A NASA COMMANDER on the International Space Station has been emailed a spanner just in time for Christmas.

Christmas probably has very little to do with the spanner - although we suspect that the space station's inhabitants are in a good position to see Santa coming - but 3D printing and progress do.

A post on the Medium.com website said that Made in Space, a 3D printing company with ties to NASA and hardware already on the ISS station, sent directions for the spanner to an onboard 3D printer.

"We had overheard ISS commander Barry Wilmore mention over the radio that he needed one, so we designed one in CAD and sent it up to him faster than a rocket ever could have. This is the first time we've ever emailed' hardware to space," wrote Mike Chen, founder of Made in Space.

"On the ISS this type of technology translates to lower costs for experiments, faster design iteration, and a safer, better experience for the crew members, who can use it to replace broken parts or create new tools on demand.

"But what I'm really excited about is the impact this could have on human space exploration beyond Earth orbit."

Chen, like Elon Musk, sees space exploration taking in Mars and, like the SpaceX explorer, has the red planet in his sights.

"When we do set up the first human colonies on the moon, Mars and beyond, we won't use rockets to bring along everything we need," he added. "We'll build what we need there, when we need it."

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Space station commander is 'emailed' a much-needed spanner