According to Dr. Kenith Meissner, dean of the UTEP Department of Engineering, “UTEP is a national leader in additive manufacturing for space applications.” “I commend the UTEP research team for their significant contribution. I am confident their work will add significant value to this project, getting us closer to a return to the moon and our first forays beyond.”This grant is a piece of a $2.5 million grant from NASA to try and leverage off-world resources that future astronauts could use without the need for constant resupply from Earth. This will not only help develop the necessary infrastructure for such crewed missions, but also reduce both the cost and payload of sending supplies from Earth, as well.