moon_camp

Moon Camp Explorers Gallery 2019-2020

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 dangerous of space and describe the living and working facilities.

Team: GameTeam

Scholé  Matosinhos    Portugal

External link for 3d

Project description

Our Mooncamp is at the south pole because that is where the temperatures are best and where there is more ice.
Our base has an area that will be underground and an area on the surface. In the area on the surface we will have a greenhouse, a swimming pool and the garage. And in the underground area, we will have the bedrooms, the kitchen, the bathroom, the gym, the work area and communication room.

Where do you want to build your Moon Camp?

Close to the Lunar Poles

Why did you choose this location?

We chose to build our lunar base near the South Pole. We made this choice because the temperature is more suited, it varies between -50oC and 0oC. Besides, there is more ice in the south pole then in the north pole.
At the south pole we have a higher sun exposure so we can install solar panels.
We will build the moon base inside a lava tube so we can be protected from meteorites. However, the solar panels, the shield that protects us from the meteors and the elevator will be outside. The shelter itself will be underground.

Water
Food
Electricity
Air

We need the water that is in the poles, inside the craters, in the form of ice. In order to get to it, we must drill through the surface of the moon and collect the ice.
We need to filter the water after it melts because the ice on the Moon has many impurities.
However, the amount of water we can draw from the ice is not enough to survive, so we have to use a machine that filters and recycles water, to filter and treat water from urine, the greenhouse and breathing.

In space we need food to survive. To get food, we must plant in a vegetable garden.
The best groups of plants to take into space are: fruits, vegetables and seeds.
However, we cannot take all kinds of fruits because those that grow on trees and are impossible to plant since the trees grow a lot and take up a lot of space.
That way, we can take lettuce, tomato, rice, corn and wheat.

To get energy, we need to resort to solar energy. So, for everything to work properly, we need solar panels.
We have to be careful when placing the panels because, as the Moon rotates around the Sun, if the panels are all facing the same side, at some point the sun stops focusing on them which leads no longer producing energy. This means we cannot put all the panels in line, but we can put them using the turtle tactics (cube shape).
If there is an eclipse, we need a generator that keeps the camp running until the sun comes back.

We can produce oxygen through spirulina, but we can also use the other plants. Spirulina is a good option because it produces oxygen faster. The other plants are necessary because in addition to producing oxygen, they also serve as food. Spirulina may serve as food, but it is not very complete.
The ideal is to resort to a combination of the two, knowing that to get enough oxygen for one person, we need to have 8 square meters of spirulina or 13 square meters of the other plants.

How do you plan to build your Moon Camp? Which materials would you use?

At the surface we will build communication antennas, the greenhouse and the garage. What we will build underground will be: the gym, the meals area and the rest area.
To build this shelter, we can use materials such as a 3D printer, bricks made of regolith or inflatable material.
We can use an inflatable shield to cover the lava tubes, and the 3D printer to build the rest, for example, the tables, the chairs, the bed, the material to eat and some working tools.
With the moon’s soil, it is possible to make filament for the 3D printer or it can be compressed to obtain bricks.

The Moon environment is very dangerous for the astronauts. Explain how your Moon Camp will protect them.

On the moon we need to protect ourselves from meteorites, solar radiation, vacuum, the longing of friends and family and the lack of color in the different spaces. To protect ourselves from small meteorites we must use a polyethylene shield and from the large meteorites we can build an emergency exit. To protect ourselves from solar radiation we must stay in the pool during the most dangerous hours and wear suits and polyethylene shields when we go outside. In order to protect us from the vacuum, we have built double doors and a communication room. The last one enables you to talk to your loved ones on Earth. Astronauts can choose a color for a wall in their room so they will feel more comfortable in the shelter.

Describe a day on the Moon for one of your Moon Camp astronauts

When thinking about the schedule of the astronauts, we made sure that there would be at least one astronaut at the moon base. They must sleep seven hours a day each but cannot sleep all at the same time. To spend their time, they must cook, work in the lab/computers, go to the gym, water the plants and must communicate with ESA and with their families. They have leisure time, privacy time, they must collect ice and lunar materials. They also need to check solar panels, rovers, the purification and filtration systems and sensors and maintain some equipment and shelter.


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