3d printing in space

Chinese Scientists Building Solar Space Station, Projecting that 3D Printing & Robotics Will Assist in the Future

Once again, 3D printing and robotics are to be called on as futuristic space plans are developed, this time by the Chinese as they look toward creating a solar power…

NASA Nebraska Space Grant Means Further Collaboration with Copper3D to Study Microbial Risk in Space

Chilean startup Copper3D and 3D printing endeavors at the International Space Station are both interests we have followed actively—but never together up until last year when NASA expressed interest in…

BEEVERYCREATIVE Continues Work with ESA: New ISS 3D Printer to be Developed

BEEVERYCREATIVE first established an outer space connection in 2016, when the Portuguese company was asked by the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop a breadboard, or prototype, 3D printer for…

An Assessment of the Conditions Needed for 3D Printing A Village on the Moon

For a few years now, the European Space Agency (ESA) has been talking seriously about building a habitable village on the moon, and 3D printing is a big part of…

Moon Dust: Is It the Key to Space Colonization? Researchers 3D Print Simulated Regolith to See

Our fascination with space travel is never-ending, and the reality that we have been able to travel to the moon is still a source of keen fascination (or perhaps question,…

First Bioprinter to Go to the International Space Station is Destroyed in Accident, But There is a Backup

A mishap has resulted in the first bioprinter to be sent to the International Space Station not quite making it to its destination. Last Thursday, the Russian spacecraft Soyuz MS-10…

SEArch+ and Apis Cor Take Top Prize in Latest Level of NASA’s 3D Printed Habitat Challenge

Since NASA’s 3D Printed Habitat Challenge began, it has been fascinating to follow the competition as it moves through its multiple levels and phases. At its inception in 2014 the…

3D Printing News Briefs: April 20, 2018

We’re getting right down to business today in 3D Printing News Briefs – Identify3D and atum3D are both announcing new collaborations and partnerships, and Made In Space has received an…

Two Years on the ISS: Additive Manufacturing Facility Celebrates Nearly 100 3D Printed Parts

It’s been two years since Made In Space sent its second 3D printer, the Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF) to the International Space Station. A great deal has been accomplished since…

Zortrax 3D Printers Crucial to the Success of NASA Engineers in Creating Tools

NASA has been making use of 3D printing long before the general public even knew it existed. As the technology has made its way into the mainstream, however, NASA keeps…

3D Printing Can Help Astronauts Study Their Own Blood Samples In Space

Let’s say you go to your annual physical, and the doctor wants you to get a blood sample. No problem, right? It’s easy to take care of here on Earth,…

Mars Simulation in Omani Desert to Test 3D Printing for Visit to Red Planet

Mars is our second nearest neighbor in the vast reaches of outer space. As such, it has long been easily visible in the night sky and so the circumstances surrounding…

17 Top 3D Printing Themes of 2017

2017 has been, by any measure, an eventful year, and as always the end of December brings us to a retrospective season as we look back on all that has…

The ESA Explores 3D Printing on Earth and Beyond

Sometimes when a new technology leaves the laboratory, it goes off to perform its functions in an industrial setting, research facility, or educational institute. Sometimes, though, its installation may be…

The Refabricator Will Be Recycling Plastic and 3D Printing Onboard the ISS Next Year

In 2015, NASA awarded Washington-based technology firm Tethers Unlimited, Inc. (TUI) a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant to continue developing its Positrusion Recycler, which recycles plastic waste into 3D…

Made In Space Announces That Final 3D Printed Test Shield for Radiation Experiments Aboard the BEAM Is Complete

Earlier this summer, we heard about radiation experiments being conducted on the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) aboard the International Space Station (ISS). This experimental module, made by Bigelow Aerospace, was…

Made In Space Successfully Manufactures First Extended 3D Printed Objects in a Space-Like Environment

In 2015, space manufacturing company Made In Space revealed that it had completed successful tests that indicated that its newest generation of 3D printers would be fully functional in the vacuum…

Made In Space to 3D Print Susan G. Komen Pink Ribbon in Space

On Sunday, May 28th, the 101st iteration of the Indianapolis 500 took place, and history was made as Japanese driver Takuma Sato became the first Asian driver to win the…

Students to Study Corn Syrup in the Sky for a Better Understanding of 3D Printing in Microgravity

If you’ve ever squeezed honey or syrup out of a bottle, you may have noticed that the thick, sticky liquid does a curious thing when it’s poured – it coils,…

3D Printing in Space: Optomec Wins NASA Contract to Develop Adaptive Laser Sintering System

Optomec is on a mission to advance 3D printed electronics, and they’ve been very busy and productive towards fulfilling that mission lately. A couple of weeks ago, the company received…

Enterprise in Space Announces ‘Print the Future Contest’ Winning Teams and Their 3D Printable Space Experiments

We first heard about the Print the Future competition in October of 2016. Enterprise in Space (EIS), a nonprofit program of the National Space Society (NSS), and the Kepler Space Institute…

Researchers Developing Self-Replicating 3D Printers for the Moon

We’ve heard a lot about how 3D printing is the future of space exploration. One of the reasons the technology is so critical to space travel is that having a…

First Commercial Space Station Set to Launch in 2020; Axiom Plans to Use It As a Manufacturing and 3D Printing Hub by 2027

In 2014, history was made as the SpaceX Dragon supply freighter docked with the ISS, carrying supplies and the first 3D printer in space, the Made In Space zero-gravity 3D…

ISS Astronauts 3D Print Radiation Shields for Experiments Aboard the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module

Last April, the eighth SpaceX resupply mission carried the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, to the International Space Station. Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace made the experimental module, which was…