{"id":56762,"date":"2022-12-03T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-03T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/?post_type=ftm_article&#038;p=56762"},"modified":"2022-12-02T16:26:29","modified_gmt":"2022-12-02T21:26:29","slug":"building-on-the-moon","status":"publish","type":"ftm_article","link":"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/building-on-the-moon","title":{"rendered":"NASA invests $57 million in a 3D laser printer to build moon bases"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>NASA has awarded high-tech construction company ICON a nearly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/press-release\/nasa-icon-advance-lunar-construction-technology-for-moon-missions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">$60 million contract<\/a> to develop Olympus, a 3D-printing system specifically designed for building on the moon and Mars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The challenge: <\/strong>NASA\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/moon-rocket\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Artemis 1 mission<\/a> launched in November, putting the agency a major step closer to its goal: not just getting humans <em>back<\/em> to the moon, but establishing a long-term presence there so that astronauts have time to perform the research needed to reach Mars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The cost of sending all the construction materials needed to build a significant moon base from Earth to the moon would be astronomical, so NASA\u2019s plans for building on the moon depend on using as many local resources as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>&#8220;The final deliverable of this contract will be humanity\u2019s first construction on another world.&#8221;<\/p><cite>Jason Ballard<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What\u2019s new?<\/strong> Now, NASA has awarded ICON, a Texas-based company specializing in advanced construction tech, a $57.2 million contract to develop Olympus, a 3D-printing system that could be used for building on the moon, and Mars, using local materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201c[Olympus] will allow us to \u2026 build all the elements of infrastructure necessary for a lunar outpost and ultimately a moon base,\u201d ICON CEO Jason Ballard <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kvue.com\/article\/money\/economy\/boomtown-2040\/icon-to-build-on-moon-with-nasa\/269-bb818338-6444-4239-bc9b-245a14b3f44f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told KVUE<\/a>. \u201cThis is launch and landing pads, roadways, habitats, you name it \u2014 all the things we need on the moon.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe title=\"3D Printing on the Moon and Beyond for NASA | Project Olympus - Off-world Construction | ICON\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/anBl7HEo5pY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>While the 3D printers ICON uses to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/hard-tech\/3d-printed-houses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">construct houses<\/a> on Earth utilize a water-based concrete \u201cink,\u201d Olympus will take a different approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;[We\u2019re] using a high-powered laser to actually transform moon dust into building material,\u201d said Ballard, noting that his company has also experimented with microwaves, infrared light, and melting for off-world construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Space partners:<\/strong> This isn\u2019t the first collaboration between NASA and ICON.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The agency has been helping fund the company\u2019s plans for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/centers\/marshall\/news\/releases\/2020\/nasa-looks-to-advance-3d-printing-construction-systems-for-the-moon.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">off-world construction<\/a> since 2020, and in 2021, ICON unveiled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/chapea\/habitat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mars Dune Alpha<\/a>, a 3D-printed facility at NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center that will be used for a year-long <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/living-on-mars\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">simulated Mars mission<\/a> starting in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe title=\"NASA&#039;s Mars Surface Simulated Habitat | 3D Printed by ICON, designed by BIG\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yI8RAejdtI0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The new NASA contract runs through 2028, and during it, ICON will continue developing the Olympus system using actual samples of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/lunar-regolith\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lunar regolith<\/a>, brought back during NASA\u2019s Apollo missions, as well as simulated moon dust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ICON will also bring its hardware and software into space during a flight designed to simulate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freethink.com\/space\/chinas-artificial-moon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lunar gravity<\/a>. Ballard told KVUE that the company hopes to be building on the moon by 2026, with the first structure likely to be a launch and landing pad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe final deliverable of this contract will be humanity\u2019s first construction on another world,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iconbuild.com\/newsroom\/icon-to-develop-lunar-surface-construction-system-with-57-2-million-nasa-award\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">he said<\/a>, \u201cand that is going to be a pretty special achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>We&#8217;d love to hear from you! If you have a comment about this article or if you have a tip for a future Freethink story, please email us at <\/em><a href=\"mailto:tips@freethink.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>tips@freethink.com<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NASA has invested $57.2 into construction company ICON\u2019s 3D printer for building on the moon, Mars, and beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":56763,"template":"","ftm_taxonomy_fields":[40,44],"ftm_taxonomy_challenges":[],"ftm_taxonomy_statuses":[],"ftm_taxonomy_hidden_tags":[],"class_list":["post-56762","ftm_article","type-ftm_article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","ftm_taxonomy_fields-3d-printing","ftm_taxonomy_fields-aerospace"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.9 (Yoast SEO v26.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>NASA 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