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NASA has revealed the three finalists in its 3D Printed Habitat Challenge, the project to develop a printable home for astronauts on the moon, on Mars or even further into the universe . The multi-million dollar competition forces teams to design complex structures that can be built on distant planets, giving space explorers a more permanent place to live than landing gear and similar devices.
The first phase was completed in 2015, with the relatively simple task of providing architectural renderings of the building proposed by each team. The second phase lasted the next two years, with graduate teams then being pushed to explore the materials – and the structural components that these materials would be used for construction – to make such habitats feasible.
We are now at the end of the third phase. This will end in May this year, with the remaining three teams being challenged to print the subscale of their habitats. It is not an easy construction either. NASA demands that everything be built independently.
The three teams will share a prize of $ 100,000 for reaching this stage of the competition. First, SEArch + / Apis Cor, a New York team. Its twisted structure – at the top of the page – looks a bit like a minaret or, if you feel less charitable, a Harman-Kardon Evoke Cortana speaker, and is designed to be continually reinforced in a spiral. Perforations on the sides and roof allow light to enter the structure.
Then there is the Zopherus team from Arkansas. He took second place, and just over $ 33,000, with his 3D printed design. The group is considering a traveling printer that would move robotically to a suitable construction site, build a structure, then move to another location to continue producing a neighborhood.
Finally, there is the Mars Incubator team from Connecticut. Its design consists of many pentagons and hexagons, which could be combined to create spheres of different dimensions. Each could then be connected by short mooring tubes, with different sections used as sas, hydroponic labs, etc.
Previous tests included testing fingerprint samples of the drawings to determine their ability to retain water or withstand simulated meteorite impacts. Extreme freeze and thaw temperatures were also tested using building sections constructed according to each team's plans, without human intervention.
Then comes the challenge of printing subscales, after which the final winner will be named. NASA has earmarked $ 800,000 in prizes for this phase, which will take place in early May 2019 in Peoria, Illinois.
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