Made in space

When a spacecraft lands on or blasts off from the moon, it kicks up a considerable cloud of dust and debris that, given the lack of gravity, can take years to fully settle. That dust cloud could choke off future hopes of habitability.

But what if it were feasible to manufacture a landing pad on the moon’s surface using a combination of materials already available in space, making a lunar settlement a legitimate possibility?

It may sound like a far-fetched sci-fi movie plot, but there’s a world in which it’s a reality within the next decade — and it’s a world UNH is helping bring into sharper focus.

“When you talk about a mission to Mars or even a lunar settlement, you’re not going to be able to rely on parts being supplied from Earth. If something breaks, you are going to need to be able to manufacture it there, on site,” says Brad Kinsey, associate dean of UNH’s College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. “Companies are already thinking about ways to use materials in space to build a landing pad on the lunar surface. There is talk about a lunar base within 10 years, and the goal is for UNH to be a part of that.”

In-space manufacturing (ISM) is a burgeoning field centered on reclaiming discarded space materials like metal and incorporating natural elements like rocks and sand found on the moon to build new items, giving astronauts tools to make repairs or build replacement parts on the fly.

UNH is squarely at the forefront of the ISM venture: it’s part of a group that received a Department of Commerce grant to roadmap in-space manufacturing for the federal government, and the university also recently received a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to explore ways to recycle and reuse cosmic debris as a way to infuse sustainability into the in-space manufacturing industry.

The prospect of such an industry raises thought-provoking questions: How much can we extend the life of our resources on Earth by tapping into what’s available in space? Do we need to be worried about things like pollution and resource management in space, given there is no known extraterrestrial life? (The UNH experts firmly believe we do, to keep things safe for future human exploration.)

Weiwei Mo, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and principal investigator on the NSF grant, sees in-space manufacturing as holding potential for long-term sustainability of humanity here on Earth, where resources are finite. “Our environment has a capacity, and we are already exceeding the ecological footprint from many perspectives,” she says.