AI SpaceFactory was named the final winner in NASA's competition to use 3D printing technology to build a habitat that could be used on the Moon or Mars.
AI SpaceFactory will receive $500,000 for winning the competition with second-place Penn State receiving $200,000.
The winning habitat, called Marsha, is tall and slim, to reduce the need for construction rovers on unfamiliar terrain, according to AI SpaceFactory. It is designed to be built on a vertically telescoping arm attached to a rover, which stays still during construction.
Marsha was built using a biopolymer basalt composite, "a biodegradable and recyclable material derived from natural materials found on Mars." It proved superior to concrete in NASA's pressure, smoke, and impact testing.
The final stage of the competition ran from May 1 through May 4 in Peoria Illinois in partnership with Bradley University and was hosted by Caterpillar inc.. Other sponsors included Bechtel, Brick & Mortar Ventures and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The competition was part of NASA's Centenial Challenges program. Which also includes the
Cube Quest Challenge
Space Robotics Challenge
Vascular Tissue Challenge
CO₂ Conversion Challenge
We developed these technologies for Space, but they have the potential to transform the way we build on Earth," said David Malott, CEO and Founder of AI SpaceFactory. "By using natural, biodegradable materials grown from crops, we could eliminate the building industry's massive waste of unrecyclable concrete and restore our planet.
AI SpaceFactory plans to adapt Marsha's design for an eco-friendly Earth habitat called Tera; a crowdfunding campaign will begin shortly on IndieGogo, the design agency said in a statement.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Immerman on Monday May 13 2019, @12:56AM
Eventually, if we colonize space, terraforming will be dirt cheap. What does it take, really? Engineering a few microbes to make a "primordial slime" that would thrive in the Martian subsurface while producing greenhouse gasses from the rock will almost certainly be well within reach within a century or two. That might be enough all by itself. If not, redirecting a few asteroids? Putting a few thousand square miles of ultrathin mylar mirrors in orbit? Child's play for a civilization building large habitats in space, and not actually terribly expensive - just re-purposing commodity technology widely used for other purposes.
Now, we may abandon space altogether, in which case sure, it won't happen. But if we become a truly spacefaring species, terraforming Mars will be all but inevitable. I don't expect to see any real progress in my lifetime though.