Vital to the space race will be the ability to create cost-effective materials for projects on the moon, Mars, and beyond.
AON3D, a Canadian based company, is on a space race mission,
Raising 11.5 million dollars in a funding round with this aim,
and bringing them a step closer to launching a lunar lander to the moon.
If it works, AON3D could be the first to land 3D-printed tools on the moon.
The increased funds grant the company’s 3D printing skills access to a large market,
Including Astrobotic, a company aiming at creating parts for a lander with the potential of being the first 3D printed vehicle to soft-land on the moon since Apollo 17, named the Peregrine lander.
According to CEO AON3D Kevin Han in a press release.”The future of the 3D printing space is more open source and economical,
So there is increased access to the same hardware by both top firms and small businesses.
“AON3D and our AON M2+ printer are modelled with this in mind.
We have backers convinced of our vision, and partners like Astrobotic that place Confidence in our hardware.”
Created in 2007,
And emphasizing lunar technology aimed at building a workflow for moon landings that are more obtainable to market interests.
The Peregrine lander
The peregrine lander is currently being created to either land on the moon or delivers payloads into orbit.
Because of its cost-effective process,
Astrobotic has relied heavily on Additive manufacturing,
The technology saves cost and typically results in low-weight designs.
Astrobotics is collaborating with AON3D and its AON M2+ to 3D print approximately 300 parts for its lander, with aims to minimizing size without reducing durability.
There are many issues in the 2nd space race,
However, Astrobotics hopes to combat this by using uniquely designed 3D printed materials
Clay Inman, A mechanical engineer at Astrobotics in a press release says
“In an environment as hostile as space, we need parts that are durable enough to withstand the vacuum of space as well as the challenges of launch and spaceflight.
“a huge factor in achieving our goals was using – PEEK, PEKK and ULTEM in one machine.”
On completion, the Peregrine Lander will be 8.2 ft by 6.2 ft and contain adaptable decks, that allows it to heft payloads of varying shapes and sizes.
- it will include disembarking place for rovers
- Antennas and a flight heritage transponder: allowing the craft to send and receive data from the Astrobotics Mission centre.
Commercial Allure of the space race
A vital part of the space race is a commercial allure for expanding human enterprise in space.
Companies like A)N3D are looking into new ways to provide technology that does this at the lowest possible cost without reducing performance and durability.
Source: Astrobotics, Youtube
