An Overview of the Execution of 3D Printed Sub-Scale Habitat on Mars (2020-03)¶

Since 3D printing of structures is expected to reduce construction time, material, cost, and energy, the building industry has come to realize the relevance and importance of digital design and additive construction, signaling a foothold in that regard and paving the way for much-needed advancement in the construction industry. Furthermore, the automation implied in 3D printing technology could introduce newfound applications; for example, it makes possible in-situ construction in harsh conditions on Earth and extraterrestrial environments such as Mars and the Moon prior to the arrival of human explorers. This paper presents the dynamic and interrelated processes of design and development of materials, systems, and architectural constructs on a single BIM platform, on which the architectural design of a habitat, the tool-path design, and assembling and coordination of information regarding multiple interrelated variables such as materials properties, structural behavior, systems’ transformation, costs, and logistics, can be systematically created, coordinated, managed, analyzed, and converged towards the common goal of automation in construction. Through this case study we review the attempts made by the interdisciplinary team of Penn State faculty and students to print a sub-scale habitat for Phase III–Level 3 of NASA’s 3D- Printed Habitat Challenge. NASA designed the multi-phase Challenge to catalyze research to advance the automated construction technology needed to create sustainable housing solutions for Earth and deep space habitats. As such, this paper presents a framework to quantitatively understand the benefits of and changes that AM will trigger in construction and logistics, rather than a focus on qualitative consequences in terms of the inevitable transformations it will trigger in architectural language and practice.