Would you like to Help Developing Tech to Build Houses on Mars?

3D Printed Habitat Challenge – BubbleBase (Photo – Nora Ames).

The Caltech BubbleBase Team is one of 18 groups competing in the NASA 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, one of Nasa’s Centennial Challenges.

By Jason Dial

The Challenge, with a total prize of $2 million, includes both virtual and actual 3D printing competitions. Using Martian Mission material analogs, the goal is to create a scaled version of the planned habitat.

The Caltech BubbleBase Team is a diverse interdisciplinary team of architects, engineers, scientists and creative thinkers. Many Pasadena and L.A. students are among its dozens of volunteers. Their current work is part of the 3D-Printed Habitat Phase 3 competition, which includes both virtual and actual 3D-printing competitions. The team ultimate goal is to incorporate recycled materials from missions, plus local materials (Martian in situ regolith), to print a habitat for living on Mars.

Knowing that resources will need to be utilized efficiently, the Caltech BubbleBase Team has successfully competed in previous components of the competition, and is gearing up towards future stages with novel and proprietary solutions to tackle challenges in the later stages.

The team is always looking for volunteers. If interested you may contact them at habitat@caltech.edu.

Jason Dial is a Food Science and Technology major at Cal State LA. He graduated from Pasadena City College with Physics, Natural Science, and Engineering and Technology associate degrees. Jason has recently published astrometry observation research during an internship with the Caltech/NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).