Bradley to partner with NASA for Mars habitat challenge

Bradley University has decided to partner with NASA to help facilitate the Structural Member Competition called 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge.

“Currently, three-dimensional printing is applied to relatively small scale items, but NASA is interested in allowing astronauts to build habitats on Mars using this process,” Bradley Dean of Caterpillar College of Engineering and Technology Dr. Lex Akers said. “The earthbound uses of this technology could be massive.”

Competing teams will use 3D printing technology to create technologies to build a Mars habitat.

“The journey to Mars will demand many ambitious technology advances,” John Vickers, NASA principal technologist in advanced manufacturing at the Space Technology Mission Directorate, said. “This challenge in the cutting-edge area of 3D printing will bring about potentially high-impact ideas that we can't realize elsewhere.”