{"id":18704,"date":"2019-05-08T12:18:38","date_gmt":"2019-05-08T16:18:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=18704"},"modified":"2019-05-08T12:18:38","modified_gmt":"2019-05-08T16:18:38","slug":"two-teams-3d-printed-prototype-mars-habitats-in-battle-for-700k-from-nasa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=18704","title":{"rendered":"Two teams 3D-printed prototype Mars habitats in battle for $700k from NASA"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here is an account of the Mars habitat printing contest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/directorates\/spacetech\/centennial_challenges\/M19-012.html\">held last week<\/a> in Illinois between teams from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psu.edu\/\">Penn State<\/a> and the New York-based design agency <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aispacefactory.com\/\">AI SpaceFactory<\/a> in the final phase of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/directorates\/spacetech\/centennial_challenges\/3DPHab\/index.html\">NASA\u2019s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge<\/a> competition: <a href=\"https:\/\/spectrum.ieee.org\/tech-talk\/aerospace\/space-flight\/3d-printers-could-build-future-homes-on-mars\">AI SpaceFactory Wins NASA&#8217;s 3D-Printed Extraterrestrial Habitats Challenge &#8211; IEEE Spectrum<\/a> &#8211;<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>In a cavernous arena outside of Peoria, Illinois, two industrial robots worked against the clock last weekend to finish their tasks. Each had been converted into a towering 3-D printer and programmed to build one-third-scale models of extraterrestrial habitats. For 30 hours over three days, generators chugged and hydraulics hissed as robotic arms moved in patterns, stacking long beads of thick \u201cink\u201d into layers. Gradually, familiar forms began to emerge from the facility\u2019s dirt floor: a gray, igloo-like dwelling and a tall, maroon egg.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>Humanity\u2019s future on Mars was taking shape.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>AI SpaceFactory took first place and $500k while the Penn State team came in second and got $200k.<\/p>\n<p>An overview of the contest from Caterpillar, one of the co-sponsors of the competition:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ycvagtLfRhY?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Here is a video from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aispacefactory.com\/\">AI SpaceFactory<\/a> showing the construction and testing of their habitat structure:<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/axnuLepJufs?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>A release from NASA on the awards<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/directorates\/spacetech\/centennial_challenges\/3DPHab\/19-017.html\">Teams 3D Print Planetary Habitats, Awarded $700K in NASA Challenge<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After 30 hours of 3D printing over four days of head-to-head competition, NASA and partner Bradley University of Peoria, Illinois, have awarded $700,000 to two teams in the final round of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/3DPHab\">3D-Printed Habitat Challenge<\/a>. The top prize of $500,000 was awarded to New York based AI. SpaceFactory. Second-place and $200,000 was awarded to Pennsylvania State University of University Park.<\/p>\n<p>The two teams faced off May 1-4 at Caterpillar&#8217;s Edwards Demonstration &amp; Learning Center in Edwards, Illinois, creating subscale shelters out of recyclables and materials that could be found on deep-space destinations, like the Moon and Mars. The size of the structures had to be a one-third scale version of their architectural designs. Each team employed robotic construction techniques that allowed minimal human intervention. Such technologies will enable more sustainable and autonomous exploration missions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em>&#8220;The final milestone of this competition is a culmination of extremely hard work by bright, inventive minds who are helping us advance the technologies we need for a sustainable human presence on the Moon, and then on Mars,\u201d said Monsi Roman, program manager for NASA&#8217;s Centennial Challenges. \u201cWe celebrate their vision, dedication and innovation in developing concepts that will not only further NASA\u2019s deep-space goals, but also provide viable housing solutions right here on Earth.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The habitats were constructed in 10-hour increments in front of a panel of judges. Once printing was complete, the structures were subjected to several tests and evaluated for material mix, leakage, durability and strength.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tzA__yKFYJw?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Beginning in 2015, the multi-year, multi-phase competition challenged teams to demonstrate many different additive manufacturing technologies, from design to software modeling to physical construction. The unique challenge was competed in three phases: design, structural member and on-site habitat construction. The challenge structure allowed NASA to task the teams to address many facets of 3D construction, and to involve a broader range of teams with various expertise. Throughout the competition, more than 60 teams have participated, and NASA awarded over $2 million in prize money.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">&#8220;It is an impressive achievement for these two teams to demonstrate this disruptive and terrific 3D-printing technology at such a large scale,&#8221; said Lex Akers, dean of Bradley&#8217;s Caterpillar College of Engineering and Technology. &#8220;By teaming up with NASA and Caterpillar, we are proud to bring these teams together in an environment where they can innovate, create and challenge our vision of what&#8217;s possible. Congratulations to both teams for their accomplishments.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge is managed through a partnership with NASA\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/directorates\/spacetech\/centennial_challenges\/index.html\">Centennial Challenges<\/a> program and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bradley.edu\/\">Bradley University<\/a> in Peoria, Illinois. Bradley has partnered with sponsors Caterpillar, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bechtel.com\/\">Bechtel<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/brickmortar.vc\/#home\">Brick &amp; Mortar Ventures<\/a> and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to administer the competition. NASA\u2019s Centennial Challenges program is part of the agency\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/directorates\/spacetech\/home\/index.html\">Space Technology Mission Directorate<\/a>, and is managed at NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.<\/p>\n<p>For more information about the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, visit: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/3DPHab\">http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/3DPHab<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cOes-07mI9A?