3D printing space regolith
Building a Lunar Future: Beihang University’s Bold Steps into Space-Based Construction 3D Printing
Researchers from China’s Beihang University want to be at the forefront of space exploration. By combining transportation science, aerospace technology, and construction engineering, they aim to lay the foundations for…
UTEP Joins NASA Project to 3D Print Batteries in Space with Lunar Regolith
Hot on the heels of previous federal grants to develop space technologies, like mining water on the Moon, the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) has joined a project…
NASA Funds Contour Crafting’s Material Transport Tech for Lunar Construction
We recently reported that NASA was funding more than 20 3D printing-related proposals as part of its 2022 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program….
Project Meeka: Developing Tech for 3D Printing Moon Habitats
Private teams are gearing up for lunar construction. Although this is not the first time in the last 50 years that we have heard of plans for lunar outposts, it…
College Students Compete to Bring Space 3D Printing to 2021 NASA MINDS Challenge
Five teams from U.S. colleges received $1,500 each from NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Innovative New Designs for Space (MINDS) in 2021 to design, build and test…
Martian Biolith: A New Bioinspired Composite for 3D Printing on Mars
There are many challenges for in-situ resource utilization off-Earth. However, as human space exploration plans draw near, there is a pressing need to come up with creative solutions that will…
3D Printing Off-Earth: ISS National Lab Hosts AM in Space Workshop
Off-Earth manufacturing is beginning to shed some light on how humans could live in orbit. The development of in-situ resource capabilities, like in-space manufacturing, for sustaining life and mobility in…
3D Printed Moondust Composite Deemed Suitable for Recycling & Re-Use
The topic of moondust—or regolith—is continually fascinating, especially as it offers the potential for constructing habitats in space. Numerous studies have been performed by researchers investigating whether regolith is indeed…
Moon Dust Melted in Einstein Elevator, Assessing Space Colonization and 3D Printing on the Moon
In terms of colonization, the smallest 3D printer possible could be stashed on board a spacecraft en route to the Moon or Mars, with robots then used to mine for…
Mars X-House: Continuing in the Quest to 3D Print the ExtraTerrestrial Habitat
In the recently published ‘Mars X-House: Design Principles for an Autonomously 3D Printed ISRU Surface Habitat,’ authors from SEArch+ (Space Exploration Architecture) LLC, NASA Langley Research Center, and University of…
