A while back, our 3D printing company in Seattle told you about the International Space Station’s 3D printer. This device represented a historical moment, in that it was the first 3D printer in space and it produced the first product that was manufactured in space. And now, about three months into the printer’s career, the first of this device’s 3D printed samples have made their way back to Earth.
These samples, which dropped into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California on February 10th. It is now destined for the SpaceX’s test facility in McGregor, Texas for examination. Researchers want to compare items printed in space with their equals that were printed on Earth so as to get a better understanding of how a microgravity environment might affect the process. This knowledge will play an important role as the world’s interest in space exploration continues to get more ambitious, reaching closer and closer to a manned Mars mission that would require astronauts to manufacture their own products extraterrestrially.
