Our Moon Camp project is a base for 3 or 4 astronauts. The base is divided into different sections,
depending on its purpose: bedroom, kitchen, gym, social room, bathroom; laboratory; and yard. We are
building our base in a way that allows us to study the effects of radiation, but in a controlled way that is not
dangerous for astronauts; although the base is built on the surface, only the yard will be unprotected; the
other compartments will have water between the walls to prevent radiation. In addition to studying the
effects of radiation on the human body, we want to study how the human body gets used to a lower gravity
than the one on Earth for longer and longer periods of time and also, ways to overcome that. Studying virus
and bacteria causers of some diseases in sterile environments and under the effect of extremely energetic
radiation. We would also like, in our food production field, to study the possibility of producing new
cultures, more resistant to hostile environments, which also could be produced on some environments on
Earth. With this opportunity we will also study samples of lunar soil to see its formation and how it did
evolve, which are the necessary conditions for the appearance of life in extreme environments such as
planetary systems. Studying the possibility of ore extraction, that does not exist on Earth or is in low
percentage but is in abundance on the Moon, using that to produce clean energy.

We have considered North and South poles because we know we can find ice in both of them, inside the
craters, which will provide us water. Water is crucial for the astronauts to drink, bath and all the base
sanitation. It’s also very important for plant growth. We ended up choosing the South Pole because the
near-constant sunlight will contribute to our farm growing and we will be able to supply every energetic
necessity of the base. The temperature in the poles isn’t as high or low compared to other locations in the
moon which will be beneficial for energy efficiency. Also a very important aspect is that on the polesthere is
no communication loss with Earth because of the moon occlusion; while, in any other location we would
have a lot more difficulties sending the results of our researches making it necessary to have an extra
satellite for communication.

We are building our base in a very simple design because we are having in consideration the budget and the
adaptation of the astronauts. We are dividing the base into 3 different sections. The first section is the living
quarters where the astronauts can do their basic daily life and they also have a gym there where they can
work out, which is necessary because the low gravity tends to weaken the muscles. The other two sections
are the communication room, which will be part of our spaceship, and the farm. Because the
plants/vegetables can’t catch 24h of radiation, at a point of the day, the farm will be covered. Each section
will have vacuum doors and protection materials in case of any accident. In between the structures of our
base there will be water in order to protect from radiation, except in the farm. Over our base there will be a
protection for meteorites While the base is not completely constructed, the spaceship will serve as shelter.
Then, we will use the lunar soil to build our camp using 3D printing technology. The spaceship will continue
to serve as a communication room. There will be a photovoltaic panel area, to supply all energy needs, and
also an area to store water and oxygen.

Our base is going to be built in a way that ensures us that nothing will happen to the astronauts. We are
using moon soil to protect our base from radiation and eventual meteorite rain. Because we are studying
the effects of the radiation we are planning on having a section of the base that’s not protected, a section
that will be the farm, however, the exposure will be controlled, only 8 hours a day. In the other modules, the
walls will be double and inside there will be water to absorb the radiation. We will also be using extreme
isolator material to build the inside of our base to make sure there are not any leaks of oxygen.We do also
need to remember that the low gravity on the moon affects the muscles and for that we are having a well
prepared gym for our astronauts to exercise.

Water is a crucial resource for human survival. We decided to set up the base in the poles
because we can find ice on the craters there. We’ll be extracting the ice from there and melting it. The
water obtained from that will be purified and turned into potable water which can be used for agriculture,
hydration, hygiene. We have oxygen and hydrogen tanks which can be another way to produce water. To
avoid any waste of water we will have a reuse system, both for water coming from perspiration and
excretions.

– Food is also a necessity for human survival. In the beginning, our crew will eat the food we bring
from Earth. As soon as possible we will be able to start eating our own food produced at the farm. Also at
the farm we’re having chickens which will s

– We’ll have panels that are powering up all the base. These panels will work with solar energy and
will be the main form for obtaining power, in addition to the energy used daily, we will also have batteries to
store energy for any critical situation

– Air is essential for life. We’ll have different ways to produce air. The main one is the oxygen tanks
that we brought from Earth. The plants on our greenhouse, on the Moon, will provide us with a small but
usable amount of oxygen through photosynthe

The main purpose of our Moon Camp is for scientific purposes. We want to study how the radiation affects
the human body such as skin, muscles, and also how it will affect the animals that we will have there. We
also want to study the growth of our plants/vegetables in a ground made of lunar soil and fertilizer
(produced on the base with organic remains). Because these plants and vegetables are developing in
extreme conditions, the conclusions of this study might allow applying these methods and techniques in
hostile environments on Earth. We also intend to take to our base already fertilized eggs, worms and insects
and these will serve to diversify our alimentation allowing it to be richer in protein. We also intend to study
the psychological effects of long-term travel and with that study and research we might better prepare for
the next space travels in the future.

The crew will be guided by Azores time zone. They will be following an everyday routine in order to keep
everything controlled. The crew will wake up at 7:00a.m to have breakfast and take care of personal
hygiene. After that the crew will start work. Every astronaut will know how to work in every place of the
base, whether it’s taking care of the animals and the farm, working at the communication room, checking
the conditions of the base and the laboratory for our scientific purposes. Check if it is necessary to maintain
the robots, machines and transports that are used in the base, to keep everything in good working order. A
malfunctioning part can endanger the entire base. It is necessary to check the extraction of lunar ice, its
conditioning and transformation treatment so as not to lack water in the base and the 100% functioning of
the photovoltaic panels because without electricity the lunar base does not work and puts the astronauts in
danger because they depend on it to keep the temperature at the base. It is also necessary to carry out
daily analyzes to astronauts to find out about their health, fertility and how the body withstands long
periods of weightlessness and radiation. The research that is carried out at the base is one of the most
time-consuming tasks: studying soil samples to understand the evolution of the moon from its formation to
the present day and trying to extrapolate to what is happening with other planetary systems , try to create
“life” using the environment and the lunar soil to understand what allows to lead to the genesis of life, not
necessarily having life to be based on carbon; to study seeds that are more resistant to extreme
environments so that we can apply them on planet Earth, given the climate changes that we are
experiencing today and that creates hostile environments where they were once fertile lands; with plants
and animals that can be taken (fertilized eggs, various types of plants and vegetables and insects) to study
animal and vegetable behavior at low gravity and extreme radiation. Those tasks will be rotative. After
work, there will be a lunch break starting at 12:30pm and ending at 2:30pm. After that, the astronauts
should come back to work and, at the end of the day, they will practice physical exercise at the gym. By
7:00pm the work for the day is complete and the crew is having dinner. After that they take care of their
personal hygiene and go to bed.