<p>When astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS) asked people on Earth to send them a ratcheting socket wrench (or spanner), it took just a click of the mouse to "email" the hardware to them, literally.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The ISS commander Barry Wilmore needed a wrench. The California-based company Made In Space that designed the 3D printer aboard the ISS decided to create instructions for them on Earth and emailed it to them.<br /><br />Previously, if an astronaut needed a specific tool it would have to be flown up on the next mission to the ISS which could take months, media reports said.<br /><br />This was the first time a hardware was developed using the 3D printer already with the ISS astronauts using instructions sent in the email.<br /><br />Earlier, the 3D printer at the ISS created the first printed object in space - a part of the printer itself - paving the way for future long-term space expeditions.<br /><br />NASA controllers from Earth sent the command to the printer to make the first printed part: a faceplate of the casing.<br /><br />This demonstrated that the printer can make replacement parts for itself.<br /><br />The 3D printer uses a process formally known as additive manufacturing to heat a relatively low-temperature plastic filament and extrude it one layer at a time to build the part defined in the design file sent to the machine.<br /><br />The "3D Printing in Zero-G Technology Demonstration" on the space station aims to show additive manufacturing can make a variety of 3D printed parts and tools in space.<br /><br />The first objects built in space will be returned to Earth in 2015 for detailed analysis and comparison to identical ground control samples.<br /><br />The goal of this analysis is to verify that the 3D printing process works the same in microgravity as it does on Earth, NASA said in a statement.</p>
<p>When astronauts at the International Space Station (ISS) asked people on Earth to send them a ratcheting socket wrench (or spanner), it took just a click of the mouse to "email" the hardware to them, literally.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The ISS commander Barry Wilmore needed a wrench. The California-based company Made In Space that designed the 3D printer aboard the ISS decided to create instructions for them on Earth and emailed it to them.<br /><br />Previously, if an astronaut needed a specific tool it would have to be flown up on the next mission to the ISS which could take months, media reports said.<br /><br />This was the first time a hardware was developed using the 3D printer already with the ISS astronauts using instructions sent in the email.<br /><br />Earlier, the 3D printer at the ISS created the first printed object in space - a part of the printer itself - paving the way for future long-term space expeditions.<br /><br />NASA controllers from Earth sent the command to the printer to make the first printed part: a faceplate of the casing.<br /><br />This demonstrated that the printer can make replacement parts for itself.<br /><br />The 3D printer uses a process formally known as additive manufacturing to heat a relatively low-temperature plastic filament and extrude it one layer at a time to build the part defined in the design file sent to the machine.<br /><br />The "3D Printing in Zero-G Technology Demonstration" on the space station aims to show additive manufacturing can make a variety of 3D printed parts and tools in space.<br /><br />The first objects built in space will be returned to Earth in 2015 for detailed analysis and comparison to identical ground control samples.<br /><br />The goal of this analysis is to verify that the 3D printing process works the same in microgravity as it does on Earth, NASA said in a statement.</p>