“Your Challenge, Should You Choose to Accept, Is To Design A Space Tool”
Photo courtesy of SpaceX
This weekend, the first 3D printer launched into space. This week, we’re proud to announce our partnership with Future Engineers, ASME and Made In Space on a series of NASA developed Space Challenges meant to empower innovative youth to design tools that can be printed and used in space.
Video courtesy of FutureEngineers.org
Together, we are about to make history. Today marks the beginning of manufacturing in space. Are you ready to take on the #MissionPrint Challenge? Here’s the launch video of SpaceX-4 that just successfully carried the Made In Space Zero-G 3D Printer to the ISS:
Video courtesy of SpaceX
Hearing mission control say “…and we have liftoff of SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket and Dragon. CRS-4 is underway. A US commercial spacecraft launching from American soil delivers new technology and science to the International Space Station,” gives me and hopefully every other space lover chills. Knowing that that “new technology” is one that we all are fortunate enough to experiment with every day, the ability to additively manufacture on demand through 3D Printing, is inspiring. Remember, there is no overnight shipping to space; and it is physically impossible to traditionally manufacture parts in a space environment. We really are witnessing, and taking an active part in, making history.
Screen Shots here and below courtesy of FutureEngineers.org
This is the first in a series of NASA developed 3D Space Challenges that Future Engineers and our other out-of-this-world partners are happy to share with the Shapeways community. Encourage every K-12 student you know interested in 3D Printing to check it out, and remember, ALL students (university, college, trade schools, and professors too) get 10% off ALL their prints at Shapeways ALL the time. What a great excuse to “ground print” and prototype your space tools with us.
Tools designed for this challenge are judged on the following well-rounded criteria:
- 40 Points – Innovation and Creativity of the Solution
- 20 Points – Ability to communicate the design through the Text Description and/or Finalist Interview
- 20 Points – Quality of the 3D Modeled Geometry and compliance with the Design Guidelines
- 20 Points – Usefulness of the design in a Space Environment
Astronaut Doug Wheelock explains further:
Video courtesy of FutureEngineers.org
Kids are powering innovative developments in 3D Printing across the unique web of our industry’s reach. They are opening shops on Shapeways, printing on desktop printers in their classrooms, and mod-ing their toys at home. There are dozen of touching stories of kids literally enabling the future of 3D printed prosthetics. And perhaps most profound of all, they can see what we can’t. Young minds aren’t limited by the bounds of conventional design and manufacturing constraints. Freed of this parameter, they are capable of leveraging the technology and materials available in unique new ways. Inspired by their potential, Future Engineers has an awesome lineup of prizes for the top contestants. The winner of the challenge will even have their tool printed in Zero-G’s on the ISS and get to watch live from Mission Control. While the #MissionPrint Future Engineers contest is for K-12 students in the US only, we will be featuring innovative designs by makers of all ages on our blog between now and when winners are announced on January 30th, 2015.
Here’s a snapshot of the contest deadlines, for full details check out FutureEngineers.org.
Are you ready to accept the #MissionPrint Challenge, stop dreaming and start doing? Keep us posted on your progress in our Space Forum and be sure and tag your space tools #MissionPrint. The best way to ensure your products will be astronaut-ready is to prototype on the ground, and we can’t wait to help.
To infinity… and 3D Printing beyond Earth!
This is the coolest thing humans have done in space since Laika the dog went to space. Ok, sending a man to the moon was pretty cool too
I would probably print a toothbrush in space (I always forget my toothbrush when I travel)
I also see moon-dust tchotchkes happening..
In all seriousness, being able to print replacement parts would be amazing. Imagine how many accidents could be avoided if astronauts could print the exact part they needed.
It is that toothbrush for preparing before an selfie with planet earth in background from the moon ?!
NO kidding! Moustronauts and 3D printers in space, we are definitely ushering in a new era. and haha, you never know when you’ll need to take a space selfie
The first thing I think of is the National Geographic video on 3D printing (using the “sandstone” type printer) to manufacture a replacement adjustable wrench made after scanning in a real wrench. This was shortly after the incident in which one of the ISS astronauts (or was it a shuttle astronaut?) accidentally “dropped” one of his tools and it floated away.
That’s exactly the kind of problem this partnership hopes to avoid