In a try designed by the European Space Agency (ESA) managed to 3D print a metal part on the International Space Station (ISS). This is the first time this has happened and presents a number of new challenges, as many methods rely on gravity to position materials during the printing process.
This is because when creating metal structures, molten metal is often used as part of the filament or printing medium. In space, its behavior can be unpredictable, which can lead to poor quality objects as the filament can be displaced or misplaced due to the lack of gravitational forces.
Scientists have therefore had to adapt to working in these harsh conditions, and the International Space Station provided the perfect environment. ESA’s metal 3D printer uses stainless steel wire melted by a powerful laser reaching 1,200 degrees Celsius to create its molten metal filament that is deposited layer by layer to create the desired shape.
The impression
Through months of painstaking testing, the ISS crew members involved in the experiment were finally able to adapt the printer to the station’s microgravity environment, producing the first metal part in space a few weeks ago. The astronauts involved in the project plan to print two more objects, and then all three will return to Earth for qualitative analysis and to plan the creation and printing of new, more complex metal objects.
The ability to print metal objects on Space It can, as is understandable, be a valuable ally in man’s efforts to create initially manned bases and later colonies on the Moon and later on Mars, but also in the better functioning of space stations such as those planned to be built by the USA and Europe, but also China and Russia, near the Moon, to support the manned bases they plan to build there in the next decade.
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