For nearly two years, an interdisciplinary team of students and faculty at  Penn State had been competing in NASA's 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, a  Centennial Challenges competition. The three-phase competition required entrants to develop advanced 3D-printing technology to produce a structurally sound habitat that can be 3D-printed by NASA's space explorers on Mars and beyond. After 30 hours of 3D printing over May 1-4 of head-to-head competition, the Penn State Den@Mars  team won second place and $200,000.

With the focus of the project on Mars, and research with a science-fiction-edge spurring the imagination to expand, perhaps the most profound application of their work is on Earth.  The team's breakthroughs have opened the possibility to applying the technology to create sustainable housing options that could revolutionize the construction industry and address larger societal issues such as homelessness.   >>