Our moon camp project aims to help with scientific research and experiments which will give further information about our universe. This base construction will provide us with everything that is needed to be known in order to colonize our satellite, as well as other planets. The base consists of the main body that has a hemisphere shape, with a diameter of 9m and a height of 2,5m and three rooms with a diameter of 5,5m and a height of 2,3m. Two of these rooms contain bedrooms, the restroom and the gym. The biggest and central room, is used for storage and laboratory use. Apart from those, the base includes a greenhouse with a 13m diameter and a height of 2,4m, as well as eight solar panels and a kilopower system. We believe that our base is both sufficient and effective and will provide a safe stay to the astronauts.

We intent to build the moon base on the southern pole of the moon. We choose that location, because it will give access to iced water which is stored there. However the main reason we choose southern pole for our moon camp, is the fact that it is permanently exposed to sunlight, which is a key point for providing us with solar energy.

For the construction of the base, we will use materials and equipment from the Earth, as well as materials that exist in the subsoil of the Moon. With special spaceships, we will transport equipment and robots that will work on putting together the various parts of the base. The main material, with which the base and mainly the interior frame will be built, is aluminium. Regolith pieces, specially designed by large 3-d printers, will be used to create an outer shell. Every part of the base will be protected from radiation by a surface made out of teflon and titanium. All rooms, will also be covered with a layer of lunar soil for extra protection.

First of all, we have decided on covering the moon base with a layer of lunar soil, which will protect the astronauts from constant radiation of the sun and deeper space. This will also protect them from the extreme environment such as extremely high and low temperatures. In addition the base will be covered by a shield made out of titanium and teflon, which will cover everything besides the solar panels and will provide protection from both radiation and meteorites.

Water will be provided by mining and melting the iced water that exists on the lunar poles. After the ice is mined, it will be transferred into a container where it will be exposed to high temperatures and as a result, the ice will melt. The water produced, will be filtered and then run through pipes providing the base with clean water. Of course, a water system that recycles moisture from urine, sweat and breath will be used in order to fulfill all needs of water.

Food will be cultivated by botanists in the greenhouse. There will be crops of high nutritious vegetables and fruit such as spinach, carrots, broccoli, cabbage, apples and more. These will be cultivated in a hydroponics system, but later on we’re planning on cultivating them in the lunar soil if it is possible. However, in order to fulfill the astronauts’ needs in protein and fat, spaceships will deliver tubes of food such as meat, pasta and sometimes even desserts.

The use of solar energy will be a sufficient way of attaining electrical power. However, just the use of solar panels as a source of energy will not be enough because much more electricity is needed to light up all the rooms, as well as providing light to the greenhouse. The solution to this is the use of kilopower method, small, lightweight fission power systems capable of providing up to 10 kilowatts of electrical power continuously for at least 10 years.

In the beginning, compressed air with the needed nitrogen and oxygen will be brought from earth. Later on, the oxygen will be extracted by the water ice using the process of electrolysis, which will basically divide the water melted from lunar ice, into both breathable oxygen and hydrogen for fuel. Also, oxygen will be extracted by the lunar soil using a method called molten salt electrolysis. In addition, the plants in the green-house will convert carbon dioxide to oxygen.

Our lunar base is mostly made for scientific reasons. We need to learn more about the moon which eventually might give us more information about our universe and our existence. Furthermore, our stay on the moon will also have the goal of bringing elements such as Hydrogen-3 back to earth, where its existence is very limited in order to create new environmentally friendly sources of energy. However, in the future, after we make sure that everything is ready for a further expansion of our colony, the needed construction will be done so that inhabiting the moon will be possible. At first of course, this inhabitation will just be staying on our satellite as a tourist, since the trip will be expensive.

Every day, at least half of the astronauts will be awake in case of emergency, while the others are asleep. When the rest wake up, the awake astronauts go to rest. The rest of the space crew will have to complete many different tasks. At first, everyone gets breakfast. Later on, a part of the crew will check if all systems operate correctly, while the others will prepare everything in the lab for research. After everything is 100% operational, the crew is ready to fulfill their roles. Some, will conduct experiments in the labs. Others will study the information that the rovers have collected. After all astronauts have completed their tasks, they will gather in the rooms to discuss their discoveries and their future study plans and then they will all workout at the gym in order to maintain healthy. Of course, there will be another check of the systems in order to ensure everything is okay. At the end of the day the astronauts will go to get ready for sleep and the rest of the crew will wake up and prepare to fulfill their roles. At first, one part of the crew will monitor the rovers and program them to collect new information. Then the botanists will take care of the plants in the greenhouse, check if there is enough food for the base, and experiment with new crops. The rest, will help mining the water ice and bringing it to base to be put in the container. After that, they will make sure the water filters are clean and they will go on conducting more experiments. They will gather at the rooms to discuss and the vicious cycle goes on.