It seems like every week a new use for 3D printing is devised, from printing out lab-based meat to creating a full-sized concrete house.
Now an 18-month project is underway to see if it would be possible to used 3D printing to manufacture parts in a micro-gravity environment – in particular the Moon.
Incus has recently partnered with the European Space Agency (ESA), OHB System AG and Lithoz GmbH in a joint project to develop and test 3D printing in a micro-gravity environment.
One of the major challenges in maintaining a lunar station is ensuring a constant supply of goods. In addition to supplies, research materials and equipment, spare parts are also needed in case of any failure of individual components.
Currently NASA and ESA have plans for lunar bases, along with countries such as China working independently.
Since long-term missions have to be self-sufficient, the space experts from ESA have shown great interest in the use and reuse of both existing lunar surface materials and recycling of lunar base materials, derived from production waste and end-of-life items. The ability to manufacture necessary items and spare parts, on board and on demand, will help reduce the cost and volume of cargo missions from Earth, as well as minimize production waste.
This Lithography-based Metal Manufacturing (LMM) technology offers a potential solution as it can produce spare parts from recycled metal waste, which could enable the utilization of recycled powders from scrap metals that are available on the Moon. In contrast to the currently predominantly used direct metal laser melting techniques, the LMM process uses a paste or suspension as feedstock and does not rely on the use of highly spherical gas-atomized powders or support structures.
The production of dimensionally accurate components separated by the thermal demoulding process does not require any time-consuming, mostly manual reworking and is completely safe for the operator.
The goal of the 18-month project is to assess the feasibility of processing scrap metals available on the Moon’s surface to produce a high-quality final product via a zero-waste process. The assessment will take into account the constraints of a space environment – for example, considering the potential contamination of the metal powder with lunar dust. Further evaluation of the influence of impurities on the sintering and result of the final microstructure will lead to optimization of the binder quantity and type, as well as the development of a sustainable manufacturing chain in space.
“We at Incus are excited to be a part of a project that will test the capabilities of our LMM technology for use in space,” said Dr. Gerald Mitteramskogler, Incus CEO. “Our solution could be a great fit to meet the challenging requirements of producing parts in such an environment.”
Antonella Sgambati, Human Spaceflight System Engineer at OHB System AG, states: “The possibility of reducing our dependency on Earth by utilizing existing lunar surface materials and recycling lunar base scrap metal represents the only solution to guarantee a sustainable settlement. This project and this novel LMM process will be important steps in making such a settlement a reality due to the fact that this technology could have a chance to operate successfully in space.”
“Lithographic techniques such as the ones developed by Incus and Lithoz allow the combination of high precision 3D printing with high-performance metals and ceramics, while still remaining extremely resource-efficient. While these concepts have been successfully demonstrated on Earth, the activities of such projects are crucial for filling technological gaps and enabling the implementation of additive manufacturing in a space environment,” said Dr. Martin Schwentenwein, head of Material Development at Lithoz.
Dr. Martina Meisnar, Materials and Processes Engineer at ESA, said: “Out-of-Earth manufacturing is a very interesting topic that is being investigated by the European Space Agency with great effort. The goal is to refine these manufacturing concepts towards demonstration on Earth and ultimately for implementation in space.”
Lunar bases
“Pushing the boundaries of space exploration, science, and technology once again, America is on the verge of exploring more of the Moon than ever before. This new era of lunar exploration is called Artemis. Named after the twin sister of Apollo, she is the Goddess of the Moon, and we are the Artemis Generation,” said Jim Bridenstine, NASA director. “We will build an Artemis Base Camp on the surface and the Gateway in lunar orbit. These elements will allow our robots and astronauts to explore more and conduct more science than ever before.”
According to NASA, The Moon plan is twofold: it’s focused on achieving the goal of an initial human landing by 2024 with acceptable technical risks, while simultaneously working toward sustainable lunar exploration in the mid- to late 2020s.
“2024 is not an arbitrary date. It is the most ambitious date possible, and our success at the Moon, and later, at Mars, will be grounded in our national goals and robust capabilities. The United States leads in space exploration now; however, as more countries and companies take aim at the Moon, America needs the earliest possible landing to maintain and build on that leadership, as well as to prepare for a historic first human mission to Mars,” said Bridenstine.
While ESA will have independent lunar projects, it will also be working closely with NASA and the Artemis project. However, due to current political concerns, both Russia and China are not allowed to be part of Artemis and are taking a different course to the Moon
China and Russia are now officially planning to build a research station together on the moon. There were hints of their plans to do so as early as 2017, when People’s Daily reported on the possibility. On March 9, 2021, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) at last made the announcement in a formal memorandum, which also gave the base its name: the International Lunar Research Station. CNSA officials wrote in the announcement:
On 9 March 2021, Zhang Kejian, the administrator of China National Space Administration (CNSA), and Dmitry Rogozin, the General Manager of [Russia’s] State Space Corporation ROSCOSMOS, signed the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Russian Federation Regarding Cooperation for the Construction of the International Lunar Research Station. CNSA and ROSCOSMOS will adhere to the principle of “co consultation, joint construction, and shared benefits, etc.” …
According to EarthSky, the International Lunar Research Station is a comprehensive scientific experiment base with the capability of long-term autonomous operation, built on the lunar surface and/or [in] lunar orbit that will carry out multi-disciplinary and multi-objective scientific research activities such as lunar exploration and utilization, lunar-based observation, basic scientific experiments and technical verification.
