--- title: "NASA Hires Company to 3D Print American Base on the Moon" description: "Lunar Housing Mankind may not physically be back on the Moon just yet, but the Moon Economy is already booming. Case in point: Axios reports that an Austin-based 3D printing firm called ICON just landed a $57.2 million cash infusion from NASA for its Project Olympus, the hopefully-spacefaring company's endeavor to create 3D-printed lunar shelters. Per […]" date: "2022-11-29" modified: "2022-11-29" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-hires-icon-3d-print-moon-base" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "3d printed house" - "artemis" - "moon" - "the digest" --- # NASA Hires Company to 3D Print American Base on the Moon ![3D printing firm ICON just landed a $57.2 million contract from NASA for Project Olympus, the company's mission to create 3D-printed Moon shelters.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Lunar Loft Mankind may not physically be back on the Moon just yet, but the [Moon Economy]() is already booming. Case in point: [*Axios* reports]() that an Austin-based 3D printing firm called ICON just landed a $57.2 million cash infusion from NASA for its Project Olympus, the hopefully-spacefaring company's endeavor to create 3D-printed lunar shelters. Per *Axios*, ICON plans to have its Moon huts ready for NASA use by 2026, assuming that the Artemis mission schedule [remains intact](). If the Moon is indeed to become a human outpost, durable and lightweight lunar housing will be essential — a reality that ICON CEO Jason Ballard doesn't seem to be taking lightly. "We feel real weight and responsibility — we're not just doing this for ourselves," Ballard told *Axios*, adding that "we're giving humanity the capability to build on other worlds." "The final deliverable of this contract will be humanity's first construction on another world," he added, "and that is going to be a pretty special achievement." ## Cosmic Contractors While ICON is most well-known for its work building [Earthly structures](), it's been hoping to build in space for some time now. Project Olympus was first launched in 2020, and the company also appears to have its eye on one day constructing a [3D-printed Mars colony](). Importantly, rather than bring a bunch of Earthly junk to the Moon's relatively pristine surface, ICON's goal is to build the lunar dwellings out of actual lunar materials — Moon dust, broken rocks, and the like. According to Ballard, learning to build from the Moon's natural regolith ensures the viability of long-term human tenure on the Moon. (After all, would be a pain in the ass if [Moon miners]() had to receive a payload from Earth every time they needed to build a new road.) "If you tried to plan a lunar settlement or a moon base and you had to bring everything with you, every time you wanted to build a new thing it's like another $100M," Ballard [told *Payload*](). "But once you've got a system that can build almost anything — landing pads, roadways, habitats — and it uses local material, you are probably two or three orders of magnitude cheaper to build a permanent lunar presence than you would be in any other way that we can think of." **READ MORE:** *[Austin firm ICON wins NASA contract for lunar construction]()* \[*Axios*\] **More on Artemis:** *[Rejoice! Nasa's Artemis I Is Now Orbiting the Moon]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()