The International Space Station (ISS) orbits the earth above us as if it will be there forever, but what happens when a piece of equipment breaks down and the parts necessary to fix it are unavailable? It used to be that we had to dispatch an entire rocket carrying supplies to the ISS, but now we may be doing it digitally. Contrary to the usual direction of give and take between Earth and ISS, a shipment has been received here on Earth from the ISS this week.

NASA has been testing its 3-D printer’s ability to print tools and extra parts with simple clicks of a button on Earth. 3-D printers aren’t exactly new anymore, but the way NASA is using theirs is. The ISS 3-D printer has been pumping out print jobs sent from Earth for the past few months, and now the tools and mechanical pieces it printed need to be examined thoroughly to ensure quality and that they were printed correctly. Quincy Bean, head of the printer project at NASA, got to open the box from space containing the tools and parts that were sent back to Earth in February. They were aboard SpaceX’s fifth contracted resupply mission to the ISS.

One of the pieces in the box was a complete ratchet, which was designed on Earth. Then, instead of making it on Earth and bringing it there, they sent a digital command to the 3-D printer with the design logistics, and it spat out a ratchet. The printer has also produced a spare part for itself in the past, and its continued printing will help researchers understand how microgravity affects the printing process.

After the products are examined closely, the ISS crew will know which necessary tools and pieces they can print and which will need to be delivered.