IES CERVANTES MADRID-MADRID Spain 14 years old 4 / 2 English Moon
In order to build a self-sustainable lunar base, people inhabiting the base must be able to live there without needing sustenance from Earth. This means producing everything that is needed to live.
Once this has been taken into account, a fully auto-sufficient moon base can be properly built. The lunar base is located in the lunar north pole, next to ice caps that can be turned into water. It is built from materials that protect from radiation, as solar radiation is a danger that must be taken into account.
Our base consists of five domes, two transparent and with plants and the rest opaque. The opaque domes serve as houses, relaxation areas, places to store various instruments, some food production, maintenance of life support systems, etc…
The transparent domes are very important, as they store various plant life to produce a high amount of oxygen. Oxygen is also produced by electrolysis (division of water to get hydrogen and oxygen) with the water obtained from the ice caps. Food is also grown here, after detoxifying the lunar soil. Food is also grown in other places of the base using technology like hydroponics. Animals can also be found in these domes.
In the exterior one can find two important structures. The extractor of water, which has a pipe and is connected to the installations, extracts water from polar ice caps and detoxifies the water. It provides water to the base, stores water in case of an emergency and provides water for electrolysis. The other structure, which is bigger, is used to produce rocket fuel, even though it’s not an easy task. It also carries some of the functions of the opaque domes, like the storage of various instruments, but outside the installations.
Another structure we can find in the exterior are the 2 fully reusable rockets, along with the landing pads and the infrastructure used to get inside the rockets. These are used to move people, goods, etc… between Earth and the Moon.
Along with the rockets and the installations, we find solar panels to produce energy to maintain the base, paired with various batteries which store electricity to allow the base to survive the harsh lunar nights, which last around a month. Several rovers are also found out there, helping to maintain the lunar base.
Because of the harsh nights, the base is designed to be very efficient in terms of power. Facilities that aren’t necessary at all times, like fuel production, are shut down to allow the maximum amount of energy to be saved, if they aren’t needed. The solar panels are also extremely efficient to ensure that enough energy is produced.
Even though there is only one entrance that connects an opaque dome to the exterior, there is no need for more doors, as the base is heavily interconnected, allowing inhabitants to freely move from dome to dome, without going out. The door is in reality a double-door system. It works by having people entering the door into an area, where pressure is stabilized to allow people to enter and get out, among other things. It is also responsible for detoxification.
Here you can find photos of our base:
