Researching 3D printers can print things for astronauts from their own ... feces

A rather ambitious project of NASA, which is to create a 3D printer that can synthesize materials from . astronauts of astronauts and print them into necessary items for their life.

Human waste, such as feces and urine, is considered one of the least researched and research topics in the scientific community. However, the aerospace industry is different, earlier this year, a research team was funded by NASA to try to turn astronaut waste into . recycled food that still ensures that they are rich in protein, fat .

Currently, Calgary University researchers have also developed this idea and used astronauts' feces as materials for 3D printers in space . This process, if theoretically feasible, could provide astronauts with a new source of materials to make plastic tools necessary for their daily lives. And in the future, this technology may be something that will help people conquer Mars.

Scientists want to use astronauts' manure as materials for 3D printers in space.

The University of Calgary pioneered the study of using a genetically engineered E. coli to turn human feces into a plastic known as polyhydroxybutyrate .

The process begins with the incubation stage when astronauts' feces are left for several days to increase volatile fatty acids (VFAs) . They will then be fed into a centrifugal camera to filter these VFAs from the rest of the waste. Next, these VFAs will be put into a fermentation chamber containing genetically engineered materials to help produce the printing process. Finally, the 3D printing system will be responsible for turning this new material into astronaut supplies. The remaining waste will be used as a radiation barrier for the spacecraft.

Currently, the project is being researched and 2 volunteer students are working on the project to test the durability of the plastic bag, which is the product of the synthesis process under low pressure conditions. The bag is expected to be tested on the Falcon 20 spacecraft in July. Because of the limited time trial in zero gravity conditions, the experiment will be limited to creating small size plastic bags from genetically modified E. coli above instead of a complete process like was announced.

In the future, the team hopes to be able to create even more diverse plastics, including materials with high durability, flexibility and can be used for a variety of purposes. space.