MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. Technological advances are bringing down the cost of space research and exploration, with 3D printing poised to provide a transformative leap, NASA chief Charles Bolden says.

During a tour of the space agency's Ames Research Center here Friday (May 24), Bolden lauded the scientific potential of PhoneSats, tiny and inexpensive spacecraft based on off-the-shelf smartphones. And he singled out 3D printing as a promising key enabler of humanity's push out into the solar system.

"As NASA ventures further into space, whether redirecting an asteroid or sending humans to Mars, we'll need transformative technology to reduce cargo weight and volume," Bolden said. "In the future, perhaps astronauts will be able to print the tools or components they need while in space." [10 Amazing 3D-Printed Objects]

The future of spaceflight?

As proof that satellites don't have to be huge and expensive to observe our planet, Bolden pointed to the success of the Ames-led PhoneSat demonstration mission, which launched three modified Google Nexus One smartphones into orbit last month.

The three cubesats known as Alexander, Graham and Bell lifted off April 21 on the maiden flight of the private Antares rocket, which the Virginia-based firm Orbital Sciences Corp. will use to blast unmanned cargo missions toward the International Space Station for NASA.

All three PhoneSats operated normally until re-entering the atmosphere as expected on April 27, with two of them even beaming down pictures of Earth from space.

"This is off-the-shelf technology used to do what would normally be called Earth science, looking back at Earth and giving us that capability for a very inexpensive price," Bolden said.

"The Phonesats themselves were much less than $10,000 apiece," he added. "And if we can get the cost per pound on the launch to go down, we'll be OK."

During his tour of Ames, Bolden also got a look at a prototype 3D printer built by the company Made in Space, which is slated to launch one of its machines to the International Space Station next year in the first test of off-Earth manufacturing.

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3D Printing Could Aid Deep-Space Exploration, NASA Chief Says