From June 8 to 11, Prof. Andreas Blaeser and David Sipos represented the Biomedical Printing Technology research group at the Workshop on Advanced Manufacturing for Space (WAMS-26), the 3rd ESA/NASA International Conference on Advanced Manufacturing, held at the European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESA-ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. The conference is the European Space Agency's central forum for advanced manufacturing technologies in spaceflight, bringing together engineers, researchers, and industry representatives from around the world to discuss how new manufacturing processes are transforming the design, production, and performance of space hardware, from propulsion components and structural assemblies to biofabrication in space.

Prof. Blaeser gave a talk titled “Opportunities and challenges for additive manufacturing in space – from drop-based 3D-bioprinting to blow extrusion of thermoplastic polymers.” In it, he presented the range of additive manufacturing processes researched at the Department of Biomedical Printing Technology and highlighted the opportunities and challenges involved in transferring these technologies to spaceflight, from droplet-based 3D bioprinting to blow extrusion of thermoplastic polymers.

The exchange with colleagues from ESA, NASA, and the international space industry offered fascinating insights into current developments in additive manufacturing for space and opened up new perspectives for the group's future research, both in the field of biofabrication and for other manufacturing technologies in the context of space applications.