Some of us would have heard about ‘Make in India’, an initiative by the Government of India to encourage companies to manufacture in India. But, have you ever thought about off-world manufacturing? We have already done many revolutionary and mind-blowing things on earth. Now, it is time to elevate our manufacturing technology to the next level i.e. off the planet.
Space manufacturing is the production of manufactured goods in an environment outside a planetary atmosphere where exist conditions of hard vacuum and microgravity.
The first experiment related to space manufacturing started back in 1969 during the Soyuz 6 mission, where astronauts performed welding in space. After that, several experiments have been conducted in space. Microgravity is one of the main features of space that attracts material scientists to test and manufacture goods there. Another advantage is that potentially hazardous processes can be performed in space with minimal risk to the biosphere. Over 200 objects have been built using additive manufacturing techniques at ISS by Made In Space Inc. Researches are going on related to different manufacturable goods in space.
Bio 3D printing of organs is one such thing. Under the earth’s gravitational pull, tissues made on earth collapse under their own weight. Researchers say that the 3D printed structures in microgravity could withstand the earth’s pull. Heart made from the patient’s own stem cells would offer a huge benefit of an organ not being rejected by the host body.
Solar panels made of Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is more efficient than silicone-based panels due to their direct band gap. Due to a wide direct band gap, it also has resistance to radiation damage. As GaAs crystal produced in space were found to have more uniformity with some improved structural properties, higher quality GaAs can be produced, thus manufacturing super-efficient solar panels.
We all know that Optical fiber made of silica can transmit data quickly over long distances. ZBLAN is a type of fluoride-based optical fiberglass that has the potential to perform up to 100 times more efficiently than traditional silica-based fibers. ZBLAN can transmit a broader spectrum and only absorb less light. Fabricating ZBLAN fibers on earth is difficult due to the formation of bubbles and crystals in the pulled fibers. Theoretically, ZBLAN produced in microgravity will have fewer imperfections thus manufacturing high-quality materials.
Archinaut is a platform for additive manufacturing and assembly of a large complex system in space without any astronaut extravehicular activity. Archinaut manufactures and assembles the structures by itself if the raw materials and designs were given. So, instead of flying satellite to space, one could create there, a space factory. Things like Solar panels made in space would definitely save the cost of launching them right down from the ground.
Industries on earth are poisoning everything including water, soil, air, etc. Handling the byproducts from industries has shown to be a real struggle. All these become no issues in the vacuum of space. If we master a new environment and mitigate the risk involved with working in space, things will be different than it is today! Maybe in the future, we will get to use products with ‘Made in Space’ labeled on it.
Reference: NASA
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