in-situ resource utilization

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…

NASA and ICON are pushing 3D printing closer to space missions by testing how Moon soil behaves in lunar gravity and advancing a laser-based system to turn that soil into…

China is rapidly shaping the future of lunar construction, one brick at a time. In April 2025, researchers at the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL) in Hefei, Anhui Province, revealed…

Once again, space exploration teams up with the 3D printing industry, launching projects that could change how we explore space. Pioneering space manufacturer Rocket Lab (Nasdaq: RKLB) secured a $14.49…

With the return to the Moon on the horizon, Louisiana State University (LSU) and NASA are joining forces in a new project that aims to use lunar materials for robotic…

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has taken a significant step towards the future of lunar exploration. The agency’s 10-Year Lunar Architecture (LunA-10) capability study is an ambitious initiative…

In an exciting leap for 3D printing in space, Incus, a dynamic offshoot of Lithoz, has successfully wrapped up an 18-month project demonstrating how lithography-based metal manufacturing (LMM) might just…

NASA is laying the groundwork for the future of space 3D printing. Producing spacecraft, rocket components, advanced materials, and larger structures directly in orbit will revolutionize traditional off-Earth manufacturing. As…

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…

With NASA’s first Artemis Moon mission set to launch in just a few days, the space agency is gearing to send teams of people to the lunar south pole by…

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….

Out of 333 proposals that NASA is funding as part of its 2022 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, 24 are either creating new…

Unveiled at the 2021 Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the design for the first inflatable plant cultivation pod holds a lot of potential for expanding sustainable farming on…

Each year, NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program awards contracts to small businesses across the United States to spur research and commercialization of innovative space technologies. As a renewed…

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…

Undoubtedly the most exciting frontier for human exploration, outer space is a gateway to probing promising worlds, looking for biosignatures in the atmospheres of exoplanets, or pushing the boundaries of…

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…

Just a few days ago, scientists from Fotec revealed that they had 3D printed small structures from simulated Martian soil. The structures, a small conical dwelling and a portion of a wall,…

It’s well nigh impossible to discuss 3D printing technology in outer space without mentioning the California-based 3D printing firm Made In Space. The organization has essentially become the right hand…