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.
St. Paul’s Convent School Wan Chai-Hong Kong SAR Hong Kong 14 0 / 2 English
Our Moon Camp consists of four main buildings. The research tower has 5 levels. The nuclear power machine will all be located in the basement along with other supplies. The first level of the research tower has a laboratory that can perform analysis on the mineral specimens mined from the Moon. The second level has another laboratory that can conduct different biological experiments. The third level of the research tower serves as a conference and leisure area where astronauts can conduct their regular meetings and participates in leisure activities in the gym room and game room. The fourth level has a radio telescope and facilities that allow astronauts to observe and analyse outer space.
The three domes are designed for sustaining the daily life of astronauts. The leftmost dome is a greenhouse with an animal farm that can sustain the astronauts’ meals. The middle dome is the living area of the astronauts. The rightmost dome is where the water-purifying system and oxygen-extracting machine are located. Underneath the three domes, are areas for water tanks for wastewater, water tanks for clean water and oxygen storage. The clean water wastewater and oxygen are transferred through the three pipes connecting the dome separately.
As it is difficult to safely transport a large number of mineral specimens, samples and the physical experimented samples back to Earth for analysis, it will be best for the astronauts to stay on the Moon for an extended period of time to conduct the experiments. Especially if they need more materials for the experiment, they will need to travel to the Moon to extract again then go back to the laboratory located on Earth. This will be very time consuming and energy inefficient. In order to make exploration of the Moon and outer space more sustainable, it will be best for the astronauts to be able to stay on the Moon for a prolonged period. Since astronauts will be staying on the Moon and conducting different important research, building a Moon Camp will be essential for maintaining the mental and physical wellness of the astronauts.
On the far side of the Moon
We would the Moon Camp to be set up on the Far side of the Moon. As the Far side of the Moon is shielded from the solar flare by the Earth, so it will be the perfect location for astronauts to conduct experiments on radio telescopes. Other than radio signals that will not be affected by the solar flare or the signals from the Earth, the Far side of the Moon is also full of Helium-3 which is the raw material for producing nuclear power. This large amount of precious materials will be a reliable source of energy for powering the entire Moon Camp.
Our Moon Camp will mainly use the materials we extracted on the Moon. Most energy we will use in building and running the Moon Camp will be from the Helium-3 we will be extracted from the Moon. The materials of walls and other basic foundations will be using chemicals e.g. iron and titanium mined on the Moon as well. We will only be bringing high-technological machines that we will be using in the laboratory.
Our Moon Camp will use materials that block radiation in all walls to protect the astronauts. All connection hallways between the domes and the tower will be supplied with sufficient air. The dome shape will be able to withstand the shockwave of impacts when space junk hits nearby areas. All Moon Camp will be installed with gravity and pressure machines that maintain the gravity and pressure of the interior of the Moon Camp at a similar level as the Earth so as to combat the low gravity conditions. All areas of the interior will have a sufficient oxygen supply.
All food that will be consumed by the astronauts is provided by the greenhouse and animal farm in the dome. The greenhouse will be supplied with enough UV light allowing the plants to have enough energy for photosynthesis. One raw material for photosynthesis, carbon dioxide will be provided by the livestock in the animal farm nearby and by the astronauts. The faeces produced by the astronauts and the livestock will be fermented into compost that will be added to fertilise the greenhouse soil. The food provided to the astronauts will be similar to what we eat on Earth. There will be enough food and drinking water supply for three meals per day, ensuring astronauts receive at least 2500 calories each day. The water will be generated from the by-products of the extraction of rare chemicals mined on the Moon’s surface, oxygen and hydrogen. The used wastewater will be used for flushing the toilets for the astronauts and later be treated for watering the farm in the greenhouse. Oxygen will be able to supply to the astronauts in the same way too. Helium-3 extracted from the regolith will be the main source of nuclear energy for running the Moon Camp.
In the astronaut training program, as they will be the only people living on the Moon Camp and their daily lives will be sustained by a small artificial ecosystem, we would like to include concepts of a sustainable lifestyle. This includes the ability to run an animal farm and ensure all animals will be treated properly and be able to produce offspring to sustain the food supply; the skills to grow healthy crops and maintain the fertility of the soil in the greenhouse; the basic knowledge of cooking balanced meals and a suitable amount of exercise to uphold physical health; and the cooperativeness and be caring so as to keep a good relationship with the other astronaut partner. The astronauts need to be skilful in knowledge of conducting different space experiments and be able to perform maintenance to any non-functioning parts of the Moon Camp or facilities for research.
