When I heard NASA and Star Trek were teaming up, I obviously got excited. Are they gonna shoot Patrick Stewart into space to forever float amongst the cosmos?
Sadly no, they’re not gonna build a warp drive, or let Patrick Stewart do anything. But they are taking a crack atStar Trek’s food replicator.
3D printing technology has a long way to go, but it’s already able to do some seriously impressive things. We can print replacement pieces, tools, food, and even human body parts.
Sure, the tech is definitely still in its infancy, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t already be looking toward the future.
That’s why NASA teamed up with Star Trek to try and get kids thinking about the future of surviving in space. Since food and other supplies aren’t just floating around the cosmos (as far as we know), we’d have to bring, and possibly 3D print, a whole lot of stuff.
So NASA is asking school kids to come up with ideas for things that could be 3D printed in space. They’re looking specifically for ideas about printing essential kitchenware, or tools/accessories for growing food.
It needs to be smaller than 6-inches-cubed, must advance long term space exploration, and can only be made of one material.
My idea is a flask, because space is cold and lonely, and having an adult beverage would help. Check out this video to learn a little more about this whole weird NASA/Star Trek partnership:
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