NASA hardware will be printed on 3D printers

The invention of a 3D printer has become one of the most important events of recent years. The first device for three-dimensional printing was created by Chuck Hall in the distant 1986, and decades later, thanks to his idea, people can easily print not only tiny details for electronics, but also entire buildings and even food. Of course, such a useful technology has not bypassed the space sphere - NASA intends to abandon the modular design of sensors and communication modules, and print them in a holistic form.

Today, sensors, sensors and communication modules for spacecraft are manufactured in the same way as other electronics. Each piece of equipment is created separately and then soldered to the board next to other components. This process requires maximum accuracy and is extremely laborious, so it is not surprising that various errors occur during production.

Employees of one of the NASA research centers intend to simplify the production of space electronics using 3D printing technology. They will use various nanomaterials like carbon nanotubes and graphene as raw materials. All components necessary for the work will be printed on the board in a single process. For example, in this way they want to print modules for transmitting data from space to Earth.

It is expected that this method of creating electronics will not only speed up the process, but also reduce their energy consumption. The size of the printed electronics will not exceed the size of a regular mobile phone. This means that electronics can be used not only in spacecraft, but also space suits - in particular, such sensors are used to monitor the health of astronauts.

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