Not for long, according to a new study published in the Rapid
Prototyping Journal titled “First demonstration on direct laser
fabrication of lunar regolith parts.” The report, written by
researchers at Washington State University and NASA, suggests
that rocks on the moon or Mars could be used as the base
material for 3D printers through an additive manufacturing
process referred to as “laser engineered net shaping.” Drawing
from the computer-aided design files used for all 3D printing,
the new laser-assisted process could be used to create actual
metal parts. Amit Bandyopadhyay and Susmita Bose, a husband-and-
wife research team at WSU’s School of Mechanical and Materials
Engineering, used 10 pounds of simulated lunar material provided
by NASA (ie: imitation moon rocks) in their experiment. The team
reports it was able to create structures from the regolith that
didn’t show any visible cracks or structural imperfections. "It
doesn't look fantastic, but you can make something out of it,"
Bandyopadhyay said in a