Infographic: 3D printing for a Moon base

A new ESA-led project is investigating the ways that 3D printing could be used to create and run a habitat on the Moon. Everything from building materials to solar panels, equipment and tools to clothes, even nutrients and food ingredients can potentially be 3D printed. But if you were headed to the Moon, what would you want to 3D print, to turn a lunar base into a place that feels like home? Tell us your idea, to win a chance of actually getting it printed.

Our latest project looks at everything needed to undertake the construction, operations and maintenance of a lunar base; how could the various types of 3D printing meet those needs? Materials such as metals, plastic, concrete and organic substances are under study.

But to fully take account of the human factor, the project would also like to hear from you. What would be the one item you would like to have 3D printed to keep with you in a lunar home from home? Email your ideas to Lunar3Dprinting@esa.int, including a sketch and a short explanation.