Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
Printed parts and hardware from the first-ever technological demonstration of 3D printing in space were among the items and experiments that returned to Earth on the SpaceX Dragon cargo vehicle earlier this week, NASA officials confirmed in a statement.
The 3D printer, officially known as the 3D Printing In Zero-G Technology Demonstration, was developed by Made In Space and was sent to the International Space Station (ISS) in September 2014. Using the device, crewmembers on board the orbiting laboratory can fabricate parts using additive manufacturing instead of waiting for the arrival of a cargo resupply mission.
The first object created using the 3D printer was a faceplate for the extruder printhead, which was produced last November. While the object itself was nothing special, it served to demonstrate the feasibility of astronauts creating their own parts and tools while in a zero-gravity environment and served as one small step forward along the road towards long-term space expeditions.
According to NASA, the 3D printer demonstration used relatively low-temperature plastic feedstock on the space station. Among one of the items created during the test phase was a printed ratchet wrench created using a design file transmitted from Earth to the printer.
“Experiments like 3-D printing in space demonstrate important capabilities that allow NASA and humanity to proceed farther on the journey to Mars,” said Kirt Costello, deputy chief scientist for the International Space Station Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Also on board the Dragon spacecraft during its return voyage to Earth were samples, data, and hardware from several biological and biotechnological experiments performed on the ISS. They include the Advancing Membrane Protein Crystallization by Using Microgravity study, which examined the production of high-quality crystals of the cystic fibrosis protein.
As if printing spaceship parts isn’t cool enough
Since it is difficult to get medically important proteins to crystalize on Earth, researchers have tried to grow them in space in order to determine their shape and structure. By doing so, they hope they will ultimately be able to develop better drug treatments for cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that can cause severe damage to a person’s lungs and digestive system.
The cargo also included samples from the Advanced Plant Experiments 03-1 that could help scientists learn more about how microgravity affects the development of roots and cells on plant seedlings. Those samples will be analyzed to determine what molecular and genetic mechanisms control plant development in microgravity, and that information could be used to improve agricultural and bioenergy research on Earth, the US space agency explained.
“The ability to… return this critical research continues to be an invaluable asset for the researchers here on Earth using the International Space Station as their laboratory in orbit,” Costello said. “Other investigations such as those focused on protein crystal growth take advantage of the unique microgravity environment and offer us new avenues to investigate troubling diseases back on Earth.”
The Dragon capsule lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on January 10 and arrived at the ISS two days later, carrying a payload of over 5,000 pounds of supplies and elements to support 256 scientific investigations. It remained there for about a month before returning to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday evening.
—–
Follow redOrbit on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
Comments