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">====<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/1426220057\/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1426220057&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=hobbyspace&amp;linkId=811d54246d72bdb81bf217376d6a29e7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Moon Rush: The New Space Race<\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;\" src=\"\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?t=hobbyspace&amp;l=am2&amp;o=1&amp;a=1426220057\" alt=\"\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe style=\"width: 120px; height: 240px;\" src=\"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&amp;OneJS=1&amp;Operation=GetAdHtml&amp;MarketPlace=US&amp;source=ac&amp;ref=tf_til&amp;ad_type=product_link&amp;tracking_id=hobbyspace&amp;marketplace=amazon&amp;region=US&amp;placement=1426220057&amp;asins=1426220057&amp;linkId=6bc0ea2574961bc5c5407b80191a5cf2&amp;show_border=true&amp;link_opens_in_new_window=true&amp;price_color=333333&amp;title_color=0066c0&amp;bg_color=ffffff\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here is an account of the Mars habitat printing contest held last week in Illinois between teams from Penn State and the New York-based design agency AI SpaceFactory in the final phase of NASA\u2019s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge competition: AI SpaceFactory Wins NASA&#8217;s 3D-Printed Extraterrestrial Habitats Challenge &#8211; IEEE Spectrum &#8211; In a cavernous arena outside &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=18704\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Two teams 3D-printed prototype Mars habitats in battle for $700k from NASA<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[15,17,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-in-space-infrastructure","category-living-in-space","category-space-settlement"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-4RG","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16327,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=16327","url_meta":{"origin":18704,"position":0},"title":"Top 10 teams selected by NASA for next stage of 3D-Printed habitat competition","author":"TopSpacer","date":"July 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"An announcement from NASA: Top 10 Teams Selected in Virtual Stage of 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge NASA\u2019s\u00a03D-Printed Habitat Challenge\u00a0is challenging teams of citizen inventors to push the state of the art of additive construction to design and build sustainable shelters for humans to live on Mars. Previous levels of the challenge\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Asteroids &amp; Comets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Asteroids &amp; Comets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=75"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/x-arc_3dph_01-1024x503.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17894,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=17894","url_meta":{"origin":18704,"position":1},"title":"Space settlement roundup &#8211; Feb.22.2019","author":"TopSpacer","date":"February 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A sampling of items related to human settlements off earth: ** Cylindrical homes on Mars created via 3D printing from local materials have made the AI SpaceFactory team a finalist in NASA's 3-D Printed Habitat Challenge competition to design viable habitats for living on Mars:\u00a0AI SpaceFactory builds 3D printed Mars\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;In Space Infrastructure&quot;","block_context":{"text":"In Space Infrastructure","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=15"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/ESP_046738_2090_TroughEnd_candidatecroppedreduced1.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14356,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=14356","url_meta":{"origin":18704,"position":2},"title":"NASA 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge awards $100k to two teams in Phase 2: Level 1","author":"TopSpacer","date":"May 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"NASA's 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge selects winners for the first level of the competition: $100,000 Awarded in 1st Printing Stage of 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge\u00a0 Seven teams working on technology that could someday be used to create habitats from materials on other worlds have completed the first printing segment of NASA\u2019s 3D-Printed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Contests and Games&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Contests and Games","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/img21-1024x640.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15179,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=15179","url_meta":{"origin":18704,"position":3},"title":"Misc: An Artist Astronaut + Next phase of NASA&#8217;s 3-D Printed Habitat Challenge + An assembler of ingredients for life","author":"TopSpacer","date":"November 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Some miscellaneous items of interest: **\u00a0This Performance Artist Is Also a Candidate for Space Travel - Creators -\u00a0\u00a0Sarah Jane Pell is a \"Artist Astronaut\" who believes that \u00a0... the artistic and astronautics components of her work have equal weight. In other words, the art isn't supplementary. \"Calling art supplementary is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Contests and Games&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Contests and Games","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/Mars-Ice-House_Dusk-01_lr1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18351,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=18351","url_meta":{"origin":18704,"position":4},"title":"Space settlement roundup &#8211; Mar.30.2019","author":"TopSpacer","date":"March 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A sampling of items that I've come across related to space settlement: ** 3 private teams share a $100,000 award from NASA for their Mars habitat design submissions in the agency's 3-D Printed Habitat Challenge: Teams competing in NASA\u2019s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge completed the latest level of the competition \u2013\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;In Space Infrastructure&quot;","block_context":{"text":"In Space Infrastructure","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=15"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/p3l4_search_apis_cor1.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10607,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=10607","url_meta":{"origin":18704,"position":5},"title":"NASA opens the 3D Printed Habitat Challenge competition","author":"TopSpacer","date":"May 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"NASA announces\u00a0the\u00a03D-Printed Habitat Challenge: NASA Challenges Designers to Build Deep Space Exploration Habitat NASA and the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, known as America Makes, are holding a new $2.25 million competition to design and build a 3-D printed habitat for deep space exploration, including the agency\u2019s journey to Mars.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Contests and Games&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Contests and Games","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=16"},"img":{"alt_text":"15-093[1]","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/15-0931-300x197.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18704"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18706,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18704\/revisions\/18706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}