Investigating the additive manufacture of extra-terrestrial material simulants

The powder bed fusion additive manufacturing process category consists of a group of key-enabling technologies. These technologies allow the fabrication of both intrinsic and complex structures for a series of applications, including astronautics. The pull factor that influenced this investigation was to explore the potential application of laser-based additive manufacturing (also known as 3D printing), for the manufacture of engineering assets and componentry, using the available extra-terrestrial natural resources as feedstock. The successful realisation of this manufacturing approach in an extra-terrestrial environment could enable a sustainable presence in space by providing the ability to build assets and tools needed for building and maintaining life-sustaining habitats on the Moon, to support future extra-terrestrial human activity.