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Moon Camp Pioneers 2022 – 2023 Project Gallery

 

In Moon Camp Pioneers, each team’s mission is to 3D design a complete Moon Camp using the software of their choice. They also have to explain how they will use local resources, protect astronauts from the dangers of space and describe the living and working facilities in their Moon Camp.

HOPE OF THE MOON

郑州轻工业大学附属中学  河南省郑州市-金水区    China 19   3 / 2 English
3D design software: Fusion 360



1.1 – Project Description

Regarding the lunar camp, we are mainly based on pentagonal facilities, and the first floor of the main building is the main control room to control the operation of the entire camp.  Five rooms on the second floor provide accommodation for astronauts, and contain beds, windows, tables, toilets and other infrastructure to provide normal life. There is a space elevator in the middle of the main building, which can reach the observatory to observe the space situation, and the lower drill can reach the bottom to explore the lunar underground and develop and utilize water resources.  There are five cabins in the perimeter, which are experimental cabin, cultivation cabin, fitness cabin, medical cabin and storage cabin. Each capsule has its own role, providing more complete services and exploration for lunar camps.  Outside the cabin there are transport robots, exploration robots and signal robots to provide physical strength and signal conversion for the astronauts. There are also solar panels around the exterior to provide power throughout the camp.

1.2 – Why do you want to build a Moon Camp? Explain the main purpose of your Moon Camp (for example scientific, commercial and/or touristic purposes).

Is it possible to find a permanent human habitation beyond Earth? The lunar base program was originally designed to answer this question. The first step of my lunar camp is to survey and explore the moon to see if there are resources available to the earth, as well as the development and utilization of extraterrestrial resources. Further testing of the lunar environment shows that it can develop into a place for human habitation. Our lunar camp is currently aimed at astronauts who can not only have a comfortable environment in the moon to conduct experiments, but also have convenient machines for experimentation and development.

2.1 – Where do you want to build your Moon Camp? Explain your choice.

Chosen for construction in the Aitken Basin at the south pole of the Moon.Located on the southern back of the moon, there are many mountains, more than 80% of the time can get sunlight, the temperature difference is low, and the environment is conducive to habitation.It is the largest and oldest impact basin on the moon, and in-depth study of it may reveal the material status of the lower lunar crust and even the upper lunar mantle, which is conducive to the conduct of experiments.The basin has a low topography (13 km difference from the surrounding highlands) and a thin lunar crust, and whether it is in the passive or active mode of lunar sea basalt origin, a large amount of lunar sea basalt will appear, which is conducive to the construction of the camp.

2.2 – How do you plan to build your Moon Camp? Consider how you can utilise the Moon’s natural resources, and which materials you would need to bring from Earth. Describe the techniques, materials and your design choices.

First launch artificial satellites, select the best site for the camp for survey, use 3D printers to assemble components, mine and use oxygen, aluminum, iron and other resources in the moon rock to produce oxygen for daily use, and expand the moon with metals, glass and other raw materials. Water from lunar camps is synthesized by mining water ice at the bottom of the moon. A compressor through a heat exchanger compresses the refrigerant into a high-pressure saturated gas (ammonia or freon), which is then condensed by a condenser. After throttling through the throttling device, it is passed into the evaporator, and the medium that needs to be cooled is cooled and exchanged to achieve a constant temperature system inside the camp. Using the adsorption performance of molecular sieve using the oxygen generator, through the physical principle, the oil-free compressor is used as the power to separate the nitrogen in the air from the oxygen, and finally obtain a high concentration of oxygen. It is an automated equipment that uses zeolite molecular sieve as adsorbent, adsorbent adsorption, pressure reduction and desorption to adsorb and release oxygen from the air, thereby separating oxygen. Zeolite molecular sieve is a spherical granular adsorbent with micropores on the surface and inside after a special pore treatment process, which is white. Its pore type characteristics enable the kinetic separation of O2 and N2 and the supply of oxygen.

2.3 – How does your Moon Camp protect and provide shelter to your astronauts against the Moon’s harsh environment?

With regard to radiation, the role of camp building materials and the thickening of camp walls, as well as the fact that the entire camp is in a closed environment, under normal circumstances, radiation does not have much impact on life inside the camp. Regarding meteorite impacts, the camp is built on the largest crater in the moon, which not only effectively prevents meteorite impacts, but also facilitates the entry of lunar dust, and there are multiple monitoring devices outside just in case. Micrometeorite collision protection, stability in low gravity, local materials for the manufacture of explosives, equipment automation, remote control and robot manipulation, manufacture of high-strength, high-durability lightweight materials that can work at vacuum and low temperatures, supply of batteries, fuel cells or radiation energy. In the event of an emergency, the camp contains an escape system to protect the astronauts’ safety.

3.1 – How will your Moon Camp provide astronauts with sustainable access to basic needs like water, food, air and power?

