ISS astronaut needs a wrench, NASA successfully 'emails' him one

[True Blue Door]

1. Both good and bad aspects to this story.

The good is that NASA recognizes the enormous potential of in-situ 3D printing to enable greater self-sufficiency in space and longer-term missions.

The bad is reflected in this part: "The wrench, as well as the 20 other objects that have been 3D-printed on the ISS thus far, will be sent back to Earth for further analysis."

Why?!? Why not just use them and see how well they work? If they don't work well enough, tweak the printer and try again. That's what I find annoying about NASA today - it's cartoonishly timid. This NASA wouldn't even have walked on an unpaved surface, never mind the Moon.