NASA and Made in Space, Inc. are developing 3D printing for use in space.
VIDEO 5 min. 13 sec. Published on May 22, 2014
VIDEO 7 min. 23 sec. published October 30, 2013
By Tanya Lewis, Staff Writer | February 07, 2014
The newest adopter of 3D printing isn’t some hobbyist in a basement — it’s NASA.
The agency is already building some of its customized spacecraft and instrument parts using 3D printing, and someday soon, astronauts might even make tools and replacement by 3D printing them in space.
NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate has launched several programs to create prototypes of tools for current or future missions using 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, a manufacturing technique that uses Computer-Aided Design (CAD) models to build objects layer-by-layer out of plastic, metal or other materials.
Source: Nasa 3D printing article.
NASA also views 3D printing as a possible space food technology.
The current food system wouldn’t meet the nutritional needs and five-year shelf life required for a mission to Mars or other long duration missions. Because refrigeration and freezing require significant spacecraft resources, current NASA provisions consist solely of individually prepackaged shelf stable foods, processed with technologies that degrade the micronutrients in the foods.
Source: Read the NASA article here.
Here’s the now famous space pizza, 3D-printed.
If you missed the video about NASA’s pizza, here it is, from November, 2013.
For a 2015 update of the food-printing concept that incorporates fresh food, although not a part of the NASA project, see Chloé Rutzerveld’s Edible Growth project.
Download NASA’s 3D printable model of the New Horizons spacecraft.
VIDEO 5 min. 33 sec. Another use of 3D printing by NASA has been to design a 3D printable model of the New Horizons spacecraft, flying by Pluto in 2015. Here is a video of the spacecraft model being created:
Download the New Horizons spaceraft design at this NASA 3D models page.
Visit the next page to see a VIDEO comparison of a real and a 3D printed violin, and a links to 3D printing resources.
