NASA Ditches Snail Mail for Email, Sends Tool Designs into Space for 3D Printing

Saving thousands of dollars, NASA literally emailed a ratchet to the International Space Station (ISS).

According to NBC News, NASA emailed designs of the tool which was 3D printed aboard the ISS. All moving parts in the tool were built with plastic into the tool itself through a special printed that can work in zero gravity conditions. Printing saved a lot of money as it costs $ 10,000 per pound to send to anything to space. The ratchet becomes the first tool printed in space.

"Wilmore began his morning with some 3D printing work before moving on to the Advanced Colloids Experiment Microscopy-3 fluids study," NASA wrote on its blog earlier while showing a photograph of ISS Commander Barry Wilmore with the ratchet.  

According to Forbes, the tool's printing shows that astronauts can take up space mission more reliably as they can simply print what is required and not depend on carrying supplies from Earth.

Terming the tool's printing 'significant milestone in the history of space exploration', Forbes wrote, "It demonstrates the ability of astronauts to create their own items within space, instead of waiting for items to be physically sent from Earth (those items have to be manufactured in the wrong gravity for space and then put through enormous forces to leave the Earth)."

The design on Earth was taken up after technicians overheard astronauts speak about the need for a tool. While printing took only four hours, the entire process of design and printing took less than a week.