A team of students from colleges and universities across the United States - members of the Artemis Generation - tested a 3D printed launch and landing pad to see how it holds up to a hot rocket engine March 6 at Camp Swift in Bastrop, Texas.

The students' design concept - called the Lunar Plume Alleviation Device, or Lunar PAD - aims to solve problems caused by lunar dust kicked up during launches and landings.

The students first proposed the new design for a competitive proposal writing workshop led by the Office of the Chief Technologist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the L'SPACE Academy - the student collaboration project for NASA's Lucy mission at Arizona State University in Tempe.

The team won funding to print and test a small-scale prototype with help from NASA's Moon-to-Mars Planetary Autonomous Construction Technologies (MMPACT) project, Austin-based construction technologies startup ICON, and the Sounding Rocketry Team at Texas A and M University in College Station.

Artemis is NASA's robotic and human return to the Moon. Inspiring the next generation of explorers - the Artemis Generation - ensures America will continue to lead in space exploration and discovery. MMPACT is funded by NASA's Game Changing Development Program.

Related Links
3-D Printing at NASA
Space Technology News - Applications and Research

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Printing in 3D as long as you like
Paris (ESA) Mar 14, 2021
Presented at ESA's Advanced Manufacturing workshop, this 1.5 m-long hard polymer bar was produced using a 3D printer that is much smaller than it is. The printer is capable of printing parts of unlimited dimensions in a single direction. It is a ground demonstrator version of 3D printing technology which is ultimately intended for use aboard the International Space Station. ESA advanced manufacturing engineer Advenit Makaya explains: "Developing out-of-Earth manufacturing solutions for large ... read more