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.
International School Westpfalz Landstuhl-Pfalz Germany 12, 13 0 / 0 English
Our Moon camp is called Luna Armstrong Base. We are building a Moon camp to host two astronauts.The astronauts will test a technology to produce water and air from the Lunar regolith. Initially, some resources from Earth will need to be transported such as plant seeds and water. However, the camp will become self-sustainable with time. The astronauts will have to plant, grow and harvest their own vegetables. The astronauts will use knowledge learned from previous ISS experiments. We will also build meat cultivation chambers to grow meat from cells. Our camp has a living room to socialize, a medical room, a bedroom, a science room, a fitness room and food laboratories. The living room has a cupola to remind astronauts of Earth and give them a sense of belonging. Our fitness room has a special suit to wear during the fitness program. It has hidden electro stimulation to improve the effect. The LA base has 60 solar panels to generate electricity. They can be rolled together and they don’t take much space to bring to the Moon. The panels have wheels to relocate themselves. A small robotic rover will help the astronauts go around the site. There is also a possibility that astronauts could also enter the big rover directly from the base. The moon camp has a satellite for better communication. We also built a bunker underneath the base for emergencies with all the needed supplies where astronauts could survive for seven days.
Astronauts will travel to the Moon to test the technology that uses a reactor to turn lunar regolith into water and air. The process is called hydrogen reduction by ilmenite. This experiment will enable long term space missions on the moon and help reduce the need for resources transported from Earth. However, there are many more reasons to go back to the Moon. Our technology has improved a lot since the Apollo era. A lot of science experiments can be done on the Moon. We can research the history of the Moon, find out about the Earth and eventually also the beginning of our solar system. We can explore Lunar resources, understand Lunar geology, and find Lunar Ice. We can do scientific experiments like on the ISS. The base on the Moon is a preparation for Deep space explorations and Mars. We must test the new technologies on the Moon first. This time we are not going to put a flag on the Moon, but build a home there. Lastly, the Moon program inspires our generation to become engineers and scientists.
Mare Tranquillitatis
We chose this location because astronauts have already visited it. It is also a dried out sea, the regolith found in this location is best to extract water and air from as it is rich in ilmenite. Astronauts also have a great opportunity to visit Apollo 11’s Lunar Lander to do some science about what happens to objects on the surface of the Moon that have already been there for a long time.
We will use mixed techniques of regular construction and 3D printing to build our Moon Camp. We need 3D printing using regolith in order to reduce the cost of bringing the materials from Earth. The external supports for the modules are made out of Lunar regolith (which is used to create concrete) with polyethylene integrated into the walls to help against the high radiation environment. Our goal is to use local resources that could be used on the Moon, Mars, or other locations. All of our modules are connected with bridges that allow the astronauts to access all of them without having to go outside. New space suits are improved and easy to move around. However the Moon dust can be a problem. It is very small but it can also be very dangerous and sharp. It can also get into astronauts lungs easily similar to fiberglass. The Moon has no atmosphere and is constantly bombarded with radiation from the Sun that causes the soil to become electrostatically charged. The Moon dust can cause very serious lung damage. In that case there is no doctor to save them when they are on the Moon. Apollo astronauts already had this experience. We will build a clean up unit (CU) to get rid of any dust, it uses liquid nitrogen to spray the astronauts before they enter the base.
From the radiation astronauts are protected with polyethylene integrated into the walls. The walls themselves are thick and made out of concrete so the vacuum of space doesn’t mix in case of small debris hitting the base. In case of an emergency like depressurization an alarm siren goes off. When astronauts hear it they rush to the safety bunker and lock the door. They can survive there for up to a week. It has a lot of food supply and a lot of water and air for the astronauts. The bunker also has a treadmill for sport as well as a computer that helps them communicate with Earth. The spacesuits are equipped with a modern technology that helps astronauts withstand the harsh Lunar environment. The cupola is made out of polycarbonate panels glass to make sure it is not easy to break.
In the beginning astronauts will have a water and air supply from Earth. After that water and air will be supplied mostly with our hydrogen reduction by ilmenite process. Ilmenite is a molecule composed of iron, titanium and oxygen atoms. What we need to do is to separate the oxygen part from ilmenite. This process is called hydrogen reduction by ilmenite. During the processing of this reaction we need to input hydrogen into the reactor which will be imported from earth in the beginning and later on recycled. When we add hydrogen to ilmenite we can extract the oxygen part. We will also recycle water from sweat, tears, breathing, plant and food water, and even the bathroom to save the water as much as possible. Growing plants will also help increase the levels of oxygen supply on the camp.The same goes for food, a supply from Earth will be there to start with and then our veggies will be grown from inside labs using seeds. We chose vegetables that are easy to grow, require low maintenance and don’t need a lot of time. We grow greens, carrots, radishes, potatoes, mushrooms and more.Our meat will be grown out of cells in our meat cultivation chambers. Astronauts can only enter them with special hazmat suits because if bacteria goes in the meat it will be poisoned. We have an airlock in front of it as well.Our power will be provided from our solar panels behind the base. We will use and store our solar energy.
The astronauts need to train a lot before the missions so that they and the crew are not in danger but also to complete the mission successfully. They need to take classes to learn about the space environment and the moon and to learn about experiments that they will do while on the moon. They also need to learn basic medical procedures in case of a health emergency.The astronauts will do survival training to prepare for the worst case scenario and how to use the bunker if they need to.They need to train on how to build the moon camp in an environment that mimics the moon environment like the Luna facility in Cologne Germany. They also need to train on how to use the meat lab and the hydrogen reduction reactor. They basically need to train on Earth as if they are living on the moon before they go on the mission. Each astronaut will have different tasks so they also have slightly different training. They are trained on how to deal with unusual/failure situations with experiments as well.They need to undergo microgravity training in a 0 g airplane and during scuba-diving , this will help them understand that they cannot use their weight to provide a force. Astronauts also need to train their muscles in space so that they don’t lose their fitness levels, which could be very dangerous once they get back on Earth.They work out about two hours a day in the fitness room using the treadmill and the weights.
Tinkercad links:
https://www.tinkercad.com/things/eIQDb9wIR1d
https://www.tinkercad.com/things/10bL0QvzeMp
https://www.tinkercad.com/things/5Z2XnS0kaLW
