Lifeboat Foundation

At a test facility in rural Illinois, engineers fabricate structural segments for buildings. But instead of using typical assembly techniques, here at this dirt-floor arena with tightly controlled conditions, teams employ robotic nozzles to extrude domes, beams and cylinders using material chosen for its similarity to the regolith found on the surface of the planet Mars.

The activity comprises part of the 3D-Printed Mars Habitat Design Challenge, which focuses on how to go about building structures on Mars to eventually house human explorers. It’s a component of the NASA Centennial Challenges, a contest series that solicits the public to solve the practical problems of future space exploration. The third phase of the challenge, underway now, focuses on creating stable structural members using an additive manufacturing process based on basaltic rock geologically similar to what is found on Mars.

“This leg of the competition is focused on the materials, specifically the indigenous Mars regolith,” explains Tony Kim, deputy program manager for NASA’s Centennial Challenge. “All of the teams are approaching it differently.” Previous phases of the challenge focused on conceptual designs for habitats and proof-of-concept 3D-printed shapes. But this showdown emphasizes pure structural strength, as the 3D-printed cylinders, beams and domes will be subjected to loading until they fail.

Continue reading “3D Printing Buildings on Mars Has Lessons for Back on Earth” »

To get us to Mars and beyond, a team of students from around the world has a plan involving lunar rovers mining ice and a space station between the Earth and the moon.

As part of its support for the application 3D printing technology to deep space exploration, NASA has awarded a $250,000 prize to a joint team consisting of members from Foster+Partners California and Branch Technology (based in Chattanooga, Tennessee).

NASA’s competition, which has now reached level three of its second phase, aims to “advance construction technology needed to create sustainable housing solutions for Earth and beyond”, most notably with the aim of accommodating astronauts on Mars and building human colonies in outer space.

(Natural News) Space has become a veritable goldmine of natural resources for many companies, yet can anyone lay claim to them? That’s the question legal experts claim will become relevant in the future as firm turn to the stars for precious metals and minerals, and it’s one that also needs to be answered as soon as possible to avoid hostility between competing firms and countries.

Barry Kellman, law professor of space governance at DePaul University in Chicago, explained: “There is a huge debate on whether companies can simply travel to space and extract its resources. There is no way to answer the question until someone does it.”

According to one international treaty, this need not even be an issue. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967, formally known as the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, has served as the main standard for sharing space. As per the 1967 treaty, no single country can claim “national appropriation” of celestial bodies “by occupation or by other means”. (Related: MINING just one large asteroid could COLLAPSE the world economy due to surge of new supply for valuable metals.)

Continue reading “The great outer space LAND GRAB of the near future: Conflicts over space rock mining rights” »

https://youtube.com/watch?v=wvwXgZhrr-s

One manufacturing company just made history by successfully using a special 3D printer in extreme, space-like conditions.

The team printed polymer alloy parts in a super-high vacuum, and hope their new tech will allow the design and manufacture of much more ambitious spacecraft and space-based telescopes.

Continue reading “Meet The First-Ever 3D Printer That Can Do Construction in The Vacuum of Space” »

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — These days, it’s hardly exotic to see a “made in China” sticker slapped on your favorite product. But what if that sticker said “made in space?”

A Mountain View-based startup earlier this month revealed new breakthroughs in its quest to build in-space factories that will orbit the Earth and pump out products that are too difficult or expensive to make at home. The technology is expected to revolutionize space exploration by allowing scientists access to better tools in space, and also provide people on Earth with unique space-made products such as improved fiber optic cables.

“In-space manufacturing and assembling has been the stuff of science fiction and the dream of the industry for almost the entire existence of the industry,” said Made in Space CEO Andrew Rush, who hosted journalists and NASA representatives at his company’s headquarters for a demo. “But now, for the first time, we’re making these really transformative steps toward making that a reality.”

Continue reading “Forget China: Here’s why the next manufacturing boom could come from space” »

Who wouldn’t want to have breakfast on the French Riviera, take a walk along the Great Wall of China in the afternoon, and then cap off the evening by staring at stars above the Alaskan wilderness? That fantastic day might be possible soon, thanks to British aerospace firm Reaction Engines Limited (REL). The company is working on an aircraft that will be able to transport passengers anywhere in the world in just four hours.

Yes. That’s four hours.

Continue reading “Skylon: The Plane That Can Fly Anywhere In The World In 4 Hours” »

(SpaceX) SpaceX launched 6,400 pounds of supplies to the International Space Station on Monday afternoon, and the roughly 100,000 people watching the live video online got to experience a rare shot of the reusable portion of the rocket sticking its landing in real time.

It was SpaceX’s 40th Falcon 9 mission and 11th rocket launch this year.

Continue reading “SpaceX landed another rocket on target after launching supplies to the Space Station — watch live footage of the perfect landing” »