On Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. CST, winners from NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, along with NASA leaders, will discuss technology developments in automation and 3D printing that can help enable human space exploration. The panel will take place at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center’s National Geographic Theater in the Davidson Center for Exploration in Huntsville, Alabama, as a part of the Pass the Torch lecture series.
Media interested in attending the panel should contact Molly Porter at 256-544-0034 no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18.
Presentations will be given by challenge winners including Melodie Yashar, co-founder of SEArch+ of New York, New York; Shadi Nazarian, an associate professor at Pennsylvania State University in University Park; and Jason Ballard, co-founder and chief executive officer of ICON of Austin. Following the presentations, NASA representatives will participate in a panel discussion. NASA panelists include Alexander MacDonald, NASA chief economist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, and Raymond “Corky” Clinton, associate director, technical, of the Science and Technology Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. Retired NASA astronaut Donald Thomas will moderate the panel. Thomas completed four space shuttle missions between 1994-1997, spending 44 days in space.
The 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge was a NASA Centennial Challenges competition to build a 3D-printed habitat for deep space exploration. The multi-phase challenge was designed to advance the construction technology needed to create sustainable housing solutions for Earth and beyond. The competition, completed in 2019, awarded a total of $2,061,023.
The Pass the Torch series is open to the public and features innovative, influential professionals from industry, academia and government speaking about their work in space, aeronautics, engineering, science research and other related fields.
For more information about the NASA 3D Printed Habitat Challenge, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/
For more information about NASA Centennial Challenges, visit:
