ADDITIVE MANUFACTURINGSECTION TITLE
holders for the mission drone was an unexpected problem that was effi ciently solved in a few hours thanks to the availability of a 3D printer. Additionally, the extruder camera made it possible for the team to monitor the printer’s progress while working on other projects throughout the habitat. On an actual space mission, the success can stand or fall on the ability to quickly solve problems and adapt to unexpected situations. Even the failure of a small, nondescript part can heavily impact the situation, as the receival of a replacement part would be completely dependent on a resupply mission launched from Earth. For a mission on the Moon, this journey would take several days; on Mars, it would take several months at best. With the possibility to design and print replacement parts, this dependency on resupply missions would be much improved. Being able to 3D print objects on space missions would also allow us a certain fl exibility in our solution-fi nding processes. Situations and conditions on a space or analogue mission always vary to some extent from what was expected during the planning process. T is can have a big impact on envisaged scientifi c experiments or even make it impossible to conduct them. Having direct access to a 3D printer would allow the crew to redesign and manufacture tools adapted to the new situation with relatively little eff ort. T e second part of the experiment was spent on trying to improve the human factors inside the habitat.
Human factors address the interaction of humans with systems, equipment and facilities. It is integral to any space mission for humans to be able to safely perform in the given environment – from physical and psychological points of view. T is can be challenging particularly on long duration missions and, thus, is a vital part in mission design.
A 3D printer can help improve human
factors on several levels. For example, the livability inside an extra-terrestrial habitat can be greatly enhanced with the possibility to manufacture objects and items adapted to personal habitability needs. It could allow the crew to personalise their workspace and sleeping quarters and make visual changes in the interior design during long-term missions. Such adaptations to confi ned quarters can greatly boost the crew morale and even prevent psychological burnout. Astronauts can only bring very few personal items on a mission, in order to limit the payload that has to be sent into space. T ese items have to be pre- selected on Earth. However, such objects are indispensable for manned space exploration, as they greatly contribute to the astronauts’ mental health and psychosocial balance – and thus can improve the crew’s productivity. Especially on isolated missions, far away from Earth, personal items are important to keep the crew mentally connected to home. Although not originally intended for personal items, having Method in the simulation allowed the team to print items that they would not have been allowed to bring on the actual mission. T e availability of a 3D printer provided them with a reprieve from the harsh realities of being away from their homes and loved ones. It introduced new variety to the leisure time activities inside the habitat, as games or similar items were able to be manufactured on demand.
Each of us printed a personal object
for recreational or decorative purposes. Creating a sense of home and comfort inside space habitats is an important goal in space architectural designs – it aff ects mental health and crew cohesion, as well as productivity and morale. Being able to recreate traditions from Earth, such as Christmas or other seasonal holidays, helps stay connected with home and relieve feelings of homesickness and monotony. Furthermore, the common activity of selecting potential items was an important event of crew bonding. T is break from scientifi c work and daily routines turned out to be a much-needed reprieve.
THE CHALLENGES OF PRINTING IN SPACE T e HI-SEAS habitat lies at a high altitude of 2,500m. Printing at such high altitudes required slight changes to the printer settings to ensure that the objects
Design sofwatre being used during the simulated mission
Sabrina Kerber, a space architect for the European Space Agency
would come out just as well as they would in a standard environment. When I ini- tially started printing with PLA, the prints came out warped or failed altogether. However, once I realised that the issue was the altitude and I adjusted the settings, the quality of the prints and the reliability of the printer improved considerably. Additive manufacturing technology has
been proven to be an important addition to space missions. It not only plays a big role in the design of future extra-terrestrial habitats, but the benefi ts of 3D printing have been successfully tested on the International Space Station (ISS). T e ability to manufacture part of the
interior fi ttings on site, for example, will greatly minimise the payloads and, thus, the costs and environmental impacts of space missions. In future scenarios, on-site manufacturing could potentially be an integral part of the habitat design itself. Access to a 3D printer bears the potential of a much greater fl exibility and variety across applications, from engineering to personal objectives.
Sabrina Kerber is founder and CEO of Explaneta Space Solutions.
www.explaneta.space
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