The objective of this project is to design a device for additive manufacturing that prevents metal powder from suspending in microgravity on the Psyche asteroid.
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The NASA Psyche Capstone program is a partnership between the NASA Psyche mission and Arizona State University to provide opportunities for university students to work on projects revolving around the ongoing mission to the asteroid Psyche. The objective of this project is to design and develop an additive manufacturing (AM) system that utilizes the surface materials of the Psyche asteroid can be integrated into a hypothetical future NASA Psyche mission. The project aims to adapt existing additive manufacturing technologies to provide 3D printing capability in a low gravity environment.
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The key goals of this project are to design an additive manufacturing system that can be used in Psyche’s environment and utilize the materials available on the asteroid. Important factors we aim to provide details for include integration, material use, lifecycle, and testing. This project is intended for a hypothetical future NASA mission, so it should be designed with nondisruptive integration in mind. The design will specify materials and components that will allow the system to function as intended in the extreme environment of Psyche. The design will prioritize using standardized sizes for components to minimize the cost of producing the final product. Finally, the ultimate goal of the project is to produce a prototype of the proposed design while keeping within real and theoretical budgets by senior design day.
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The primary markets for this project are the NASA Psyche Capstone program and the NASA Psyche mission.
Though the project will be centered around additive manufacturing for use on the Psyche asteroid, the final design could be used in other environments with similar conditions, opening up secondary markets for other space-exploration endeavors that would benefit from advances in AM technology. With the progress of the current NASA Psyche Mission, the value of additive manufacturing may rise as discoveries about Psyche continue. This could lead to another secondary market of private entities interested in the potentially fruitful market of asteroid analysis. A final secondary market would be additive manufacturing companies. This could be for integrating elements of this project in their own designs for AM systems suited for use in space or for useful functionality and applications in existing AM systems on Earth.
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To accurately describe and evaluate the context in which the team will work on this project, assumptions about the context of the project must be made. First, the system will be operating on or near the surface of the Psyche asteroid. The factors resulting from this assumption that must be considered may include, but are not limited to, vacuum pressure, high temperature gradients, radiation exposure, low gravity, and asteroid debris/dust. The design and implementation of a relevant power source is outside the scope of this project, though the system’s power requirements must be known. Another key assumption is that the input material will be sourced from the surface of asteroid Psyche and refined to the system’s required specifications. Additionally, the physical prototype of this project will be limited to demonstrating the primary feature of the AM system that will allow it to operate on Psyche using the available materials. The full AM system with all the necessary features and components for additive manufacturing will be designed virtually. These assumptions ensure the scope of this project remains manageable within the time and resource restrictions.
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Several parties will have a vested interest in the development of this project. All notable parties are listed in the following table along with the nature of their interest in the project.
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