3D printing will help space pioneers make homes, tools and other stuff they need to colonize the Moon and Mars

By Sven Bilén, Professor of Engineering Design, Electrical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering, Penn State

Throughout history, when pioneers set out across uncharted territory to settle in distant lands, they carried with them only the essentials: tools, seeds and clothing. Anything else would have to come from their new environment.

So they built shelter from local timber, rocks and sod; foraged for food and cultivated the soil beneath their feet; and fabricated tools from whatever they could scrounge up. It was difficult, but ultimately the successful ones made everything they needed to survive.

Something similar will take place when humanity leaves Earth for destinations…

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