ISS, April 18. /TASS/. The Russian members of the International Space Station (ISS) began printing mockups of the orbital outpost’s modules on a 3D printer to prepare for extra-vehicular activity, TASS special reporter in space, Roscosmos cosmonaut Dmitry Petelin reported on Tuesday.

The printed mockup models fit into the palm of the hand and the cosmonauts eventually plan to make a mockup of the entire International Space Station that will come in handy to prepare for extra-vehicular activity, the cosmonaut said.

"For example, tomorrow, we will control the process of the radiator’s docking to the Nauka module and give commands, if necessary, to adjust this process. Correspondingly, we practiced interaction with Andrey Fedyayev, who will handle the ERA manipulator, in conjunction with real objects of the station. We trained, using precisely these mockup modules of the ISS Russian segment," the cosmonaut explained.

The 3D printer was delivered to the ISS aboard the Progress MS-20 spacecraft in June last year for experimentation. The experiments focused on practicing additive technologies for the production of items from polymer materials in outer space. In the future, the use of these technologies will help cosmonauts in near-Earth orbital stations to make necessary items and tools directly in outer space, without waiting for their delivery by spacecraft from Earth.

On November 17, 2021, Russia’s world-renowned TASS news agency and the State Space Corporation Roscosmos signed a memorandum of cooperation, under which a TASS news office was established aboard the ISS. Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin was the first TASS special reporter in space. His flight lasted 12 days. Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev was the second TASS special reporter in space. Presently, Dmitry Petelin is heading the TASS outer space-based branch.