Demo
    The International Space Station orbits Earth, displaying its extended solar panels and modules against a backdrop of the planet's surface and blue atmosphere.
    igelow Aerospace’s B330 (white module) would be a prototype inflatable space habitat to provide laboratory space for private companies in low Earth orbit.
    An astronaut works on equipment inside a module on the International Space Station, surrounded by cables, panels, and tools.
    A NASA astronaut installs the first 3D printer in the Microgravity Science Glovebox on the International Space Station.
    Glowing orange apparatus with wires attached surrounds a small pointed object emitting a bright blue light at the center.
    ZBLAN fiber is “pulled” — a method of manufacturing — in a ground experiment. The blue light is the illuminated preform cone.
    A split image shows two abstract close-ups of textures and light patterns, possibly depicting liquids or reflective surfaces in shades of blue and green.
    ZBLAN fibers pulled in Earth’s gravity (right) have surface defects that would degrade an optical signal. Smoother fibers on the left came from zero-gravity experiments aboard NASA’s KC-135 low-gravity aircraft.
    A row of small, intricately designed objects made from the same material, displayed next to a coin for scale.
    These ceramic parts were 3D-printed with simulated lunar regolith as part of an experiment led by the European Space Agency into how 3D printing could figure into building a lunar base. Austrian company Lithoz worked with ESA on the project.