Our mission is to help people love where they live – whether that’s a home here on Earth or on the International Space Station. We set out to solve a problem for astronauts 200 miles above Earth: supplying them with tools they need, when they need them. To do this, we launched the first commercial 3D printer to space to produce commercial grade tools on demand.

The two teams met at Singularity University, a technology think tank, where they were first exposed to each other’s work in the summer of 2015. We had launched a 3D printer in a retail store earlier that year, while our partner team was busy experimenting with a zero g 3D printer. A partnership was born!

On March 22nd, 2016, we launched the 3D printer to the International Space Station. Three months later, the first commercial tool printed in space, a Kobalt wrench. The wrench was made with a special feature — a fastening clip that helps astronauts keep track of the tool in zero g. The 3D printer is now permanently stationed on the ISS where it continues to provide astronauts with access to tools.

Reach and engagement: The 3D printer is now permanently stationed on the ISS where it continues to provide astronauts with access to tools. We continue to print tools for the astronauts and support them from earth.

Impact: We successfully have begun operations as the first retailer in space, supplying tools on demand for astronauts. No one else can say that!

“For the very first time ever, humanity can manufacture things off of the face of the planet.” – Andrew Rush, President, Made In Space

Retail’s next frontier is space. We are continuing a storied human history of pioneering our universe through an extraterrestrial exploration of retail capabilities – manufacturing off the planet earth.

Target audience: Astronauts on the International Space Station.

Approach: 3D printing is the ideal mechanism for supplying astronauts with the tools and parts they need for many reasons:

- Time-saver: Astronauts will not have to wait until the next resupply mission. Engineers on earth can send digital files as requested, and astronauts can print the tools in space.

- Material ambiguity: Astronauts can choose from a variety of filaments, which includes an aerospace-grade polymer that can survive exposure to the vacuum of space.

- Ruggedness: The zero g 3D printer is designed specifically to withstand the rugged conditions of space.

- Size: The unit is the size of a microwave.

- Applicability: Roughly 30% of parts on the ISS can be 3-D printed.

Situation: Much like homeowners here on earth, astronauts on the International Space Station need tools for maintenance and repair. But if they don’t have the tools they need, the problem is much more critical than it is on earth, and isn’t as simple as a drive to Lowe’s.

Brief: In 2016, we partnered to launch the first commercial 3D printer to the International Space Station making Lowe’s the first retailer to have a presence in space.

Objectives:

- Manufacture broken or lost parts and tools on demand

- Create delicate structures that can only exist in zero gravity

- Avoid the high cost of launching something in orbit ($10k/kg)

- Minimize the number of on-board tools and spare parts sent to space

- Enable humanity to manufacture off planet Earth

- To solve the problems that we can’t predict

- Glean valuable lessons that have practical applications on Earth