Lynn Rothschild
NASA Ames Research Center
› Phase I Final Report (PDF)
Presentation: Biomaterials out of thin air: in situ, on-demand printing of advanced biocomposites
Description
Imagine being able to print anything from tools and composite building materials to food and human tissues. Imagine being on Mars with the ability to replace any broken part, whether it’s a part of your spacesuit, your habitat, or your own body. We propose a technique that would allow just that. By printing 3D arrays of cells engineered to secrete the necessary materials, the abundant in situ resources of atmosphere and regolith become organic, inorganic, or organic-inorganic composite materials. Such materials include novel, biologically derived materials not previously possible to fabricate.
