moon_camp

Moon Camp Explorers Gallery 2020-2021

In Moon Camp Explorers each team’s mission is to 3D design a complete Moon Camp using Tinkercad. They also have to explain how they will use local resources, protect astronauts from the dangerous of space and describe the living and working facilities.

Team: AFS Space Explorers

Group of Experiential Schools of Thessaloniki at the premises of the American Farm School of Thessaloniki  Thessaloniki    Greece 13, 14

External link for 3d

Project description

A Moon base camp would become the first step for humanity to start the ambitious and inspiring project of the cosmos colonization.

The AFS Moon camp hosts 50 residents who live and work peacefully. Personal or family spaces, bedrooms, kitchens and restaurants, as well as gyms, indoor sports halls, indoor gardens and entertainment rooms provide comfort and a quality of life. A scientific laboratory and an innovation hub have been founded supporting regular experiments and new scientific targets. Garages and vehicle maintaining rooms service people’s travel needs and further Moon exploration projects for the whole colony. There is also a fully equipped control room center. It includes a control room, an energy control station and an air and water supply station.  Some of the buildings, like the bedrooms, and the greenhouse are constructed underground for further protection from Space radiation. Others are built on the Moon’s surface. This mixed construction policy addresses safety and financial issues.

The solar panels module, constructed in the nearby valley, is extremely important for the camp’s energy sustainability. Thus, its design, construction, functionality and protection are very important for life in the Moon base. There is a satellite antennas module supporting the base’s communication needs and a spaceport – a site for launching and receiving spacecrafts – located close to the AFS Moon camp.

Where do you want to build your Moon Camp?

Close to the Lunar Poles

Why did you choose this location?

The location we decided to build our Moon Camp at is the South Pole. Based on orbit observations, the South Pole is the most investigated region on the Moon. These primary satellite investigations are important data for this first lunar colony project. Many valuable minerals, including ice, have already been discovered in the South Pole that would be used for the Moon base installation and operation.  It is also bathed in sunlight for extended periods of time – over 200 Earth days- which constitutes an important energy resource to power up the whole of our base and equipment.

How do you plan to build your Moon Camp? Which materials would you use?

Lunar materials known to be present like silicon, magnesium, aluminum, manganese and titanium would be mainly used for the whole manufacture. Thus, the cost of materials and equipment transportation to the Moon would be reduced. Lunar regolith, surface dust and volcanic powder would be used to make bricks, for building habitats, work places and all the necessary modules that form the lunar camp. For that reason robotic hands and 3D printers would be transported from Earth. In addition, the same equipment has been planned to be constructed in the base, to cover replacement needs and further development.

Explain how your Moon Camp will provide the astronauts with:
Water
Food
Electricity
Air

Water deposits in the lunar surface: To provide a self-sustaining and reliable water source on the moon, frozen water would be collected from the craters that contain water deposits. The collected ice will be melted and purified by removing any other substances, like toxins.
Another option could also be to recycle our water waste, similarly to what is currently done on the ISS. The following are the steps of this procedure. First, Astronaut wastewater is captured, such as urine, sweats, or even moisture from their breath. Then, impurities and contaminants are filtered out of the water. The final product is potable water that can be used to rehydrate food, bathe, or drink.

Underground Green House: We will provide food by building a lunar greenhouse which is going to contain vegetables and fruits. It is going to be buried underneath the lunar surface, so it will not be destroyed by cosmic rays and solar flares. Plants can be grown without soil there, with the help of water cooled sodium vapor lamps which will help them develop even more.
The absence of breeding animals on the moon has forced people to consume only vegetables and fruits. Plant-based meals, like a plant-based burger, are some kinds of possible substitutes. Imports from Earth are rare and expensive. Hope is placed to the future animal breeding farms that could supply the colony with real meat.

● Solar panels
● Electrolysis
● Hydrogen fuel cells

To provide power for the moon camp we will mostly rely on solar panels. The excess power created by the solar panels every day could be used to charge and store batteries. It could also be used to separate water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen atoms by electrolysis. During lunar nights hydrogen fuel cells that combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity will be used to cover the Moon base’s energy demands.

● Electrolysis
● Green house and gardens

To produce large amounts of breathable air we will use the electrolysis phenomenon to create oxygen, but since pure oxygen is not breathable we will need to mix it with other gasses to create breathable air.
Astronauts produce carbon dioxide by breathing which can be removed with the help of the Lithium Hydroxide Canister technology, as was used in the Apollo 11 mission.
As the base will operate both a greenhouse and indoor gardens, a two way system will provide the carbon dioxide exhaled by citizens to the plants and take the produced oxygen away.

Describe a day on the Moon for one of your Moon Camp astronauts

A typical day for the lunar base residents starts with personal hygiene. After that they have breakfast, the first of the three balanced meals during a day that fulfill their nutrition needs for a healthy exo-Earth life.

After eating, a demanding work program starts with many tasks, like performing or supervising science experiments, checking the base’s operation and life support systems and maintaining communication with Earth.

Days on the moon would be really busy and exhausting, but, like all people, the astronauts will have free time each day and some weekends off. Free time is really important for all people, because it is the time when you entertain yourself and have fun. In their free time astronauts could watch movies, play games, read e-books and even talk to their families on Earth. Also, watching the Earth orbiting would be an exciting thing to do.

Exercise is also an important part of the daily routine of the   moon colony habitants. On average, people in the colony must exercise two hours per day. The equipment they use is different to the one used on Earth, because of microgravity. For example if something weighs 70 N on Earth, on the moon it will weigh less than 10 N, so every exercise program has to be remade.  Everyone is free to plan their own daily workout schedule according to their job demands and personal interests.


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