Our base is mainly underground, with an above-ground plant and animal chamber. Those are the main food resource chamber, but there are also smaller animal and plant chamber that are run by UV lights. The base includes a living space, weight room, bedroom, and closed-off lab for any experiments. To make artificial gravity, we put high powered magnets in the floor that will keep their boots to the floor. Nothing in the base should waste or be used temporarily unless for a good cause so having three-dimensional printing benefits with replicating broken materials from garbage plastic. Organic wastes like from food or organisms is good for compost and plant growth. Our base is diverse with artificial gravity and enough air to breathe to repeat a cycle. Animals and plants both thrive and benefit us in our base to create a well thought living quarter.

Close to the Lunar Poles

For our base we have decided it would be beneficial to have it built in either the north or south poles because the poles are most likely to have sunlight for longer parts of the lunar year. Lunar poles are illuminated for large periods of time providing solar energy, the poles are also more abundant when searching for the valuable resource like water-ice. In the south pole, water-ice is abundant in shadowed craters. Since there are craters that are found in the south pole of the moon it can be a big beneficial step in space exploration.

For water if we built our base on the lunar poles, water-ice is more abundant, except it can only be accessed if existing water-ice from craters are near. We have an underground part to the base which helps with mining this resource, as for water-ice found on the surface in its gas form could be useful in other ways. So, using a water recycling system which recycles any form of liquid water or urine to potable water, also in the process of using Hydrogen and Oxygen from the regolith and water ice to produce water.

We have decided to bring four chickens, two of each sex, at the beginning of our journey to provide a way for the organisms to reproduce and colonize. In one of our rooms we have a large chicken farm which is split in half to divide the genders and to track which ones have reproduced with one another to help avoid genetic disease. We have grown plants using reusable compost with a mixture of regolith and earth soil, and LED nutrient lights. The plant room would have to be sealable incase part of the upper base was to be compromised.

For power we choose to use solar power because some areas of have more light, we would use generators for the time being when there is not much sunlight, as for heating we have a built in lava tube that is built from rocks previous to an eruption, which provides for the plants and animals living there. We have decided that maybe we would put a solar panel field on both sides of the base, that way they can collect as much energy as possible. We would also have smaller ones that we can put in the base if needed.

For air we have provided the whole base with airlock systems so we can conserve the air we breathe in. Since we already have plants, we would need to create vents or fans that could transfer our carbon dioxide to the plants and their oxygen to us. Also, we figured for the first bit of air to get there, we would bring up compressed hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen to create a breathable atmosphere in the base.

We planned to build our base in a dome shape since it leaves us with a lot more space. The base’s shape benefits in conservation of energy and can benefit with tightness when heating. A dome is also a benefit for storage of equipment as well as room for plants and possibly animals to thrive in the area, and it is sturdy. Aluminum would be a good material to bring to space since it is light-weight and very strong when building with, it also reduces costs. Tin and other metals that can block UV rays are better for building with.

We have protected most of the base from meteorites and asteroids by building it underground. We also have protected the people and plants from radiation my adding a thin coat of lead or tin. Also, our heating systems protects from the cold since the moon can reach extreme temperature and the lava tube helps with regulating temperature. We have built airtight systems to ensure the air we breathe in stays in the base. Our gym can help prevent brittle bones, as well as our artificial gravity using magnets to create a type of pressure against your feet or waist.

A day in our base could vary, as our base has many tasks, daily or just periodically. The first task when making this base a future home would be to coordinate who does what. The first thing would be food supply or water supply, since we have just a specimen of Earth soil and a current understanding of where water ice is located, it could be possible to turn most of the upper base into a farming area with of food. We have chosen to grow food that intend to give you a higher dose of nutrients for the inhabitants to feel energized and ready for another day of space work. Our main stations on the base for exploring and discovering new things about the moon is our fully functioning lab with many chemistry utensils (such as beakers, tubes, etc.) to help discover future possibilities. There are also days when we would have to communicate with specialists and experts from earth, so our computing systems can help with daily rover controls or daily “meteor”-ology forecasts to better help the team recognize and prepare. We must do daily checkups on the chicken farm too. The gym is at use almost every day to prevent our habitants from having brittle bones. As for power we would need weekly checkups to collect stored energy from solar panels. Lastly, the tending of our crops, and mainly the astronaut’s well-being and mentality, to live and thrive in their new home for maybe generations.