The flight of the Russian members of the 68th long-term expedition, Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Prokopiev, Dmitry Petelin and Anna Kikina, continues at the International Space Station. Roscosmos shared new achievements with the ISS.
In particular, during the 3D printing experiment, technologies for additive manufacturing of products in zero gravity are being worked out at the station. The 3D printer was developed by RSC Energia jointly with Tomsk Polytechnic University and Tomsk State University.
Sergey Prokopiev printed a test part using the method of layer-by-layer imposition of a filament (molten polymer thread).
According to Roscosmos, this opens up new opportunities for Russian cosmonautics: for example, in lunar expeditions, cosmonauts will no longer depend on the delivery of the necessary components and structures on ships from Earth, but will be able to print them directly in space.