Manufacturing May Be Possible on Mars Thanks to 3D Printing

What if living on Mars was possible by using 3D printing? That’s the question researchers at Washington State University (WSU) have asked themselves. Recently, they succeeded in making a solid, high-performance material that could be used to 3D print tools or rocket parts on Mars. In order to do this, tests were conducted with Martian regolith, a black powdery substance used to mimic the rocky material found on the surface of the red planet. The material was mixed with titanium alloy, which is a material used in space exploration because of its heat resistance and strength.

Notably, the researchers printed several parts, each with a different percentage of Martian regolith. According to WSU professor Amit Bandyopadhyay, the parts 3D printed with 5% of the black powder are stronger than those made with titanium alone. The objects made of 100 percent regolith, however, turned out to crack more easily and lack strength. Nevertheless, the material is still useful for the manufacturing of coatings to protect equipment from rust or radiation damage.

The 3D Printing Process of The Material

For this study, Amit Bandyopadhyay, along with graduate students Ali Afrouzian and Kellen Traxel, used a powder-based 3D printer to mix the Martian rock dust with titanium. A high-powered laser heated the materials to over 2,000°C (~3600°F). Then, the molten mixture was cast on a moving platform that allowed the researchers to make parts of different sizes and shapes. Once the material cooled down, tests were conducted to explore its strength and durability.