We just got closer to self-sufficiency in space with the installation of a 3D printer aboard the International Space Station.
The Zero-G is the first 3D printer built for zero gravity. It was designed by Bay Area startup Made In Space, and it arrived on the International Space Station on Sept. 22, according to Gigaom.
The inability to manufacture spare parts keeps space missions dependent on resupply from Earth. Now, if a spare part on the ISS breaks, Made In Space's team on Earth could design a new one to be re-printed by the astronauts.
“Everything that has ever been built for space has been built on the ground,' Made In Space CEO Aaron Kemmer explained in a blog post. “This new capability will fundamentally change how the supply and development of space missions is looked at.”
“Placing additive manufacturing in space will lead to similar capabilities on every future space station, deep space exploration vehicle, and space colony,” he writes. “Rapid construction of important materials is a critical need if humans are going to establish a greater footprint in our universe.”
That said, we still don't know if the technology will actually work. Made In Space says Zero-G printer has been tested in parabolic arc flights which give a few seconds of weightlessness, but it remains to be seen if its extrusion process will function in the microgravity of the ISS.
Gigaom reports Zero-G will print 22 test components which will then be returned to Earth for analysis.