Firstly, the main path of air generation is the smelting of lunar soil and rock. A large amount of oxygen can be produced by melting electrolysis, which is the main source of oxygen on the moon; Secondly, carbon dioxide is chemically or microbiologically treated through an air circulation device to convert it back into breathable oxygen; Finally, if sufficient, partial water can be desorbed to generate a certain amount of oxygen in hydrogen.Considering the construction cycle of the camp, in the early stage, before the camp was able to achieve self-sufficiency, it was mainly supported by packaged food brought from the Earth. After the construction was completed, it was mainly supported by food grown in a space greenhouse. The selection of crops to be planted was based on the nutrition table to ensure the normal vital signs of astronauts.

3.2 – How will your Moon Camp deal with the waste produced by the astronauts on the Moon?

Domestic garbage and feces will be vacuum sealed and stored after dehydration, and when the cargo spacecraft supplies the space station, these household garbage will be loaded into the empty cargo spacecraft, and then the cargo spacecraft will be separated from the space station, slowed down and then burned by the high heat generated by aerodynamic heating. Liquid waste (urine, domestic wastewater) enters the water circulation system, purifies it and reuses. Picked rhizomes, old leaves, feces will enter the waste bioconverter, urine will enter the urine treatment system, paper towels, packaging bags, etc. in order to reduce the volume will first be compressed, vacuumed, and then sealed with sealed bags, put in the warehouse where the garbage is stored, and when the cargo spacecraft transporting supplies comes and returns, it will burn up with the spacecraft when it enters the atmosphere.

3.3 – How will your Moon Camp maintain communications with Earth and other Moon bases?

Astronauts carry portable life support system backpacks with VHF radios that transmit sound and biosensor data from spacesuits to other lunar camps or Earth’s communications systems, as well as transmit sound signals from lunar modules back to astronauts in spacesuits. The lunar module communication system sends signals back to Earth using the S-band, an ultra-high-frequency band that penetrates the Earth’s ionosphere without deflection or reflection, and uses the S-band to transmit and maintain contact with Earth and other lunar camps.

4.1 – What scientific topic(s) would be the focus of the research in your Moon Camp? Explain which experiments you plan to do on the Moon (for example in the topics of geology, low gravity environment, biology, technology, robotics, astronomy etc.).

In the lunar camp, astronauts conduct a variety of experiments, but mainly biology and biotechnology, in short, biology and technology development, and human research are still the main research topics. To this end, the lunar camp also has a special biological research cabin, and there are breeding platforms for biological research. There are also experiments that can be carried out in the lunar environment, such as cold atom experiments, microgravity experiments, plant cultivation experiments and so on. Testing in space on human tissue chips are thumb drive-sized devices that contain human cells that represent the function of an organ. To better understand the effects of microgravity on human health, and translate that understanding into research on human health on Earth, scientists sent human tissue chips to the space station. Establishment of a low-Earth orbit economic sphere, from satellite deployment to space research. The technology to grow food in microgravity in space or in space buildings could help humans explore farther from Earth. To prepare for these missions, the space station explored a number of techniques for growing plants. On August 10, 2015, the astronauts tasted their first space-grown salad, and now the astronauts are growing radishes and various vegetables such as peppers, cucumbers and more. The evolution of fluid physics studies covers our planet, but sending them into space could help us better understand how they flow, and the study of space fluids has evolved from basic research to testing applications ranging from advanced medical devices to heat transfer systems.

5.1 – What would you include in your astronaut training programme, to help prepare the astronauts for a Moon mission?

Astronauts are a kind of special profession engaged in space activities, they have to complete special work tasks such as flight monitoring, operation, control, communication, maintenance and scientific research inside and outside the spacecraft under special environmental conditions, and can live normally. This requires that they be trained rigorously, so that they have excellent physical and psychological qualities, strong adaptability to special environmental factors in spaceflight, and proficiency in spacecraft and various knowledge and skills that should be possessed to complete flight missions. Astronaut training generally includes more than 100 subjects such as physical training, psychological training, basic theory training, professional and technical training, survival and lifesaving training and large-scale cooperation. To this end, the lunar camp has specially established a fitness cultivation capsule to provide physical protection for astronauts to avoid physical and mental problems on the moon for a long time. The basic training content of astronauts includes: relevant theoretical knowledge, such as astronomy, geography, geology, meteorology, atmospheric physics, flight mechanics, computer, radio navigation, piloting, rocket and spacecraft construction, etc.; Necessary medical knowledge and rescue techniques; Sports include fuhu, swing, swimming, water skiing, surfing, skiing, climbing and bandage.

5.2 – What space vehicles will your future Moon mission need? Describe the vehicles found in your Moon camp and consider how you will travel to and from Earth, and explore new destinations on the Moon’s surface.

The purpose of establishing a lunar camp is to conduct scientific research, explore the resources and potential value of the moon, and prepare for future space exploration. Lunar campsites can provide scientists and astronauts with a base to live and work on the surface of the moon, enabling them to conduct on-site research and development, such as conducting scientific activities such as astronomical observations, developing lunar craters, smelting lunar soil and rocks, and mining various mineral resources such as helium-3, in order to better understand the characteristics and potential of the moon and provide a foothold for human exploration towards further goals Provide construction materials and even propellant for spacecraft flying to further planets, laying the groundwork for future human migration to the moon.