Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are testing technology designed to make the printing process more efficient. The space station is currently home to two 3D printers, one known as the Refabricator and another called the Additive Manufacturing Facility (AMF). A third device, the Recycler, is designed to recycle used material to save room and weight on the ISS, much like the Refabricator. Each works in a slightly different way, and astronauts are trying to determine which works best.
In addition to basics such as tools and small parts, NASA hopes that eventually the 3D printers will be able to print items that are safe for food and medical use, and someday — once the planned Artemis 1 mission is complete — could even use moon dirt as printing material.
“You want to recycle what materials you have without having to take everything with you,” says Corky Clinton, associate director for the science and technology office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. “You don’t want to carry 1,000 spoons to Mars.”
NASA’s first 3D printer arrived on the ISS in 2014. It joined a traditional 2D printer that astronauts use to print out mission-critical documents and personal documents such as family photos.