Many aspects of the Astronauts lives would need to be coordinated with Earth so we planned our base to have a central hub – providing a communal area for eating, work and central communication point. Several smaller pods would radiate out from this space allowing the astronauts to live in groups based on their occupations. Each pod is designed over a number of floors, embedded into the lunar rock: top floor Biome for growing food and experiments, a laboratory below so minerals can be tested, experiments can be monitored and engineering projects can be run (each pod coordinates different projects) and underground would be the Astronaut living quarters as this offers protection due to the thickness of the rocks. The ground floor would be a storage and exercise area. Each pod will have a garage and lunar rover – entrances would be pressurised and sanitised, ensuring contaminants do not enter the base

Close to the Lunar Poles

We have decided to build our lunar base at the base of the Shackleton Crater due to it being near the Moon’s south pole. This means that it will be well resourced with water ice – vital for the survival of the Astronauts living there. In addition, regions of the south pole enjoy constant illumination from the Sun. This will be important because it means there won’t be huge changes in temperature which will help with energy resourcing but it will also allow for electricity production for the lunar colony by solar panels.

We would use water ice as it’s abundant near the base. However, water is a finite resource so we need to ensure that it’s recycled. We could use a similar system to one used on board the ISS. Wastewater (urine, sweat, or even the moisture from their breath) is captured. Then impurities and contaminants are filtered. The final product is potable water that can be used to rehydrate food, bathe, or drink. It might sound disgusting, but recycled water on the ISS is cleaner than the water we drink on Earth!

We would use hydroponics for growing plants because:
It uses 20% less space than growth in soil
You wouldn’t have to bring any soil with you which will cost a lot
Hydroponic Plants can grow with just 5-10% of the water that’s needed when growing with soil!
With hydroponic systems it is much easier to control the temperature, humidity, light intensity and duration and even composition of air, all in accordance with what’s necessary for optimal growth
Less labour – frees up time for experiments
No weeds, pests or disease

We would generate energy through the use of solar panels (the South Pole gets light for 90% of the day, making it the best location for generating solar energy). These would be easily to transport to the moon as they can be light weight and easy to assemble. Some parts such as the frame could be 3D printed on site.

The energy generated could also be used for electrolysis of water which would be the main way of producing oxygen for the base. The water ice would be melted and an electric current passed through – this would split the water into oxygen and hydrogen. The oxygen would be used for breathing inside the base (and suits when doing experiments) and the hydrogen could be used as a fuel if – but this would require the oxygen to burn it!

Initially, we’d send robotic teams with small numbers of astronauts to build small habitats from which more could radiate from.  Being modular, the base would grow – sustaining more Astronauts over time but in case of emergencies, they will be able to move to different sections.

The building could be produced through 3D printing in situ – The frame and outer layer of exposed buildings would be made using the lunar soil as the main material. The regolith, mixed with magnesium oxide forms a solid material when it’s mixed with salts.  We could use urea (main component in urine) as an additive.

We can use the crater’s walls, which are on average 4.2km tall, as protection from meteorites. Use of Lunar regolith will block radiation in habitats so the buildings would be built into the ground and around the crater. This would protect from minor impacts and radiation – the layer would need to be at least 2 metres thick to provide protection. Water is also good at absorbing radiation (for example it blocks radiation better than metal because water molecules contain more nuclei per volume than metal) so we would build an inner chamber around the habitats – allowing water to circulate.