NASA has successfully tested an innovative new 3D-printed antenna design, built to transmit captured scientific data back to Earth at a reduced cost.
According to a NASA announcement, the device’s trial onboard an atmospheric weather balloon could “open the door” to the wider use of 3D printing in future missions.
Adopting the technology has allowed project researchers to build the device using low electrical resistance, ceramic-filled polymers. Fortify 3D printing is also said to have given them “full control” over the electromagnetic and mechanical properties of the final product.
Essentially, the team have managed to create a ‘magneto-electric dipole’ antenna, the likes of which are often used to transmit radio and telecommunications signals. Only, their design is geared towards space – hence it was first tested at the Goddard Space Flight Center.
Inside the center’s Goddard Chamber, which eliminates electromagnetic wave echo and reflection to create Space-like conditions, the device functioned as intended, without fault. After that, it was shipped to NASA’s Columbia Specific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas.
During later testing, the antenna was reportedly able to send and receive signals from the balloon’s comms system, with its developers “establishing a baseline for optimal performance.”
As NASA continues to use balloons to send scientific equipment into the atmosphere, there’s a clear application need for the researchers’ invention. Given the massive costs of exploratory space missions (most run into the billions of dollars), there’s also significant potential for 3D printing in NASA’s wider operations – in both retrofitting and redesign.
As preparations intensify for humanity’s return to the Moon, it’s tempting to connect every technological breakthrough to the upcoming Artemis mission. It may not necessarily be the case here. But 3D printing does seem to continually find new NASA applications. So who knows where it’ll be used next!
