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 dangers of space and describe the living and working facilities in their Moon Camp.
Shanghai Yue Kong Pao Senior Secondary School(YKPS)/ Shanghai Community International School(SCIS) Shanghai-Shanghai China 13 0 / English
The moon camp we built is a complete and dependent one, that could run by itself and fulfill needs of both the daily life of astronauts and research on the moon.
Firstly, we’ll have a greenhouse and a hydroponic planting room for food, a electrolysis room that turns water into oxygen, a robot that collects ice water, and a waste recycle room for even more water.
We’ll also have rooms specialized for doing experiments, living and entertaining. All of these rooms will be put in bubbles, which are inflatables that’ll be pumped in with air. They are convenient to carry, and also easy to set up. In addition, if these bubbles are put above the surface, printing a layer of lunar soil directly onto the surface of them using big 3D printers could effectively protect it from meteorites.
To get energy, besides solar, a nuclear power station will be created far form the camp. To travel there, we could build a maglev. A maglev is fast, and the low gravitation on the moon let it to suspend more easily. The maglev could not only travel human to the station, but also travel supply back to the camp.
Firstly, the moon isn’t a planet that we know very much about. Even though some countries sent a few astronauts onto the moon, the time that they stayed on it is very less. Therefore, these astronauts cannot do many explorations and researches. However, building a moon camp could solve this problems. Since the equipments made the camp able to run on its own (without earth’s supply), astronauts now will could stay longer, performing way more researches, increasing the understanding of the moon. Secondly, the moon camp could act like a hub. Flying rockets from earth it costly, since lots of energy is needed to push the rocket up to space. However, the moon’s gravity is lower, making it less energy costing to send a rocket. So, with a moon camp, human could send parts of rocket to moon, build it up, then fly it from moon.
Close to the lunar poles
We choose the lava tubes because in the moon’s lava tubes the temperature is suitable for human survival so there could be less energy used on providing warmth for astronauts. In the lava tubes it is also safer underground to protect them from meteorites and sun’s radiation. Another reason is that building living areas in underground tubes is faster and does not have to reconstruct a foundation for a house on the surface. Lava tubes also makes it easier to build tracks for maglev systems that can transport people or resources across the moon.
We planned to put parts of our moon camp above the ground, and some parts under the lava tube. The parts on the ground include solar panels, laser tower for signal, rocket launching base, plantation system, robots (the pieces will be brought from earth) , etc. The parts that needs people to go in (such as the plantation house) will first be covered by an inflatable bubble (brought from earth) with an air lock so that it could be filled with oxygen (a certain amount needs to be brought from earth, and some will be made later). Then a large 3D printer (also brought from earth) will print a thick layer on the surface of the bubble to defense it from meteorite’s attacks. The materials used to print layer will be lunar soil.
A passage will be made that leads to the inner part of the lava tubes. Inside the lava tube, there will be a large inflatable bubble that the astronauts live in, containing features like bedroom and entertainment room. Around the big bubble, there will be various small bubbles, preforming functions like research, supplying food and supplying oxygen (made by the electrolysis of water; water will be made by the water ice gathered from robots above ground).
Away from the camp, there will be a nuclear power station to generate extra energy (since nuclear is radioactive, it shouldn’t be close to the camp). A maglev will be built to help astronauts to travel there or other far places.
Our moon camp has cannons on the surface that can shoot asteroids apart into smaller chunks that makes it less harmful for the moon camp. Structures of the surface is covered with compressed moon dirt that is 20 cm thick and can already protect the astronauts from the sun’s radiation and most of the asteroids that hit it. Even if an asteroid can do damage to the surface of the moon camp the living areas are underground so it will not affect the people living inside of them. Living in space can decrease the bone’s density very fast and getting it back needs more calcium, our shelter provides areas to grow food like beetroot/potatoes/rice that gives a lot of calcium to the human body.
Water can be obtained from by purifying water-ice or our waste into drinkable liquids and the water-ice can be taken by robots who are drilling into ice caps in the poles of the moon.
Oxygen can be provided by electrolyzed water where water either taken by water-ice or from our waste can be turned into hydrogen and oxygen and little amounts can be produced by the plants in gardens or green houses.
In the beginning stages of the energy used by the power plant is by solar power transferring energy from the sun into electricity and after a nuclear power plant in built in the later stages of the energy used by the moon camp can be provided by the nuclear power plants that are underground. Rocket fuel which is hydrogen can also be produced by electrolyzed water.
Food eaten in the moon camp are plants from green house and hydroponic planting room. However 3d printer will have the ability of mixing different plants into man-made meats which are still plants but looks and tastes like meat making astronauts not tired of eating the same food again.
For the basics, the astronauts need to learn theoretical information about the moon and have a heathy, strong body. Then, they need some special training to adapt to the conditions to the moon. For example, they need to spend a lot time in water (that could stimulate the gravity on the moon). Finally, they need to learn more technical skills, including how to use specific equipments.
