NASA’s Challenge to 3D Print Future Habitats on Mars

NASA invited engineers and architects from around the world to design future habitats for Mars. Here’s what they came up with. »Subscribe to Seeker! »Watch more Focal Point | Correction: We forgot to add our amazing videographer, Scott Elliott, in the credits! Find more of Scott’s work here: NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge is a 4-year long competition centered around engineering habitats for deep space exploration, in this case Mars. Mars has captivated our imagination for hundreds of years. The planet’s proximity and striking resemblance to Earth, and its potential to harbor life, has made Mars the target of many robotic missions. But the surface of Mars is not as Earth-like as it might seem. With temperatures drastically changing each day, an inability to retain heat, and Mars’ total lack of a magnetosphere—there is almost no protection against dangerous solar radiation o