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: Ingenuity

International School of Toulouse  Colomiers    France 12, 13

External link for 3d

Project description

Our lunar base will be called Ingenuity as a tribute to the drone on the newly launched Mars rover, Perseverance. This is the next big leap in space advancements and is the first ever autonomous flying object that contributes to scientific exploration on Mars. This name also symbolizes international cooperation of brilliant scientific minds. Our Moon Camp is unique because of its geodesic dome construction which makes it easy to construct and insulate, and a lot stronger than ordinary domes to resist asteroids. For even greater strength, the lift in the middle also doubles up as a pillar to make the dome as strong as possible. Our base also uses the heat changes on the moon to filter our used water. This technique of distillation uses no power thus conserving power for more important uses.

Where do you want to build your Moon Camp?

Close to the Lunar Poles

Why did you choose this location?

We chose this location mainly because of its minimal temperature differences during the day and night compared to other locations. This provides optimal temperatures for astronauts who are working on the Moon Camp. We also chose the lunar poles because of the water sources inside the Von Kármán crater which have been proven to have water in ice form.

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

Our lunar dome will be made of titanium on the exterior to prevent small asteroids from penetrating the base. Then, there will be a layer of high – Z steel to stop radioactive gamma waves from harming the astronauts. There will be a layer of aero gel to shield astronauts from the radical temperature differences on the Moon, followed by a thin sheet of steel for the astronauts’ magnetic gravity boots. The whole dome will be constructed in a geodesic formation for easy construction, maintenance and replacement.

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

We are recycling our used water from showers, basins and toilets with the technique of filtration by distillation. We would also add monochloramine to make sure that all bacteria are killed. During the day, the used water will be evaporated from a translucent container using the sun’s rays. It will then collect and go down to a pipe underground for it to condense and be ready for sterilization and use. We will also be getting new water from ice caps on the Moon which will go through the same system.

For a food source we are using a hydroponics system that we will feed with diluted faeces to be completely self-sustainable. This allows for less resource usage and more reuse around the lunar plant. We are also using this technique because of its minimal use of space, and there will be light strips under each tube to help the row below to grow.

For power we will be using solar panels that will be placed around the lunar camp to harness the sun’s rays and turn them into electricity. We will have these covered in a resistant layer of polycarbonate plastic to resist damage. The solar panels will also be on a double axis of motion to follow the sun over the course of the day. We will also be using hydroelectric generators that produce electricity from the water going in and out of the distillation plant.

For the air supply we are using the process of electrolysis to separate oxygen from hydrogen by passing a positive electric current through the anode and a neutral charge through the cathode to create an electrical current through the water. We will get other gasses that are mixed in with air by filtering them from the atmospheric gasses on the moon. As this will produce a by-product, hydrogen, we are going to use that as a rocket fuel replenishment for return trips to Earth. As hydrogen is highly flammable we will be storing it half a kilometre away from base in a 3cm thick titanium container for safe keeping, and no chance of any explosions.

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

At the start of every day, at 7am Earth time, the base astronauts will have a breakfast of cereal because of its nutritional content in carbohydrates and glucose. The wheat from the cereal will have been cultivated from the hydroponics chamber. That will be followed by a briefing in the conference room for all astronauts at 8am. They will, of course, all be wearing magnetic boots to stay on the floor at all times. Next, they will do their morning tasks that have been assigned to them from 9am to 12pm. These could range from lunar exploration in the buggy or general maintenance. This will take up the morning and they will have an hour between 12pm to 1pm for lunch. After this there will be an afternoon briefing to allocate jobs. These jobs are usually similar to the morning ones and last from 1:30pm to 4pm. Then, before the astronauts have dinner, they will do two hours of exercise from 4pm to 6pm in the gym to keep their bones strong and for general fitness. After this they will have a dinner of fresh vegetables, and then they will have the rest of evening to do what they like.


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