Scientists Carol Christian and Antonella Nota of the Space Telescope Science Institute, upon receiving a special grant and purchasing a 3D printer, endeavored to create 3D textured printouts of Hubble Telescope images for the visually impaired. This had never been done, and was challenging in a number of ways, as they learned the new technology and transferred the ideas into 3D printing, with the help of 100 volunteers from the National Federation of the Blind. They enlisted the help of other experts to help design software to transfer the data to the 3D printer, as well as an expert on teaching astronomy to the visually impaired. The hope of all scientists involved in the project is that these 3D files will ultimately be available to everyone. More details on this story can be found here: http://3dprint.com/16692/3d-print-hubble-blind/

Below is a 3D printed Space show for the visually impaired: