Few people do not realize that in addition to its scientific data and press releases, NASA also shares a substantial amount of free resources on its website: ebooks, children’s materials, podcasts and the like. For those who have a 3D printer, the space agency also provides a wide collection of 3D printing models of its spaceship, asteroid, craters, and much more.
Internet is full of free 3D models to print, but it is not easy to find realistic replicas of the different spatial vessels of NASA and the many celestial bodies observed. If you want to print your own miniature version of the Hubble Space Telescope, Curiosity Rover, Cubesat, Cassini, or a number of other space and satellite vessels, check the NASA 3D model library.
Everyone can download the files from these objects, which are offered in STL format. You can easily put the files in Cura or regardless of the software you prefer to turn them into printable files for your particular printer model. After that, it is simply a calibration of your 3D printer, plug the flash drive with the files and wait for the print objects.
Depending on what you download, you may finish by printing multiple pieces for the template, you must then assemble. Other models are simpler, although no less detailed, objects that come in one piece – there are topographic models such as wind crater that can be printed, painted and mounted on a wall as decorations, for example .
The files are free to download. The NASA website includes a 3D viewer tool so you can view the templates before downloading to make sure that’s what you are looking for. The viewer includes wired, solid and surface visualization options. There are currently 113 printable models available in the NASA Library.
