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<p>On-demand manufacturing of electronics in space is critical not only to enable the availability of essential devices for long-duration missions but also to reduce spare parts inventory, decrease resupply missions, accelerate repairs, and use recycled materials to produce custom electronics. However, existing ink-based printing methods remain reliant on gravity and complex ink logistics. Here, we present the first successful demonstration of an inkless dry additive nanomanufacturing (Dry-ANM) platform under microgravity conditions for printed electronics. A custom payload was developed and analyzed to generate, deposit, and sinter silver and copper nanoparticles during fifty 25-second microgravity intervals over a two-day parabolic flight campaign. Terrestrial control samples were printed with identical parameters to ensure that any observed differences reflect only the effects of microgravity. In general, the microgravity-printed samples performed better or retained comparable electrical performance to terrestrial samples, with printed silver and copper achieving resistivities of 13.8 μΩ·cm and 160.8 μΩ·cm, respectively. By tailoring print parameters to compensate for increased particle flow under the influence of microgravity, we expect to drive these resistivities even lower. This achievement marks a paradigm shift for in-space additive manufacturing of electronics and a significant step toward sustainable long-term space missions.</p>

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On-demand additive nanomanufacturing of electronics in microgravity: towards in-space manufacturing of electronics and functional devices

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月3日

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  • Colton Bevel,
  • Adib Taba,
  • Aarsh Patel,
  • Steven Peeples,
  • Jennifer M. Jones,
  • Curtis Hill,
  • Masoud Mahjouri-Samani

摘要

On-demand manufacturing of electronics in space is critical not only to enable the availability of essential devices for long-duration missions but also to reduce spare parts inventory, decrease resupply missions, accelerate repairs, and use recycled materials to produce custom electronics. However, existing ink-based printing methods remain reliant on gravity and complex ink logistics. Here, we present the first successful demonstration of an inkless dry additive nanomanufacturing (Dry-ANM) platform under microgravity conditions for printed electronics. A custom payload was developed and analyzed to generate, deposit, and sinter silver and copper nanoparticles during fifty 25-second microgravity intervals over a two-day parabolic flight campaign. Terrestrial control samples were printed with identical parameters to ensure that any observed differences reflect only the effects of microgravity. In general, the microgravity-printed samples performed better or retained comparable electrical performance to terrestrial samples, with printed silver and copper achieving resistivities of 13.8 μΩ·cm and 160.8 μΩ·cm, respectively. By tailoring print parameters to compensate for increased particle flow under the influence of microgravity, we expect to drive these resistivities even lower. This achievement marks a paradigm shift for in-space additive manufacturing of electronics and a significant step toward sustainable long-term space missions.