On Tuesday evening (17 December), a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft landed off the coast of Florida, carrying a special shipment for DTU from the International Space Station. From there, it will be sent to the European Space Agency (ESA) and then on to DTU.
The shipment from the space station includes the world's first two metal objects produced in space in weightless conditions using a 3D metal printer.
One of these groundbreaking objects was designed by DTU Space and will arrive at DTU after New Year. At DTU, it will be thoroughly examined and compared with a similar object made on Earth to determine if it’s possible to manufacture strong and reliable parts in space.
“Producing metal objects in space is an important step toward creating autonomy in space missions, where astronauts may one day be able to print necessary parts instead of waiting for supplies from Earth,” explains John Leif Jørgensen, professor at DTU Space and scientific leader of the Danish part of the 3D printing experiment.
“It could also impact resource utilization here on Earth if we find new and better manufacturing methods based on our tests in space”.
Andreas Mogensen installed the 3D printer on the space station
The project is a collaboration between ESA, DTU Space, Airbus, and Danish ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen.
Airbus provided the 3D metal printer to ESA. It was sent to the space station earlier this year and installed in the Columbus module by Andreas Mogensen and colleagues. His successors on the space station have since produced the 3D metal prints.
The 3D printing process in space has taken several weeks due to among other things high safety requirements, as metal printing generates heat and fumes.
In total, four objects were printed on the ESA printer for the project's different partners and two of those have now been send to Earth.
Manufacturing in space opens up new possibilities for space research
The goal of the experiment is to understand how the metal printing process in space differs from manufacturing on Earth.
This experiment opens the door for the potential use of 3D printing technology to create objects that could assist astronauts with spare parts and other equipment on long missions to the Moon or even Mars, where resupply can be a challenge.
It may prove to be both faster and cheaper than sending equipment from Earth.
“If the technology proves effective, it could revolutionize how we work in space and improve resource utilization both in space and on Earth,” says John Leif Jørgensen.
“Imagine if you could print the structure for a large solar cell array on a Moon base, or even create complete, ultra-lightweight, resource-saving solar farms. You could then produce your own energy source directly in space”.
