ISS Sends 3D Printed Objects Back To NASA

NASA received a special delivery from astronauts at the ISS who sent a box of objects 3D printed in space. The agency even released an unboxing video, showing all 21 of the received items.
NASA explained that the objects were manufactured on the International Space Station “as part of the 3D Printing in Zero-G Technology Demonstration”. The purpose of this project was to show that “additive manufacturing can make a variety of parts and tools in space”.
And this is just the beginning as the space agency is planning on having a “print-on-demand machine shop” which will be very useful during long missions, “sustaining human exploration of other planets”. During these missions, it will be very difficult to resupply the spacecraft with Earth-based items or offer logistics support. But 3D printers will make missions easier to perform.
The main investigator at NASA, Quincy Bean explained that each of the received objects would be photographed and put through a structured light scan. Additional experiments will be conducted at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala where the objects will be send to be compared to identical items 3D printed on Earth. The researchers will be looking for discrepancies regarding density in order to examine the difference in mechanical strength between the two items.
NASA is using a 3D printing technology developed by Made in Space, a recently launched Silicon Valley enterprise. One of the most important moments was when Made in Space sent astronauts at the ISS an e-mail containing instructions on how to 3D print a wrench, thus enabling them to print it right there.
Although there are no official conclusion yet, Bean stated that the videos sent from the space station indicate that the plastics used to 3D print the objects from at the ISS seem to have “adhered differently” compared to those in the terrestrial analysis. According to Bean, when astronauts tried to “get the parts off the plate”, they noticed the plastic “seemed to be a little more stuck than on the ground”.
He believes one of the reasons behind this is the “lack of convection in zero-gravity”. Bean is waiting for the official results but considers there won’t be significant differences between the objects 3D printed on the ISS and on terrestrial grounds.
Image Source: Apex Beats