ESA Achieves First Metal 3D Print in Space

On September 6, the European Space Agency released a picture of the first object 3D printed in space under microgravity conditions. The print has been produced by ESA’s Metal 3D Printer, one of the experiments of the Huginn Mission led by ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen.

🚀 Need something in space? Just print it! 🖨️ @esa and @AirbusSpace have 3D printed the first ever metal part in orbit, laying the groundwork for astronauts to forge their own tools on the fly 🔧 👨‍🚀
Find out more 🤘 https://t.co/Es8xNupJb7 @CranfieldUni @spacegovuk
— Human Spaceflight (@esaspaceflight) September 6, 2024

The metal product will be sent to Earth for analysis, as well as other items which will be printed using the same device. Once back, ESTEC, the European Astronaut Centre, and the Technical University of Denmark will conduct an on-ground analysis of the printed parts to study the effects of microgravity on the printing process performance.

The first metal 3D printing in space

Launched on January 30, 2024, with Cygnus resupply mission NG-20, the ESA’s 3D Metal Printer was installed in May by ESA astronaut Andreas Morgensen on the European Drawer Rack of the ISS Columbus module. The technology demonstrator built by Airbus Defense and Space will print four metal shapes during the experiment, which in August led to the first metal body 3D printed in space.

The print process started after the installation of the device controlled on Earth by the CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales) control center for ISS payloads. This device underwent a series of commissioning tests to check its subsystems and the capacity to work together, which ended with the printing in 2D of the letter “S”.

*One small s-curve was deposited in liquefied stainless steel by ESA’s 3D Metal printer. Credits: ESA*

The 3D Printing process started slowly allowing the CNES operators to check the printing performance and make the necessary corrections. After two months half of the metallic part was printed, when a new “cruise phase” started, allowing to increase the print speed and finishing the object in early August.

Due to the very high temperature for melting stainless steel, the 3D printer was sealed and the internal atmosphere was replaced with pure nitrogen, which helped to protect the part from oxidizing. The atmosphere was rebalanced at the end of the process, and astronauts Sunita Williams and Jeanette Epps opened the sealed box and retrieved the product.

Astronauts Williams and Epps retrieved the first sample from the metal 3d printer. Credits: ESA / Airbus Space — *Astronauts Williams and Epps retrieved the first sample from the metal 3d printer. Credits: ESA*

Metal 3D Printing to enable new in-space manufacturing

The main objective of the Metal 3D Printing experiment is to collect as much data as possible about producing metal objects in microgravity, paving the way for new in-space manufacturing possibilities. The device’s construction provided the opportunity to solve several challenges typical of the metal 3D printing process, such as the miniaturization of the printer, and the heat and fumes management.

The first metal 3D printer for space. Credits: ESA/Airbus — *ESA’s first metal 3D printer for space. Credits: ESA/Airbus*

Addictive manufacturing has already been proven for plastic objects, while astronauts in missions to the Moon or Mars will also need metal tooling without bringing them from the Earth.

“Increasing the level of maturity and automation of additive manufacturing in space could be a game changer for supporting life beyond Earth. Thinking beyond the ISS, the applications could be amazing. Imagine a metal printer using transformed regolith or recycled materials to build a lunar base!”
— Gwenaëlle Aridon, Airbus Space Assembly Lead Engineer