China Becomes Latest Space Power to Demonstrate Metal 3D Printing in Orbit

• China has demonstrated metal 3D printing in space as part of its plan to develop manufacturing technologies for future space missions, including Moon construction. The experiment took place aboard the Qingzhou...

China has demonstrated metal 3D printing in space as part of its plan to develop manufacturing technologies for future space missions, including Moon construction. The experiment took place aboard the Qingzhou cargo spacecraft and was developed by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and its Institute of Mechanics. Aboard the uncrewed Qingzhou spacecraft, the team used a laser-based system that melts metal wire and deposits it layer by layer in microgravity. Researchers said the equipment operated autonomously, using commands sent from Earth, and was able to start and stop remotely multiple times during the test. This is not the first time metal 3D printing has been demonstrated in space. In 2024, the European Space Agency (ESA) installed the first metal 3D printer aboard the