NASA Brings 3D Printer To ISS To Print Moon Material

Photo: Doc NASA Gov

JAKARTA - Last week's cargo of Northrop Grumman Cygnus just arrived at the International Space Station (ISS), the plane brought a very special equipment from Earth, namely a 3D Printer that uses Moon dust or regolith to make solid material.

The 3D printer was brought by NASA to test the printing system from the company Redwire, which would later be used in the Artemis Moon mission. The US Space Agency hopes to use the dusty soil on the Moon as raw material for printing, rather than having to haul loads of heavy equipment from Earth.

NASA scientists have been considering how to 3D print using lunar regolith for some time and have demonstrated the process on Earth. But sending the 3D Printer into the ISS microgravity environment for testing is a big new step to take. The researchers wanted to find out if the device could work without gravity and how long it would last. For information, the printer works using lunar simulations, namely, man-made compounds of chemicals similar to lunar regolith, because genuine samples from the Moon are very valuable and rare. But the simulation requires real Moon material so it can be used to test 3D Printer hardware. Later, stimulants are used as raw materials, processed and fed into printers to be printed into useful parts and shapes.

Redwire says that in addition to being used for gear, this approach could eventually be used to print larger and more complex parts, such as landing pads, foundations, roads, and even lunar habitats for astronauts to live in.

And the effect can also exceed Earth's gravity. NASA said they are currently developing the technology with the hope that it could eventually be used on other planets, such as for manned missions to Mars, which could take advantage of dusty Martian soil to 3D print entire structures. , August.