A new school building is currently being built in Lviv. It may seem like a fairly common occurrence – but only until you understand the details. The fact is that the school is being built with the help of a 3D printer. This technology, which until recently seemed great, not only helps restore war-destroyed Ukrainian infrastructure, but in the future can also help humanity fulfill its ancient dream of conquering Mars.

3D printing basics

3D printing is performed using CNC machines. In a simplified form, it looks like this. The printer places the material at a specific point according to the 3D drawing embedded in it. Usually, some kind of liquid or paste-like substance (mostly plastic) is used as a building material, which then quickly hardens. But modern printers can also print on ceramics, concrete and even metal.

Without going into technical details, we note that today there are a huge number of types of 3D printers, each of which uses its own printing technology. In addition, they vary greatly in size. Standard desktop 3D printers are comparable in size to traditional paper printers, while the largest industrial printers occupy entire rooms.

3D printers at the service of space companies

3D printing is being used more and more actively in the space industry every year. One of the pioneers in this direction was the American-New Zealand company Rocket Lab. Almost all of the engine components used in Rutherford’s small Electron rocket are 3D-printed. According to the company, this made it possible to save both time and money compared to producing power units using traditional technologies.

The Rocket Lab example prompted other aerospace companies to start actively using 3D printers. Similarly, SpaceX uses 3D printing to manufacture a range of components for its Falcon 9 rockets and Dragon spacecraft. And Airbus plans to ship the first metal 3D printer to the ISS this year. With its help, the company hopes to establish the production of satellite components directly in orbit.

But the company Relativity Space went further than anyone else who set the task of creating rockets to be printed entirely on 3D printers. According to the designers, such an innovation will make it possible to radically speed up the process of building carriers, which will significantly reduce their cost. For this, the company bought the world’s largest printer designed for metal printing.

In the spring of 2023, Relativity launched the Terran 1 rocket, which is 85% 3D-printed. Unfortunately, the second stage was unable to reach orbit due to an accident at the work site. But despite this, Relativity is happy with the flight results. Terran 1 successfully surpassed the Max-Q section, where the vehicle is subjected to maximum aerodynamic drag and is subjected to the greatest loads. According to the company’s executives, this proves that in terms of structural strength, the rocket printed on a 3D printer is in no way inferior to its traditional counterparts.

Currently, Relativity has focused its main efforts on creating a more powerful rocket, the Terran R. Its debut is scheduled for 2026. He will have to send his first special mission to Mars.

From school in Ukraine to Mars settlements

Since 3D printers have no fundamental limitations on the size of objects produced, many engineers have long considered using them to construct buildings. And this is quite understandable. Due to the relative simplicity of their design, the construction of structures is a long process that requires a lot of time. 3D printing (in theory at least) makes it possible to speed it up significantly. It is not worth explaining how urgent the construction is for our country in wartime conditions.

This concept is currently being tested in Lviv. A new single-storey building is being built there for school number 23. The initiator of the project is the humanitarian fund Team4UA, its implementation is carried out by the Danish 3D printing company Cobod and the construction company 3DCP Group.

The new building will have a capacity of 100 students. Currently, the builders are close to completing the construction of the first half of the building. With the help of a 3D printer, they built a 3.5-metre printed wall that took just two weeks. The building is scheduled to receive its first students in January 2024.

According to Jean-Christophe Bony, founder of Team4UA, the foundation plans to open a training center in Ukraine in the near future to learn how to work with 3D printers. This will help faster restoration of our country’s infrastructure.

In the future, 3D construction will certainly find application in space as well. If humanity wants to settle on the Moon and Mars, it will have to establish permanent settlements there. But if building materials for them are brought from the Earth, it will significantly increase the cost of construction, which is unlikely to be obtained for any economy.

This is where 3D printing comes in handy. Instead of taking a large amount of equipment and supplies with them, the colonizers will only need to take a few printers and “print” everything they need on the spot. Studies have shown that using a 3D printer from lunar regolith it is quite possible to make a monolithic brick, which is suitable not only for the construction of buildings, but also for energy storage, which can then be used to heat interiors. The same goes for Mars construction.

It should be noted that modern 3D printers can produce highly complex structures made of various materials and containing electronic components. And this means that the conquerors of space can use them not only to build their houses, but also to repair equipment and craft various mechanisms and machines. And how can I know? Perhaps part of the foundation for this cosmic future is currently being laid in the form of a school in Lviv.