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.
IC IV Stanziale San Giorgio a Cremano-Italy/Campania Italy 13 0 / 2 English
We designed our lunar settlement taking onto account the lunar environment and the local resources. It is equipped with all the facilities necessary to provide protection and good living conditions for the astronauts. It is placed at the South Pole of the Moon because there we can find water and temperatures much more favorable for humans. The core of our site is a greenhouse where we grow vegetables and spirulina able to produce and spread oxygen. Robots will take care of the irrigation; The additional units provided in our Moon Camp comprises: a landing station; a control station located in the center and connected to housing, storage and bathrooms; photovoltaic panels to supply energy to all buildings; a gym, essential to preserve one’s body from lack of gravity; a laboratory, located on the top floor of the control station, equipped with a telescope and an efficient worktop for conducting experiments. An excavation well to extract the frozen water trapped in the ground is also constructed. All the units are covered with polyethylene needed to shelter from meteorites
Our astronauts want to go to the Moon for a number of reasons which can be summarized as follows:
The increase in the temperature of the Earth’s surface will cause uncontrolled greenhouse effect. We will soon run out of natural resources. Earth will then become an uninhabitable place. To that point most life on our planet will be extinct.
Starting from the Moon we could discover the secrets of the Universe, always been unknown to man. Thanks to the discovery of the hidden side of the Moon we might learn more about the formation of the solar system.
The Moon represents the ideal springboard to get up Mars due to the fact that its gravitational pull is smaller than on Earth so leaving it will costs much less.
On the Moon we can activate new commercial opportunities
We decided to build our moon base at the South Pole above ground.
Temperatures on the Moon range from 123° to – 233°C and there is no atmosphere protecting us from from space weather events. In the South Pole the situation is slightly better because the temperatures are much more comfortable, between -50° and 0° and there is constant sunlight. This is especially favorable for the cultivation of our foods. Here it has also been demonstrated that water exists in the form of ice and can be extracted by using excavation tools.
To build on the Moon it would be necessary to use a large quantity of raw materials that can’t be transported from Earth because this would be far too expensive. So instead of traditional materials, we will use the local raw materials, just like we do on Earth. To make strong, resistant and stable homes we decided to use lunar regolith that will be molded into the required shapes by using a 3D printer that we will bring from Earth.
Our Moon Camp will be protected from solar radiation and from meteorites through the coating of buildings made out of polyethylene. This is a very thick plastic that can be compressed and brought from Earth. Furthermore, we will allow astronauts to permane for long time in water inside a swimming pool. This way they will gain further protection from the effects of solar radiation that can be very harmful to man.
On our Moon Camp we will gain the energy from photovoltaic panels; food will be provided by growing plants and algae in our moon garden; oxygen through spirulina, grown by robots. To get water we have designed a recycling system based on human body fluids, such as sweat and urine, and an excavation project to extract the frozen water trapped in the ground.
Our astronauts have in fact undergone a long program of training to be well prepared for the lunar mission: they stayed a week in very deep, damp and dark caves, to carry out scientific experiments; they performed tasks by swimming in some pools that simulate movements in orbit; have taken a course of geology to be able to study to the best the lunar surface. They have been accustomed to being weightlessness through parabolic flights we+here in of micro-gravity they even carried out experiments.
