Working with extra-terrestrial materials could be an important part of future space exploration
A few years ago NASA outlined its Journey to Mars program that, with many milestones along the way, ultimately envisions humans landing on Mars in the 2030s. Tackling that huge feat will require scientists to come up with solutions to far more problems than landing on the moon ever required.
One of the many challenges of colonising Mars is that the planet is lacking many of the natural resources we rely on here on Earth. We’ll need to bring as much of what we need to survive as possible, but you can only pack so much into a spaceship. So scientists are developing ways to utilise at least one of the red planet’s most abundant resources: dust.
The much longer journey means astronauts will need ways to grow their own food, build their own shelters and handle repairs because cargo space will be limited. In 2013, NASA started looking into ways 3D printers on Mars the could be used to manufacture tools, spare parts, even entire structures, habitats, and vehicles, given there’s no branch of B&Q for astronauts to visit if we eventually send humans on the 34 million mile journey. But 3D printers don’t make things out of thin air.
Now Adam Jakus and colleagues in Ramille Shah’s lab at Northwestern University, has demonstrated that extra-terrestrial materials are suitable for tool making and much more. A team of researchers was able to print structural objects like tools and building blocks using synthetic lunar and Martian dust. They did this by using a special 3D printing technique called 3D painting which uses ink-like materials in the additive manufacturing process. “For places like other planets and moons, where resources are limited, people would need to use what is available on that planet in order to live,” said Shah, assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering and of surgery in the Feinberg School of Medicine. “Our 3D paints really open up the ability to print different functional or structural objects to make habitats beyond Earth.”
The dusts are NASA-approved simulants of lunar and Martian dust that are similar to the real thing in composition and particle shape and size. The team used the dusts to make the 3D paints by combining them with some simple solvents and polymers. The resulting ink is still 90 percent dust by weight and can be extruded by a 3D printer. The printed material, unlike moon or Martian rock, is flexible, elastic and tough – making it an even more durable material. The material can be bent, rolled and cut if needed. The team is now working on firing objects printed with this material in a furnace, which transforms them into hard, ceramic-like pieces.
NASA plans to send the first human mission on the red planet Mars by 2035. At first this will short term missions but the aim is to have a permanently manned research station. But how will the astronauts/colonists live there?
To answer this question, NASA launched the 3D Printed Habitat Challenge in May 2015. The goal for the agency is to figure out a way to create a habitat using 3D printing technologies and using local resources and recycled materials.
The enterant's to the contest were asked to design a living space for a set of four hypothetical astronauts. The 1000 square-feet (92 m²) house should contain everything needed to live comfortably (cooking areas, bathrooms, and sleeping quarters) and must be adapted to the different astronauts’ professions (geologist, biologist or engineer). This habitat may be manufactured directly on the planet providing the least amount of materials from Earth.
On 10 September 2015, NASA announced the top 30 finalists for the first phase of the 3D-Printed Mars Habitat Challenge – Design Competition. The top 30 submissions were be judged on September 2015 and the winners have moved on to phase 2. This last selection focuses on the fabrication needed to manufacture structural components with 3Dprinting technologies and from a combination of indigenous materials and recyclables. The winning teams from Phase 2 will be selected for the head-to-head challenge in August 2017.
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NASA looks to 3D Printed Food for Future Astronauts
In 2013 NASA gave a six month, $125,000 grant to Systems and Materials Research Corporation (SMRC) to develop a fully functional food 3D printer for long space voyages.
Future long duration space missions beyond low Earth orbit have unique challenges for food quality, variety, and nutrient stability. Current astronaut nutrition is exclusively meal-ready-to-eat (MRE) pouches, which do not provide flavour and texture variety or long term nutrient stability. There exists a need for a new food technology system that provides interesting flavors and recipes while including nutrient supplements to offset nutritional degradation from long term storage.
SMRC’s 3D printed food system will provide nutritious food choices in a variety of forms and flavors. In a Mars mission, this system is to be used in conjunction with bulk foods, prepackaged foods, and hydroponically grown foods. Potentially, hundreds of recipes are available, utilizing raw ingredient food stocks. An additional value added product of this system is the possibility of therapeutic diets. The probability that one or more astronauts will be injured or fall ill is high. Special therapeutic diets can be programmed at NASA headquarters and transmitted to the spacecraft. SMRC’s food dispensing system will be an adaptable food supply for individual tastes and nutrition needs.
SMRC has developed a 3D printed food system capable of dispensing viscous food made from powder and liquid ingredients. Cheese pizza has been the first demonstrated meal from SMRC’s 3D food printer. Pizza dough is dispensed onto a hot plate where it is cooked, followed by a tomato layer and cheese topping. Future developments of the 3D printer will include an oven for cooking the food. Nutrient addition to meals is a future add-on to the 3D printed food system.