Academics

Penn State NASA challenge team advances, to be featured on Japanese TV

A view of the habitat element printed by the team as part of Level 2 as it is being subjected to a hydrostatic leak test. This is done by filling the structure with water to a specified depth and measuring the leakage rate by documenting the rate of the drop in the water level.  Credit: Shadi Nazarian. All Rights Reserved.

Edited 2/6/2019 to add: The PennStateDen@Mars team placed third in the Phase 3: Construction Level 2 of the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge and brought home a prize of nearly $84,000, as was announced Feb. 1 by NASA. For this level of the competition, six teams submitted 3D-printed samples that were tested for their ability to hold a seal, for strength and for durability in temperature extremes. There is one construction level remaining before the head-to-head competition in April. 

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — NHK, Japan’s national public broadcasting organization, will be on the University Park campus Jan. 22 to film the Penn State interdisciplinary team that has advanced to the third phase of NASA’s $3.1-million 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge.

The Phase 3: On-Site Habitat Competition boasts a grand prize of $500,0000 for the winner of the head-to-head competition, which will be held April 29 at Caterpillar Inc.’s Edward Demonstration and Learning Center in Peoria, Illinois.

The Penn State team, named PennStateDen@Mars, is led by Stuckeman School faculty members Shadi Nazarian, associate professor of architecture, and José Duarte, the Stuckeman Chair in Design Innovation and director of the Stuckeman Center for Design Computing. The team also includes Sven Bilén, professor of engineering design, electrical engineering, and aerospace engineering and head of the School of Engineering Design, Technology and Professional Programs (SEDTAPP); Aleksandra Radlińska, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering; Ali Memari, Bernard and Henrietta Hankin Chair of Residential Construction (architectural engineering) and director of the Pennsylvania Housing Research Center; Nicholas Meisel, assistant professor of engineering design and mechanical engineering; and Randall Bock, assistant research professor of agricultural and biological engineering.

The NHK footage will appear in an upcoming episode of “Cosmic Front Next,” an astronomical documentary series that explores the topic of outer space and culture. The episode will feature the NASA 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, a Centennial Challenges Competition, which calls for inventors to design a human habitat that can be 3D-printed autonomously on Mars using indigenous or recycled materials.

According to the NASA website, the goal of the competition is “…to build a 3D-printed habitat for deep space exploration, including the agency’s journey to Mars. The multi-phase challenge is designed to advance the construction technology needed to create sustainable housing solutions for Earth and beyond.”

The PennStateDen@Mars team was previously awarded $150,000 for its second-place finish in the third level of Phase 2: Structural Member Competition and another $33,000 for its second-place finish in the foundation construction stage to get it through the final two phases of the competition.

Last Updated February 6, 2019

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