Astronaut Reid Wiseman, bound for the station in May, is eager to use the first 3D printer in space this summer. Wiseman, flying into space for the first time as a member of the Expedition 40/41 crew, thinks that the implications for 3D printing in space are exciting and far-reaching.

 

"Imagine if Apollo 13 had a 3D printer," Wiseman said in a news conference this month. "Imagine if you're going to Mars and instead of packing along 20,000 spare parts, you pack along a few kilograms of ink. Now, you don't even need to know what part is going to break, you can just print out that part. Let's say your screwdriver strips out halfway to Mars and you need a screwdriver, print out a screwdriver. Really, I think for the future, that's pretty fascinating. I really like that and it'll be fun to play with that on orbit." [3D Printing in Space: A New Dimension (Photo Gallery)]