"Milestone"

ESA successfully prints with metal on the ISS

ESA spoke of an "important milestone in the development of manufacturing capacities in orbit".(Bild: ESA/NASA)

The first metal 3D printer in space, a collaboration between the European Space Agency ESA and the company Airbus, has printed its first metal product on the International Space Station. The ESA calls it a "breakthrough in crew autonomy for future long-term exploration missions".

The metal 3D printer, a technology demonstrator, was launched to the ISS at the beginning of this year and successfully printed the first three-dimensional metal mold in August. It is to be brought back to Earth for quality analysis along with three other products planned during the rest of the experiment.

"Important milestone"
Although there have already been 3D printers for plastics on the International Space Station, ESA's technology demonstrator is the first to successfully print a metal part under microgravity conditions. Daniel Neuenschwander, Director of Manned and Robotic Exploration at ESA, spoke of an "important milestone in the development of manufacturing capacities in orbit".

The achievement paves the way "for long-distance and long-term missions, where the needs-based production of spare parts, construction components and tools will be of crucial importance".

Needs-based production during long-term missions
With the expansion of exploration missions to the moon and Mars, the duration of missions will increase and the autonomy of the mission and its crew will also become more important as resupply missions become more demanding, ESA said in a statement.

Additive manufacturing in space is one solution to this problem. It offers the possibility of producing parts, repairing equipment or designing special tools as needed during the mission, instead of having to rely on supplies and redundancies.