Imagine you are alone on an
international space station and suddenly you have a huge craving for pizza. Normally
you would have to wait maybe 6 months to be able to eat one, well, maybe not
anymore!
You can print it, heat it and eat
it!
Although this was not intended to
be the future of 3D printing, such a basic whim as eating pizza can now be
satisfied by astronauts anytime as long as they have the basic ink, or ingredients on board. To be able
to eat pizza, they only spent USD 125,000.00, but it might still be cheaper
than delivery.
This is just one thing that our
NASA friends have been developing that could help and actually change the way
3D printing has been used on space stations and incoming NASA missions. Using EBF3, or Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication, a 3D
printer can print metal objects in just minutes. If you remember our previous blog post
related to a faster way to print,
this is actually another example that 3D printing is only beginning and that it
is starting to scratch its true potential.
Saving energy, time and waste,
this can print any kind of object, tool, replacement parts or even vehicle parts
that can save our space missions from emergencies and, hopefully in the near
future, save millions of dollars by sending only the raw materials to space and
print everything needed up there.
Just imagine having a giant 3D
printer installed on the moon, where NASA engineers can print everything they need in
space, without even having to physically be there.
What do you envision 3D printing being
used for in space?
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