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ESDMD #0502: In-situ Manufacturing of Spares, Repairs, and New Parts

Making spare parts, repairs, tools and new components on the Moon and Mars when they are needed, from metals, polymers, electronics, recycled material or ISRU feedstock (bin 6, rating 57 of 57). Today in-situ manufacturing "does not exist beyond small demonstration components fabricated from polymers". It is the lowest-rated gap in the spreadsheet (Tech gaps spreadsheet, ESDMD #0502).

Quotations below are from row ESDMD #0502 of the tech gaps spreadsheet unless marked otherwise. ADD Rev C's Appendix D prints the same table for this gap, and it matches the row field for field (ADD Rev C, p. 225).

Description

"An on-demand and in-situ approach to manufacturing, maintenance, repair, and logistics can support a sustainable presence on the Moon and Mars. Spare electronic parts include sensors, such as those used for environmental control and life support systems (ECLSS), small electronic devices, and supporting components for energy and power applications. Metal and polymer parts include structural components for the construction, outfitting, and repair of infrastructure; basic tools, materials for daily crew use, and custom-designed parts for mission-critical needs."

Impacts and benefits: "Closing this gap enables flexibility to manufacture parts on demand for missions with limited resupply options and the inability to fully predict mission needs."

Current state of the art

"Capability to manufacture new products, spare parts, replacement units, or specialty tools in-situ does not exist beyond small demonstration components fabricated from polymers."

Performance target

Moon/Mars: "Enable space-based manufacturing techniques allowing repairs and replacement of hardware components in-situ."

Child gaps

  • 0502-01: On-demand manufacturing of metals, electronic components, and tools in-situ
  • 0502-02*: In-situ evaluation, verification, and validation of manufactured components
  • 0502-03: Reuse/recycling of materials and components into usable manufacturing feedstock
  • 0502-04*: Manufacturing of materials and components from ISRU-derived feedstock

The two starred child gaps also appear under #0505, in-situ construction. The asterisk marks "a child gap with multiple parents" (ADD Rev C, p. 199).

Traceability

  • Use cases and functions: UC-I-203 L -- FN-I-207 L; UC-I-204 L -- FN-I-206 L; UC-I-201 M -- All FN
  • Definition tasks: Mars: Surface Servicing Capability Strategy

Segments and sub-architectures

Priority

Priority bin 6, overall prioritization rating 57 of 57, the last in the sheet. The rating is "the gap's location in the prioritized list of gaps", so 1 is the highest priority and this is the lowest. Bins group gaps of similar priority, bin 1 highest, and "all gaps, even those in the lowest priority bin, are highly architecture driven". Criticality, urgency, breadth and depth set the order; cost is not considered (ADD Rev C, pp. 78, 199; method on the gaps index).

Moon Base relevance

Not established by the sources so far. The Users Guide does not name #0502 among its near-term Moon Base challenges (Technology and knowledge challenges).

A material on the same subject (the pairing is the wiki's; the article names no gap). Glenn has made a biodegradable plastic, which "could be produced by bacteria fed with crew waste or carbon dioxide", mixed with simulated Moon or Mars dust, for "equipment used inside future Moon or Mars habitats, like structural brackets, wrenches, or chairs". "On‑demand, fully recyclable fabrication with lunar surface material" "could help advance NASA's objective of a permanent Moon Base by reducing resupply needs and empowering crews to build and repair essential equipment on-site" (Moon manufacturing material, Sep 2026). That is this gap's polymer state of the art, with regolith as filler: child gaps 0502-03 (recycling into feedstock) and 0502-04 (ISRU-derived feedstock) are its subjects, and the crew-waste feedstock is that of #0702's resource recovery. The work is funded by Glenn's 2026 Center Innovation Fund; no phase is given.

Sources

Tech gaps spreadsheet, ESDMD #0502 · ADD Rev C, pp. 78, 199, 225 · Moon manufacturing material, Sep 2026