Many 3D printing enthusiasts are excited about the prospect of merging 3D printing and space exploration. Here’s the first step!

NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore needed a ratcheting socket wrench at the ISS. He would normally have to wait for this item to be delivered by a cargo spacecraft, but with a 3D printer on board the space station, NASA simply “emailed” him one.(Photo : NASA)

“The socket wrench we just manufactured is the first object we designed on the ground and sent digitally to space, on the fly,” Made In Space founderChen wrote. ISS Needed a Ratchet. NASA Emails One for 3D Printing : SCIENCE : Tech Times