We 're used to seeing manufacturer tags that read `` Made in the USA , '' `` Made in Taiwan '' or `` Made in ... '' just about anywhere on the globe . But this week , for the first time , an item can read `` Made in Space . '' The International Space Station 's 3-D printer created the first object to be made in orbit on Tuesday . The U.S. space agency released a picture of astronaut Barry `` Butch '' Wilmore holding the newly printed piece , a white printer part emblazoned with the words `` Made in Space '' and `` NASA . '' It 's not just a novelty . `` There are many challenges about living and working in space , including when a part or a tool is broken or simply is not working correctly , and the spare part is 200 miles away , here on the surface of the Earth , '' said Bill Hubscher of NASA 's ISS Program Science Office at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville , Alabama , in a video posted on NASA.gov . `` Explorers traveling to Mars or to asteroids will face these same challenges , '' but they wo n't be able to get goods from a resupply ship , he said . NASA 's International Space Station 3-D printer project manager Niki Werkheiser says it 's a historic achievement because it allows engineers `` to e-mail our hardware to space instead of launching it . '' Humans on Mars by 2035 ? NASA 's sci-fi dream could be reality . `` Since the inception of the human space program , we have been completely dependent on launching every single thing we need from Earth to space , '' said Werkheiser in the video . 3-D printers work by applying layer upon layer of heated plastic . But how do pieces made in space compare with those made on Earth ? Do the layers bond differently without Earth 's gravity ? That 's a question scientists hope to answer next year when the samples are returned to Earth on a SpaceX Dragon capsule . Before the 3-D printer flew to the space lab in September , the team printed a complete set of sample items here on Earth to be used as ground control samples . It 'll be an `` apples-to-apples comparison , '' said NASA 's Werkheiser . `` Made in Space '' is n't just the printer faceplate 's manufacturing location . It 's the name of the California-based company that designed and built the space station 's 3-D printer with NASA 's guidance , and it was Made in Space engineers on the ground who commanded the printer for this week 's demonstration of 3-D printing prowess in microgravity .
NASA 3-D printer has created the first object to be made in orbit . The object is a white printer part emblazoned with the words `` Made in the USA and `` International Space Station 's '' This could open up space travel as not every object used will need to be launched from Mars .