A team of researchers has fashioned a new 3D-printing technique that can be used to make everything, from small equipment to large buildings. Now, here comes the really interesting part -- the raw material needed for creating all of these things will be extraterrestrial dust from Mars or the Moon! The cool technology will allow humans to go ahead with space colonization plans as colonies can be built on alien worlds with limited surrounding resources.
According to The Indian Express report, a research team from the U.S.’ Northwestern University has demonstrated the capability to 3D-print structures with lunar and Martian dust simulants. The researchers used an extension of a 3D-painting process that had been earlier used by them to print graphene and carbon nanotubes, hyperelastic bone, metals and alloys.
“For places like other moons and planets, where resources are limited, people would need to use what is available on that planet in order to survive,” said Ramille Shah, from Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering. “Our 3D paints really open up the ability to print different structural or functional objects to make habitats beyond Earth.” The research has been published in the journal Scientific Reports.
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