You might have noticed there’s been a lot of talk lately about going back into space
lately
And, lift off!
We are in a new space race
Just 100 candidates now remain in a competition for a seat on a one way trip to the red planet
Fundamentally, the future is vastly more exciting if we’re a space faring civilisation than
if we’re not
To go to the moon, of course!
Space Force
NASA has been taking more than just small steps to reach this goal and last year in
one giant leap it awarded a multi million dollar contract to develop a 3D printing system
which could build the first ever moon base.
But why is NASA putting their faith in a technology that hasn’t exactly lived up to expectations
and if it does work, what will that mean for construction back here on earth?
“It’s a lovely day for a launch here on Cape Canaveral”
“Boring!”
“Oh no, not another boring space launch!”
In case you didn’t get the memo, space is cool again.
Depending on who you listen to, by commuting to the cosmos we can do everything from mine
rare minerals to safeguard the future of humankind.
But NASA is keeping it old school and its interstellar interest lies in good old fashioned
scientific research.
It’s building a brand new space base to make that all happen.
Think the International Space Station, but on the moon.
Enter: Project Artemis.
The point of Artemis is to allow astronauts to conduct experiments and research on the
moon’s surface and to trial interplanetary living with a view to one day sending astronauts
to Mars.
Carrying out this cosmic construction is ICON, a Texas based 3D printing specialist.
In November 2022 it was awarded a USD $57M contract to develop 3D printing technology
which could be sent to the moon to construct housing and infrastructure for Project Artemis.
Sticking with the Greek theme, ICON quickly called their mission: Project Olympus.
Now, I know what you’re thinking.
For years now we’ve seen all sorts of speculative CGI of what a lunar or martian base might
look like, but fear not, this seems to be the real deal.
The first astronauts are due to return to the moon in 2025 and ICON is set to demonstrate
its technology there in 2026.
According to ICON co-founder Jason Ballard "The final deliverable of this contract will
be humanity's first construction on another world”
Once the lunar loadout is ready it will build housing for astronauts, roads and launch pads.
But hold on a second … 3D printing was that new tech that was around 10 years ago was
going to revolutionise the world and construction, and was going to make everything from housing
to chocolate bars and then it didn’t.
So if it never really caught on or took off on earth, why would it get a safe landing
on the moon?
To make sense of this, we need an expert …
My name is Moataz Attallah I lead a research group called AMPLab, which
is the Advanced Materials and Processing Lab.
My group is mainly focussed on understanding the material science of advanced manufacturing
and in particular the technology of 3D printing
3D printing may have dropped out of the spotlight in recent years, but just because you’re
not walking around in custom made trainers doesn’t mean the technology hasn’t been
advancing.
I would say the key developments that happened in 3D printing started from the early 2000
and so on.
Lasers came to the game in a much better way.
We started to see also a great development in the field of robotics and the ability to
move components around … … at the moment where we are with things, we start to see
3D printed components going into the medical field, in particular in dentistry and in surgery.
Then we started to see applications in engine applications.
In space applications.
As the technology has developed, the types of materials being printed have improved significantly.
Where once plastics were the main material used, researchers have created machines able
to print in new substances like concrete and metal.
As the strength of the finished product has increased, this has led to a huge shift in
how things are designed which is of particular interest to construction, though it’s not
really caught on there either, that all helped catch the eye of NASA …
In the past if an architect comes up with a very complex design, you know, Sydney Opera
House, something so complicated … then as a result the actual structural engineer have
to think "how can I make this".
3D printing, started to introduce a new concept which is designed for functionality.
Forget about manufacturing.
I can take care of that and you think about what you want that part to do.
It might be all systems go on the moon, but back here on earth things aren’t looking
quite as bright.
With the economic damage from the pandemic still sending shockwaves through global economy,
the US is currently trying to avoid a default on its national debt.
Officials have warned that the consequences of a default would impact all Americans,
forcing higher home and auto loan rates, and credit card payments.
That would be especially devastating, as one-third of US households already relied on credit
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It’s hard to make any headway on saving,
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ICON is a great example of how this technology is finally beginning to mature.
