We can 3D print just about anything these days,
from tools and buildings
to cells and even food.
But that’s on Earth,
where materials are readily available.
What about in space or on the Moon?
Could we 3D print a lunar base?
Let’s ask a materials engineer.
I am Alana Bartolini for ESA Education
and joining me today is Advenit Makaya.
Advenit, nice to meet you.
Thank you Alana for having me.
I am a materials engineer here at ESA
and I will tell you more about 3D printing
on the Moon.
Advenit, before we get to the big question
of whether humans can 3D print on the Moon,
can you explain how 3D printing works?
So 3D printing is essentially how to make
an object layer by layer.
So you can think of it as you want to print a toy
or you want to print a cup
and you start to think about how it would look like
if you slice it in very thin layers.
So you would know how each individual layer
looks on a sheet of paper for example.
You put that into a computer
and then you feed the 3D printer,
the machine,
with the material that you want to print.
It can be a powder,
it can be a wire,
it can be a paste
and then the computer will tell your machine
how to draw the slice of the part exactly
how it should look like.
And you repeat it, layer after layer.
You make sure that the layers are glued properly together
and then slowly you see your 3D printing object
being made.
That’s how additive manufacturing or 3D
printing works.
So do we already use 3D printing in space?
How can this additive manufacturing be used in space?
So we are already using 3D printing in space,
not a lot but it’s already starting.
For example on the Ariane rockets
there are parts which have already been launched,
parts of the rocket which were made by 3D printing.
That’s something we know how to do
and here at ESA we are working on parts of satellites,
which are made by 3D printing
and which will be launched soon.
So, 3D printing in space will be a reality.
3D printing on Earth is something that we
know relatively well.
You can buy a 3D printer for your own house,
you can play around and make some toys and so on.
And if you have ever taken a plane,
some parts of the planes are now 3D printed,
so that’s something that we know how to do.
On the International Space Station we actually
have a 3D printer.
We, ESA, have launched one about four years ago,
but it went back to Earth
and NASA has a 3D printer permanently on the ISS.
So the astronauts,
the idea is,
that whenever they need something,
something breaks
they can have it made directly on the station.
And how do you think can we extend 3D-printing
to the Moon?
The idea is, if you go to the Moon and you
are going there to stay,
if you build a Moon Camp at some point
you will need to manufacture things,
at some point things will break
or you need to replace things.
So rather than waiting for the next rocket,
to bring you your new supplies
you could actually manufacture them on demand
when and wherever you want on the Moon.
So that’s how we are thinking about using 3D printing,
and 3D printing really could be used to support
anything on the Moon,
from the structure to build the walls of your habitat
down to the tools that you use:
caps, screws, forks and so on.
And we even have techniques to 3D print food.
Can you tell me a little bit more about 3D printing food?
Yes, so 3D printing food is about the idea
of mixing all the ingredients into a big box
and then it flows through a tube
and you can give it the shape that you want.
So you can print cookies,
you can print pasta,
you can even print fake vegetables out of
different ingredients,
different things that you mix together.
So that’s quite important for the astronauts
because they will need some variety,
different things to eat every day of the week,
and they only have a limited number of ingredients
they can use.
So we can make funny shapes,
we can make funny colours,
so that their life is a bit nicer up there.
So speaking of this kind of innovative ideas,
what’s the coolest thing that you have ever 3D printed?
So the coolest thing I have 3D printed
or I have made 3D printed in one of my activities in ESA
is probably this little astronaut which was
3D printed using the lunar soil,
the dust that you find on the Moon
and you can get very fine shapes.
So that’s pretty cute.
We have also 3D printed cookies,
I haven’t tested them but that’s something.
Hopefully not out of the lunar soil!
Not out of lunar soil!
But that is something pretty cool as well
and that just tells you the possibilities
that 3D printing offers
to make life a bit nicer on the Moon.
And how did you get interested
and start working in materials engineering?
So when I was at uni
I did not really know what to do
but I knew is that I like to understand how
things are made,
how they work,
how do you make them
and slowly I have grown an interest for materials
and I decided to spend most of my time working on that.
Thank you for joining me today Advenit.
Thank you, Alana.
Stay tuned for our next episode to learn about
living on the Moon.
