Printing Space Bricks

The ESA printed bricks from simulated moon dust using a solar furnace. Image: ESA

Space colonization enthusiasts will be thrilled to know that at least two different research teams have made progress on 3D printing technologies that will allow space travelers to create tools and building materials on the surface of the moon and Mars.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has printed bricks using simulated moon dust and concentrated sunlight. The process could help moon colonists use lunar materials to build new settlements.

Northwestern researchers printed tools and Lego-like building blocks from simulated lunar and Martian dust. Image: Northwest

“We took simulated lunar material and cooked it in a solar furnace,” explains materials engineer Advenit Makaya, overseeing the project for ESA. “This was done on a 3D printer table, to bake successive 0.1 mm layers of moon dust at 1000°C. We can complete a 20x10x3cm brick for building in around five hours.”

The test used commercially available simulated lunar soil that was baked in the solar furnace at DLR German Aerospace Center in Cologne. The bricks are roughly as strong as gypsum and will be subjected to mechanical testing.

The ESA test the process in simulated lunar conditions (vacuum and high-temperature extremes) as part of the RegoLight project.

The Tissue Engineering and Additive Manufacturing (TEAM) Laboratory at Northwestern Engineering have also demonstrated 3D printing using simulated lunar and Martian dust.

“For places like other planets and moons, where resources are limited, people would need to use what is available on that planet in order to live,” said Ramille Shah, assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering and of surgery in the Feinberg School of Medicine. “Our 3D paints really open up the ability to print different functional or structural objects to make habitats beyond Earth.”

The team created “paints” out of dust simulants combined with simple solvents and biopolymer. The material was printed using an extrusion process.

The resulting objects were more than 90% dust by weight but were as durable and flexible as rubber. The material can be cut, rolled or folded after being printed. You can access the paper and findings here.

Source: ESA and Northwestern