Zane Mebruer pointed a laser at metal powder and asked a question that could reshape human exploration: what if Mars settlers didn't need to lug heavy tools across 34 million miles of space?
The recent University of Arizona graduate's answer lies in the Martian atmosphere itself. Today, 3D metal printing on Earth requires argon gas—a non-toxic element that prevents the metal from oxidizing during the manufacturing process. Carrying argon to Mars, let alone manufacturing it there, would add significant weight and complexity to any settlement mission. But Mebruer's research, completed as an honors undergraduate in mechanical engineering and published in the Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing, suggests an elegant workaround: use Mars' own atmosphere instead.
Mars' thin air is 95% carbon dioxide. In a series of carefully controlled experiments, Mebruer tested whether laser beam powder bed fusion—a 3D printing method that layer by layer fuses metal powder into solid objects—could work in a CO₂ atmosphere instead of argon. Under the guidance of assistant professor Wan Shou, he created simple single-layer metal lines in three different atmospheric conditions: argon, carbon dioxide, and ambient air. The results, examined under microscope for structural integrity and surface uniformity, revealed something promising: while argon still produced the best prints, the parts fabricated in CO₂ significantly outperformed those made in Earth's regular atmosphere.
The technical challenge is real. During the printing process, metal oxidizes quickly—and not like rust on a surface, which you can simply scrape away. Internal oxidation weakens the material's cohesion between layers, compromising the strength of the finished part. "The cohesion between layers is going to be a lot worse. The material strength is going to be impacted," Mebruer explained. Yet the proof of concept suggests the impact may be manageable.
This matters because Mars settlements will need tools, spare parts, and structural components from day one. Transporting every wrench, bolt, and bracket from Earth would be prohibitively expensive and heavy. The ability to 3D print metal objects on-site using local atmospheric conditions could be transformative—reducing payload requirements, enabling rapid repairs, and allowing colonists to manufacture items tailored to Martian conditions.
The work represents a small but meaningful step in humanity's long preparation for Mars settlement. For Mebruer personally, it proved far larger. The 22-year-old's research caught the attention of his doctoral advisers at Georgia Institute of Technology. "Almost all we talked about was this research project. He was impressed. He sent an offer pretty quickly after that," Mebruer recalled of his PhD program interview. What began as an undergraduate honors project became the centerpiece of a conversation that launched the next phase of his scientific career.
Mebruer's work sits at the intersection of practical engineering and bold ambition—the kind of incremental progress that makes distant futures less impossible. The results don't mean Martian foundries are imminent. But they suggest that future settlers might one day create the tools they need not by shipping them across space, but by harvesting what's already in the air around them.