to flexible electronics printed in microgravity.

Over the last few months, a series of breakthroughs has shown China’s growing lead in space-based additive manufacturing (AM).

Lunar exploration is going from concept to construction, with China emerging as one of the most ambitious players in the field. China’s AM tools for space suggest a well-coordinated strategy to jump ahead in the race to build a sustainable lunar base. By developing systems that can use local materials, like lunar regolith, and eliminate the need to transport tons of building supplies from Earth, China is turning to 3D printing as the basis for a long-term presence in space.

Back in April, China’s Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (Tiandu Lab) made headlines with a solar-powered 3D printer that melts simulated lunar soil into bricks and slabs without using any binders or moving parts. Now, follow-up coverage confirms that the lab has successfully prototyped this system, demonstrating that it can use only lunar regolith instead of Earth-sourced materials to manufacture bricks, surfaces, and even complex structures. According to the lab, this validates the feasibility of building directly on the Moon using local resources and solar energy alone.

These interlocking bricks could be used for on-site construction of lunar bases, including for landing pads and radiation-shielding shelters. While the system remains on Earth for now, its potential role in the upcoming Chang’e-8 mission points to China’s lunar construction ambitions in 2030, especially as the nation prepares for its International Lunar Research Station, a long-term base that will depend on exactly this kind of technology.

Researcher demonstrating the lunar 3D printing process at the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory in Hefei. Image courtesy of Xinhua News Agency.

Whereas that project focuses on lunar surface construction, China is also advancing on-orbit manufacturing capabilities. New reports suggest that upcoming modules for the Tiangong modular space station (basically China’s version of the ISS) will be equipped with 3D printers and robotic tools, allowing astronauts (or eventually robots) to create tools, parts, and even structural components in space. The goal here is flexibility, being able to build or repair without waiting on Earth shipments, which can take weeks or months.

Masoud Mahjouri-Samani and researchers successfully tested this compact nanoparticle 3D printer in zero gravity. Image courtesy of Auburn University.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., researchers at Auburn University recently tested a compact nanoparticle printer aboard NASA’s parabolic flight missions. Called LASED (Laser Ablation and Sintering Enabled Deposition), the system successfully printed circuits and sensors in zero gravity, working perfectly from the first test.

Led by Associate Professor Masoud Mahjouri-Samani, the project aims to enable the on-demand printing of electronics, such as antennas, health monitors, and environmental sensors, during space missions. The compact, low-power, fully automated printer is built for tough environments, making it well-suited for orbital stations or future lunar use. A follow-up test may even explore semiconductor fabrication in microgravity.

From left, Colton Bevel, research engineer at Auburn University, Masoud Mahjouri-Samani, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Aarsh Patel, a graduate student in electrical and computer engineering. Image courtesy of Auburn University.

Over on Mars, or at least planning for it, researchers at Harvard University’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), led by Professor Robin Wordsworth, conducted the Mars-algae study. They demonstrated that green algae (Dunaliella tertiolecta) can grow inside bioplastic chambers under Mars-like conditions, using polylactic acid (PLA) structures printed in 3D. The algae both thrive and have the potential to produce more bioplastic, hinting at a closed-loop habitat system on Mars.

Schematic of the biomaterials approach to life support in extraterrestrial environments. Image courtesy of Harvard University SEAS.

Their study, published in the journal Science Advances, explores how bioplastics and algae could work together to create self-sustaining habitats on Mars. In recent tests, the team demonstrated that algae can grow inside 3D printed chambers made of polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable bioplastic, under Mars-like conditions.

The idea is to cultivate algae that not only support life but also help produce new bioplastic materials, forming a closed-loop system for building and maintaining recyclable structures off Earth. While still in the early stages, the approach adds to growing research on how to build habitable environments far from Earth.

Harvard SEAS algal growth experiments. Image courtesy of Harvard University SEAS.

So, while many countries are still talking about 3D printing in space, others are already building, testing, and flying the technology. In particular, China, which has its sights set on 3D printing in space, treating it as the backbone of space colonization, is already working on prototypes, test setups, and planned missions. This kind of progress could change the game in space manufacturing, the same way SpaceX’s reusable rockets changed space travel ten years ago.