A Zero Launch Mass 3-D printer is being tested at the Swamp Works at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The printer can be used for construction projects on the Moon and Mars, and even for troops in remote locations on Earth. Zero launch mass refers to the fact that the printer uses pellets made from simulated lunar regolith, or dirt, and polymers to prove that space explorers can use resources at their destination instead of taking everything with them, saving them launch mass and money. The group is working with Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a system that can 3-D print barracks in remote locations on Earth, using the resources they have where they are.
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NASA ID
KSC-20180209-PH_GEB01_0022
Date Created
February 9, 2018
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Photographer
NASA/Glenn Benson
Location
Swamp Works
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