A team of researchers from Auburn University and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center has successfully demonstrated a new additive manufacturing (AM) process that could allow astronauts to manufacture electronic components directly in space. Published in npj Advanced Manufacturing, the study showed that conductive silver and copper structures can be produced in microgravity using a dry, ink-free printing process. The researchers say the work could help make on-demand electronics manufacturing possible during future space missions.
Astronauts have already used 3D printers in space to make tools and replacement parts. Electronics are a different challenge. Many of the methods being explored today rely on liquid materials, which can be difficult to work with in weightlessness and are not always practical for use in space.
The project is the result of several years of work led by Auburn University researcher Masoud Mahjouri-Samani, who also founded NanoPrintek, a startup focused on dry nanoparticle manufacturing technologies. In 2022, NASA awarded the team $1.5 million to develop and test the system for use in space environments.
Auburn’s Masoud Mahjouri-Samani tries a 3D printed electronic device. Image courtesy of NanoPrintek.
To solve this, researchers developed what they call a dry additive nanomanufacturing platform, or Dry-ANM. Instead of printing with inks, the system creates tiny metal particles (or nanoparticles), places them on a surface, and then sinters them together to form conductive structures. The process uses silver and copper, two of the most common materials used in electronics. The machine itself is pretty compact—roughly the size of a small appliance—measuring about 60 centimeters on each side, and combines particle generation, printing, and sintering in just one system; this is an important feature for future space missions where room is limited.
Unlike many conventional 3D printing systems, the platform generates the metal nanoparticles during the manufacturing process itself rather than relying on pre-made inks or powders. The technology was designed to avoid some of the challenges associated with liquid-based manufacturing systems, making it particularly attractive for use in space.
Dry-ANM Microgravity Printing Campaign. Image courtesy of Mahjouri-Samani et al., npj Advanced Manufacturing (2026).
The team tested the technology during a two-day series of parabolic flights, which create short periods of weightlessness. Across 50 separate microgravity sessions lasting about 25 seconds each, the researchers successfully produced conductive metal structures and observed the process in microgravity. The team used the system to create silver and copper features, including antennas and other conductive patterns.
The flights were carried out as part of a NASA-supported campaign first announced by Auburn researchers last year. The paper published this month provides the first detailed look at how the system performed in mic
A team of researchers from Auburn University and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center has successfully demonstrated a new additive manufacturing (AM) process that could allow astronauts to manufacture electronic components directly in space. Published in npj Advanced Manufacturing, the study showed that conductive silver and copper structures can be produced in microgravity using a dry, ink-free printing process. The researchers say the work could help make on-demand electronics manufacturing possible during future space missions.
Astronauts have already used 3D printers in space to make tools and replacement parts. Electronics are a different challenge. Many of the methods being explored today rely on liquid materials, which can be difficult to work with in weightlessness and are not always practical for use in space.
The project is the result of several years of work led by Auburn University researcher Masoud Mahjouri-Samani, who also founded NanoPrintek, a startup focused on dry nanoparticle manufacturing technologies. In 2022, NASA awarded the team $1.5 million to develop and test the system for use in space environments.
Auburn’s Masoud Mahjouri-Samani tries a 3D printed electronic device. Image courtesy of NanoPrintek.
To solve this, researchers developed what they call a dry additive nanomanufacturing platform, or Dry-ANM. Instead of printing with inks, the system creates tiny metal particles (or nanoparticles), places them on a surface, and then sinters them together to form conductive structures. The process uses silver and copper, two of the most common materials used in electronics. The machine itself is pretty compact—roughly the size of a small appliance—measuring about 60 centimeters on each side, and combines particle generation, printing, and sintering in just one system; this is an important feature for future space missions where room is limited.
Unlike many conventional 3D printing systems, the platform generates the metal nanoparticles during the manufacturing process itself rather than relying on pre-made inks or powders. The technology was designed to avoid some of the challenges associated with liquid-based manufacturing systems, making it particularly attractive for use in space.
Dry-ANM Microgravity Printing Campaign. Image courtesy of Mahjouri-Samani et al., npj Advanced Manufacturing (2026).
The team tested the technology during a two-day series of parabolic flights, which create short periods of weightlessness. Across 50 separate microgravity sessions lasting about 25 seconds each, the researchers successfully produced conductive metal structures and observed the process in microgravity. The team used the system to create silver and copper features, including antennas and other conductive patterns.
The flights were carried out as part of a NASA-supported campaign first announced by Auburn researchers last year. The paper published this month provides the first detailed look at how the system performed in mic