Colonizers may not need to transport building tools to Mars—they could just print them, says study

One day, humans will land on Mars. But settling down will not be easy. After all, the colonizers will need tools and parts to build things on the planet, and expecting everything to arrive from Earth 34 million miles away wouldn't be wise. But what if they start building the tools on Mars itself? Zane Mebruer, a recent graduate of the University of Arkansas, suggests that future Mars residents could make items through 3D printing. Wan Shou, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, guided Merbruer in the research that was published in the Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing.   

Conventional 3D printing is done in an argon-filled chamber. Argon is a non-toxic gas that prevents oxidation. Mebruer wondered whether the same process can be accomplished in a carbon dioxide atmosphere, which makes up 95% of the Martian atmosphere. If this process succeeds, then we can skip transporting argon or even manufacturing it on Mars. In his lab, Mebruer used laser beam powder bed fusion. This method, often abbreviated as PBF-LB, is used to print metal. In this process, a metal powder is spread in a single layer across a plate, and a laser beam fuses it into a solid layer. This process is repeated across multiple layers.

The process is efficient because excess metal from each layer can be collected and recycled. But the metal can quickly oxidize during the production process, thus becoming weak internally. "The cohesion between layers is going to be a lot worse. The material strength is going to be impacted," Mebruer said in a statement. So, the researchers printed single-layer metal lines in atmospheres of argon, carbon dioxide, and ambient air and examined the results for imperfections on a microscopic level. They also wanted to know how uniform the single-layer parts were. Printing in the presence of carbon dioxide contributed to slightly inferior surface finish, cohesion, and oxidation resistance compared to argon, which produced the best results. But carbon dioxide-assisted printing processes did significantly better than those printed in ambient air. 

"It's a proof of concept," said Shou, who helped Mebruer conceptualize the work and oversaw the research in his lab. The researchers think that the process needs to be tested further by printing three-dimensional components and understanding how their surface quality, adhesion, and oxidation affect mechanical performance. They also state that studies using other alloys and materials will help understand how composition affects the outcomes of the process. However, the work is promising, and it brings us a step closer to the goal of making a human habitat on Mars.

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