DARPA kicks off program to explore space-based manufacturing

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Novel Orbital Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and Mass Efficient Design (NOM4D) program is underway with eight industry and university research teams on contract.

The selected teams are tasked to provide foundational proofs of concept in materials science, manufacturing, and design technologies to enable production of future space structures on orbit without the volume constraints imposed by launch.

The vision is to ferry raw materials from Earth and collect lunar materials for on-orbit manufacturing. The NOM4D program does not involve building any structures on the surface of the moon. All manufacturing would be done in orbital construction facilities and the results utilized in orbital applications.