Ahmedabad-based space research and technology company AAKA Space Studio has 3D printed a physical radiation shield using materials engineered to replicate the chemical composition of Martian soil. 

The shield was demonstrated at an analog space mission in Gujarat, with raw materials sourced from Salem and Ariyalur from Tamil Nadu. According to a news report, the shield is said to be the first of its kind in Asia to be built this way, and the method it proves out is the more significant development.

AAKA sourced olivine-rich basalt from ultramafic complexes in Salem, and marly limestone from the Ariyalur basin, then formulated them into a high-fidelity Martian soil analogue. 

These materials were combined with lime-based binders designed to behave like cement under Martian conditions and fed into MiCoB’s MiCO-V concrete 3D printing system. Working alongside Government Arts College, AAKA ran the material through robotic and gantry-based 3D printing, producing a monolithic structure through autonomous layer-by-layer deposition.

Solving Radiation and Thermal Stability Needs

The finished structure demonstrated two things: it attenuates cosmic radiation sufficiently to protect occupants, and it holds thermal stability across temperature variation. Both are non-negotiable requirements for any permanent Mars habitat, given that Mars has no meaningful magnetic field or atmosphere to deflect radiation on its own.

Although the demonstration happened on Earth, its relevance is to Mars. AAKA’s method is a proof of concept for In-Situ Resource Utilisation, the practice of building with materials already present at the destination rather than launching construction material from Earth. 

Martian soil contains the same olivine-rich basalt and carbonate composition AAKA replicated here, which means the same printing process could be run on Mars using the ground beneath the habitat site.

The principal established Mars soil simulants before this, JSC Mars-1 developed at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, MGS-1 by University of Central Florida (UCF), and China’s JMSS-1, were all produced outside India. AAKA’s use of Salem basalt and Ariyalur limestone as viable Martian analogues puts an indigenous Indian feedstock suitable for construction on record for the first time, which reduces the cost and import dependence of ISRU research conducted in India.

That feedstock also validates a construction path with a specific energy advantage. ICON’s Olympus construction system, developed for planetary surfaces in partnership with NASA, uses Laser Vitreous Multi-material Transformation, melting regolith with high-powered lasers to produce ceramic-like structures. That approach requires sustained high-intensity power, a resource early Mars missions will not have in abundance. 

AAKA’s lime-based binder hardens through chemical bonding rather than thermal melting, which means the same radiation-resistant monolithic structure can be produced at a fraction of the energy load.

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Featured image shows AAKA Space Studio’s 3D printed radiation shield and analog habitat module. Photo via AAKA Space Studio/LinkedIn.