Founded in 2017, it has fast become an industry leader in large scale 3D construction.
By 2018 it had built the US’ first 3D printed house and in October last year, work began
on a development of 100 3D printed homes in Austin, Texas.
The group first received money from NASA to develop 3D printing concepts and soon developed
Mars Dune Alpha, a prototype base used by astronauts for training on earth.
Their method was good enough to convince NASA to give them the coveted contract to build
on the moon.
Now, if you’re still wondering why NASA is taking such a punt on a technology which
is only now proving its worth, it’s worth bearing in mind the competition.
Back here on boring old earth 3D printing has to prove itself to a global industry with
well established construction methods, building codes and design norms.
Up on the moon however, there isn’t really any other option.
Any building site needs to be largely self sufficient as it’s just not feasible to
send up large volumes of equipment or building crews with specialist skills.
So, that settles it then.
Round of applause for 3D printing, prepare for blast off!
Three, two, one
Although, there is just one last thing …
The moon has about 16 percent of the gravity of earth, which is still enough to allow materials
to land on top of each other in the printing process, but in outer space …
printing in microgravity is a little bit different because you don't have gravity.
So if you try to deposit something, basically things would fly because there's nothing to
hold them down.
Professor Attalah’s team developed a device used by the European Space Agency to custom
build tools, like a screwdriver, from space.
It used a metal wire to guide molten material into place.
We just put the metal wire and where the the focal point of the three mirrors they create
together what they call a death ray that gets the molten wire to melt.
So what you can do is that you can use the one to you can stick the droplets and stitch
them to the surface by the surface tension of the molten material.
Well, the whole point of 3D printing on the moon is to avoid using material from earth
so the ICON system will use regolith, that’s the layer of dust and broken rocks on the
lunar surface.
Mixed into a mortar, this is gonna be layered by the printer to create structures.
you also need something to get the structures or the layers to stick to one another.
And one of the things that you can use is some sort of a resin or a chemical.
And that chemical can be photo cured by the ultraviolet rays that … is available on
the top of the moon.
As the moon has no atmosphere, this technique will use the ultraviolet rays on the moon
to cure the resin and make any 3D printed structure harden.
It’s the same process used to cure dental casts when you visit the dentist.
So, so far so good but will it actually work?
The thing I like about space research is that it's essentially you don't know what to expect
at the end.
there's obviously a risk in trying to do that
How much protection will you get from the harmful radiation on the top of the moon,
can you get out of these structures?
The moon also is exposed
to violent temperature changes.
Temperature can vary anywhere between, let's say, plus or minus 150 or 200 in the same
day
It's whether it would provide protection, for instance, from small meteors, asteroids
flying by
When you think about this idea is not something that is going to be deployed and you have
astronauts living in it within ten years.
I would say if we start now, we're at least 50 years away from seeing entire moon colonies
being built using this approach.
Previous space missions have spawned lots of technology we take for granted.
Anybody who’s ever used a computer mouse, slept on a memory foam mattress or used a
cordless power tool has space exploration to thank for it.
So if Project Olympus turns out to be a success what could we expect to learn for construction
back on earth?
Well there may not be any huge technological advances, but it could usher in a new sustainable
way of building.
If you think about making something on the moon, the key point is sustainability.
So you're trying to rely on raw materials that are available around you.
For instance, to people who are in the developing world where basically it can be difficult
to find tons of raw cement and sands and special material to be able to build the modern houses
we all live in.
Not just in the developing nations but in the developed world, … where you can recycle
some of the construction waste.
By 1964 experts say man will have established twelve colonies on the moon.
Ideal for family vacations.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle to 3D printing technology being used more widely in construction
is proving its value to a well established industry.
While building in space may not have any direct impact back here on terra firma, as a display
of how it can create sophisticated constructions, this is hard to beat.
You can learn more about NASA 3D printing on Mars and the other topics on our channel
over on The World’s Best Construction Podcast – available right now wherever you get your
podcasts.
And as always , if you want to learn more about where construction is headed, make sure
you’re subscribed to Tomorrow’s Build.