Patent — available for licensing
Regolith-Polymer 3D Printing
A NASA invention available to explore as a licensing opportunity.
About this technology
Overview
The history of construction materials and methods has evolved over time, with Portland cement concrete being the most widely used material on Earth. Constructing habitats and infrastructure on the Moon and Mars, however, requires a different approach given the lack of such conventional construction resources and materials . Recognizing the need for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) to support long-duration human missions to the Moon and Mars, NASA's Kennedy Space Center and Sidus Space have developed a novel three-dimensional print head apparatus using regolith-polymer mixtures as a building material. The invention paves the way for enabling the construction of habitats and other critical infrastructure on the Moon and other planetary bodies using available resources. The Regolith-Polymer 3D Printing System can also be adapted to work with other crushed rock materials or mixtures depending on resource availability at construction sites.