Additive Manufacturing Under Lunar Gravity and Microgravity

Abstract

Mankind is setting to colonize space, for which the manufacturing of habitats, tools, spare parts and other infrastructure is required. Commercial manufacturing processes are already well engineered under standard conditions on Earth, which means under Earth’s gravity and atmosphere. Based on the literature review, additive manufacturing under lunar and other space gravitational conditions have only been researched to a very limited extent. Especially, additive manufacturing offers many advantages, as it can produce complex structures while saving resources. The materials used do not have to be taken along on the mission, they can even be mined and processed on-site. The Einstein-Elevator offers a unique test environment for experiments under different gravitational conditions. Laser experiments on selectively melting regolith simulant are successfully conducted under lunar gravity and microgravity. The created samples are characterized in terms of their geometry, mass and porosity. These experiments are the first additive manufacturing tests under lunar gravity worldwide.

Amyloidogenesis via interfacial shear in a containerless biochemical reactor aboard the International Space Station

“…Drop rheology in space is applicable to fields ranging from fundamental changes in fluid behavior 85 – 88 to the study of planetary bodies 89 – 91 and their material properties. Studies of interface creation and substrate interaction can be used to describe fundamental contact line dynamics 92 – 100 , 3D printing 87 , 101 , and combustion 102 , 103 in microgravity. Use of select interfacial flow regimes such as steady, pulsatile, or oscillatory flows, allows fluid devices to mimic the effects of flow in physiological systems such as the gastrointestinal 104 , 105 , glymphatic 73 – 78 , circulatory 106 , 107 , or respiratory 108 , 109 systems and the effects of spaceflight on these systems and the cells 110 , 111 within.…”

Inertia and slip effects on the instability of a liquid film coated on a fibre

“…Noticeably, in modern applications such as additive manufacturing in space (Reitz et al 2021;Van Ombergen et al 2023) and three-dimensional printing with liquid metals (Assael et al 2010;Kondic et al 2020), the role of inertia in governing the dynamics of liquid film interfaces has become notably apparent, contrasting with the predominant neglect of inertia in most preceding investigations. One exception is the work done by Goren (1962), who introduced inertial effects by conducting instability analysis for the full Navier-Stokes (NS) equations.…”

“…Noticeably, in modern applications such as additive manufacturing in space (Reitz et al. 2021; Van Ombergen et al. 2023) and three-dimensional printing with liquid metals (Assael et al.…”

Applicability of UV-Curable Binders in High Solid Suspensions for Direct-Ink-Write 3D Printing in Extremely Cold Temperatures

“…While a great focus has been dedicated to binder formulation design to provide the most optimal printing conditions for the suspensions, − recent progress in space exploration efforts has triggered the need for more high-performing materials and for the applicability of 3D printing methods in isolated and demanding environments such as the Lunar surface. − Now, not only must binder formulations be designed to optimally process various kinds of solid materials, but they must also be tailored for printing conditions including microgravity, vacuum, thermal extremes, solar and cosmic radiation, as well as dust storms and charging. − Experiments conducted on the International Space Station by Made In Space, Inc. demonstrated the first success of 3D printing in microgravity by fused filament fabrication (FFF) . For DIW, the technique was used in microgravity by Li et al to deposit droplets of a very dilute colloidal suspension and through Techshot’s BioFabrication Facility on the International Space Station, and work by Leu and co-workers demonstrated a very good use case of DIW in cold temperatures with freeze-form extrusion fabrication (FEF). , Since then, other demonstrations of FEF in cold temperatures have been employed for a variety of formulations, including some with high solid loadings, with subzero temperatures applied to either the print bed, the ambient atmosphere, or both. − …”