Space Printing Patent Issued to RKF Engineering
The US Patent Office has granted a patent to RKF Engineering for its latest business line … space printing.
"RKF is thrilled to announce our space printing patent, and I can't wait to see the first imagery drawn on the Moon and Mars."
RKF CTO Jeffrey Freedman.
Patent US 18/100,141 was awarded to the company on January 31st, 2023. The concept calls for space printing rovers to print customized words and pictures on the Lunar and Martian surfaces. The printers can then photograph the images against an Earthrise glowing over a lunar horizon.
Lunar imagery can survive millions of years, immortalizing consumers' words and likenesses. Images can be anything from portraits to eternal love letters, words of wisdom, epitaphs of loved ones who passed, or even advertisements. The options are limitless. Once in place, a lunar rover printer can stamp and photograph millions of unique images and text messages over its operating life.
Space Printing Patent Protects the Concept
The RKF patent protects against any competition that draws imagery on a celestial body and is not reliant on a specific printer or rover design.
Unlike space tourism, which is too expensive and impractical for most people, space printing will be affordable and provide a tangible, lasting product.
"RKF is thrilled to announce our space printing patent, and I can't wait to see the first imagery drawn on the Moon and Mars," said RKF CTO Jeffrey Freedman.
The concept is a bit of a departure for the company, which is a boutique firm of engineers and scientists focused primarily on developing innovative engineering solutions enabling wireless communications. They support numerous government and commercial clients around the world, providing critical regulatory, advocacy, systems engineering, and software development expertise and capabilities. The company says it has worked extensively on a wide variety of cutting-edge communications systems ranging from satellites to terrestrial networks to high-altitude platforms.
RKF was founded in 2001 by Phil Rubin, Ted Kaplan, and Jeff Freedman. Our headquarters is located in Bethesda, MD within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
(Source: RKF Engineering news release. Images provided)