regolith called JSC-Mars-1A, which NASA
developed in 1998, and a rotund mold from
the Royal Porcelain Factory in Berlin. “You
have no idea how hard it was to convince the
engineering types I work with
here to do some stupid vases as
a big project,” Karl says.
The smooth, squat vases they
created resemble terra cotta,
and wouldn’t look out of place
filled with flowers. Karl envisions
greens sprouting from vessels
like them in hydroponic gardens
on another world. He also thinks
refining the process could allow
astronauts to slip-cast Red Planet
mud into more-complex shapes
with the help of a 3D printer.
Karl’s vases provide a glimpse
of how Mars inhabitants might craft everyday
objects, but NASA wants architects and engi-
neers to consider where those pioneers might
live. Four years ago, the agency invited them to
enter the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge.
Contestants navigated three escalating
phases of competition. The first, completed
in 2015, called on teams to create archi-
tectural renderings of their habitats. Two
years later, entrants had to develop the tools
needed to 3D-print dwellings, and create the
beams, domes, and other structural elements
needed to erect them. Teams came and went
as the contest progressed, until just two en-
tered the final, and hardest, event this year.
The rules, which ran 76 pages, required
each group to print a one-third scale model
of a four-person habitat with at least three
openings within 30 hours. Judges awarded
points for using materials like simulated
regolith, and, because the competition em-
phasized automated construction, deducted
points for intervening to, say, fuss with
printer software or clear a clogged nozzle.
NASA likes the idea of robot construction
crews because the habitats could be ready be-
fore humans arrive. Architect Shadi Nazarian
found her way to Martian home design
through her work studying how 3D printers
might build more-resilient housing here on
Earth. She leads a laboratory at Penn State
University that explores creating seamless
transitions between disparate materials such
as glass and concrete, a technique that would
eliminate joints that require caulking or epoxy.
Such a trick would be handy on the Red Planet,
where structures must be strong enough to
withstand intense pressurization and protect
inhabitants from frigid temperatures and solarDesigning for Mars
Above: A render-
ing of Marsha on
the Red Planet.
The tall, slender
shape maximizes
interior space and
lends itself to
printing.
Robo-printer
Right: AI Space-
Factory built
an enormous 3D
printer that
squirts custom-
made “ink.”David Karl, a materialswith Martian dirt. “You have no idea how hard it wasradiation. So she and her colleagues, architect
José Duarte and electrical engineer Sven
Bilén, entered the NASA contest two years
ago. Their sturdy conical habitat looks like a
home on Tatooine or a centuries-old stone
trullo hut in the Italian countryside.
Montes, the chief space architect at Penn
State’s rival, AI SpaceFactory, encouraged
the firm to enter after he joined it in 2017.
David Malott, whose résumé includes three
of the world’s tallest buildings, founded the
New York company in part as a response to
what he considers waste within the con-
struction industry. Designing for space
emphasizes local materials and sustainabil-
ity, and requires anticipating astronauts’
psychological needs. Malott wants to show
how such principles might work on Earth.88 FALL 2019 • POPSCI.COM