Question: Seeing as 3D printing is already available, could we print certain medicines in Space, given the right components?

Christopher Bullock answered on 14 Jun 2017:

I think that 3D printing is a fantastic technology and they do already use a 3D printer on the international space station so that they do not have to ship spare parts up there – they just email the plans and they make them in space!

You have to define what you mean by medicine. It’s not really possible to 3D print drugs (like tablets) but it is perfectly possible to print other medical devices. Hospitals already use 3D printers to make things like bone implants that perfectly match the patient’s x-rays. This could be perfectly possible to use in space.

What’s more exciting is the potential to print whole new body parts – using cells and proteins to actually print new organs. This technology is experimental but it does exist – its called bioprinting. If you are imaging the future where we might have colonies on mars and so on then I think this kind of technology might be a key part of it.