So can we colonize space like homo sapiens moving out of Africa in the stone age, or like the Pilgrims colonized Massachusetts in the 1600s? How about crossing the land bridge to the Americas during the ice ages?
The success of those efforts built upon two things:
The stuff they brought with them, and
The stuff they found and used.
The 3‑D printer fits as the hybrid of 1 & 2, allowing a smart manifest of things to bring to space. It is the equivalent of bringing an axe to cut down a tree. Here we use dirt to make habitats. Check out this article for more.
3D printing will help space pioneers make homes, tools and other stuff they need to colonize the Moon and Mars
3D printing in outer space and on alien planets comes with otherworldly challenges.
