System and method for deploying, harvesting, and in-situ three-dimensional printing of structures in an extraterrestrial environment

A system for in-situ production of a three-dimensional object on a surface of an extraterrestrial body, comprising:

• a mobility platform including wheels configured to move the mobility platform along the surface of the extraterrestrial body;
• a print head coupled to the mobility platform and configured to move in an x direction, a y direction and a z direction, wherein the x, y and z directions are orthogonal to each other and wherein the print head comprises:
• a hopper comprising a conical shaped inner surface that radially surrounds a hopper central axis that extends in the z direction, wherein the hopper includes a hopper opening at a lower portion of the hopper for funneling materials harvested exclusively from the extraterrestrial body;
• an auger comprising an auger housing coupled to the hopper and an auger shaft configured to rotate within the auger housing around the auger shaft central axis that extends in the x or y directions, wherein the auger housing includes an upper auger housing opening and a lower auger housing opening, and wherein the upper housing opening is aligned directly below the hopper opening to receive the materials;
• a slip form comprising an upper planar member having a slip form opening in the upper planar member that is aligned directly below the lower auger housing opening to apply a layer of the materials emitted from the hopper via the auger upon a pre-existing bead formed over the surface of the extraterrestrial body, wherein the upper planar member is coupled to the auger housing and extends above the applied layer of the materials with parallel opposed lateral planar members spaced from each other and which extend downward from the upper planar member substantially equal to a width of the pre-existing bead, and wherein the opposed lateral planar members extend at equal lengths below a portion of the pre-existing bead;
• and
• a sintering laser emitter coupled between the auger housing and the slip form for sintering across the width of the applied layer of materials to additively deposit and sinter layers of material in the x, y and z directions.

A method for in-situ production of a three-dimensional object on a surface of an extraterrestrial body, comprising:

• heating a bead of sintered material exclusively obtained from the extraterrestrial body;
• applying a layer of material exclusively obtained from the extraterrestrial body upon the heated bead;
• sintering the layer of material across the entire width as the heated bead;
• and
• repeating the heating, the applying and the sintering in succession across additive slices of the object formed in the three dimensions.