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Loading contentHow the next era of spaceflight will make and build things in space instead of launching them — mining the Moon and asteroids, printing parts in orbit, and building depots, habitats, and power stations. Each technology's real maturity is stated honestly.
Using the materials found on the Moon, Mars, and asteroids — water ice, regolith, and metals — instead of launching everything from Earth. ISRU is the key to affordable, sustained exploration beyond low Earth orbit.
Producing breathable oxygen and oxidiser from local materials — from the carbon dioxide of the Martian atmosphere or from oxygen-bearing lunar regolith. NASA's MOXIE experiment on the Perseverance rover demonstrated making oxygen on Mars.
3D-printing parts and tools in orbit, layer by layer. A 3D printer has operated aboard the ISS since 2014, printing tools and spares on demand and pointing toward a future where spacecraft parts are made in space rather than launched.
An orbiting fuel station that stores propellant so spacecraft can refuel in space. A depot would let missions launch 'dry' and top up on orbit, breaking the tyranny of carrying all their propellant from the ground.