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.
Liceul Teoretic “Emil Racovita” Baia Mare Baia Mare-Maramureş Romania 16, 17 3 / English
3D design software: Fusion 360
About fifty years ago, mankind achieved a great step in its evolution with the successful landing of the Apollo 11 spacecraft on the surface of the Moon. On that day, July 20th, 1969, American astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface and uttered the famous words “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”. Today we repeat history itself, but instead of just an expedition, we will create a fully sustainable base of operations. This colony will be the begining of the new era, The Interplanetary Era.
The moon will become humanity’s playground where we can innovate, create and adapt. With this colony we will lay the foundations of interplanetary travel while discovering new technologies that will help us there on earth. Efficient mineral extractions, Bio engineered crops, more efficient renewables. This will only be the beginning of what it is yet to come. Our base will house 4 pioneers of various professions and will posses cutting edge facilities including high efficiency aquaponics, advanced training and workout equipment, compact but fully kitted out cookhouse and space-efficient bunkrooms. A new crew will be brought every 5 years along with advanced spare parts and commodities that will not be able to be efficiently manufactured on-site.
The moon base will be situated 30km from Shoemaker Crater, near a mountain range. We chose this location for several reasons:
Geological interest: The area near Shoemaker Crater is geologically interesting and offers the opportunity to study the lunar surface and geology in detail. The mountain range near the base site provides a diverse range of geological features to explore, including impact craters, volcanic features, and ancient rocks while also offering protection against meteors.
Communication and navigation: The location near Shoemaker Crater provides a good line of sight to Earth, making it easier to communicate with mission control on Earth and receive navigation signals.
Resource availability: As mentioned earlier, the location near Shoemaker Crater offers access to water deposits stored deep within the crater. In addition to water, the area may also have other important resources such as helium-3, which could be used as fuel for fusion reactors.
In all three building phases, we will use compact, pre-made rooms and walls brought from Earth via single-use shuttles. The rooms and facilities will be assembled, connected, and welded together to ensure they function properly. The outer shell of the base will be made of reinforced concrete coated in titanium-lead alloy plating, while the interior walls will be made of aluminum plates. The base will be equipped with cutting-edge ventilation systems, water purification and sewage treatment facilities, as well as life support systems.
Once the base is complete, we will begin refining local resources. We will extract natural water deposits from the Shoemaker crater and transform them into oxygen using electrolysis, then send them via a pipeline that will transport gases from the Shoemaker crater to the base. The soon-to-be-usable water will be transported from nearby deposits via unmanned rovers and then purified using advanced distillation methods. Additionally, we will mine regolith from the moon’s surface and refine it into usable materials such as metals and gases. This will help us in building necessary simple components and parts instead of solely relying on Earth shipments. Research data and new technology will be traded for complex components, various goods, and rare metals that cannot be processed and built on-site.
The pioneers inside the colony will be shielded from natural hazards such as solar radiation, meteor strikes, and dangerous lunar dust thanks to the thick concrete exterior walls coated in titanium-lead alloy plating, the strategic location near the mountain range, and special electronic dust repellers that will prevent the dust from entering. Furthermore, the base will be equipped with advanced life support systems, a ventilation complex, emergency power and oxygen generators, sewage treatment facilities, thermo regulators, as well as various recreational facilities that will ensure the well-being and mental health of the crew. The interior of the base will be pressurized to create an environment with gases and pressure similar to Earth’s.
Air: As previously mentioned, during the first phase of base construction, known as Operation Oxygen, large automated extractors will mine frozen water from raw deposits in the Shoemaker crater, and rovers will transport it to special refiners where it will be purified and transformed into oxygen using electrolysis. This procedure will convert 2 liters of water into 1 liter of oxygen. Our 4-person crew will consume about 8000 liters of oxygen each day. The oxygen will be transported to the base via a pipeline made out of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy, fitted with solar-powered pumps that will maintain a constant flow of O2. The fish tank will receive its oxygenated water from the plants in the aquaponics system.
Water: For water, we plan to build a machine that will use membrane filtration and distillation techniques to purify water extracted from nearby deposits with rovers. During Operation Life support, this water will be used to fill the fish tank and start the aquaponics circuit. After Operation New Earth, we will only need water for our astronauts (around 8l/day for 4 people), sinks (7l/min), and showers (50l/use). Once we fill up the internal water storage (which is about 2000l), we will recycle used water using the methods mentioned above. However, as no water recycling system is completely efficient, we will still need new water shipments from time to time.
Electricity: Regarding electricity, we will be using solar panels and high-density batteries. The solar panels will use perovskite technology for their 30% efficiency and ease of manufacturing. In total, we will need around 65 solar panels measuring roughly 1.6 square meters each to generate 50 kWh. To keep the solar panels clean all the time, we will use magnetic fields that will repel moon dust and other impurities. Each solar panel will generate around 762 Wh daily, and the excess will be stored in heavy-duty batteries.
We calculated this using the following formula: Energy/day = area of solar panel x solar irradiance x conversion efficiency. During times when there is no sunlight, we will be using the energy stored in batteries.
Food: For our food supply, we will utilize an innovative system called aquaponics that creates a self-sustaining environment using a fish tank, hydroponics system, and a series of pipes and filters.
The fish tank will have a capacity of 2000 liters and will yield approximately 70 kg of edible fish each year. To maximize efficiency, we have selected the trout species as it is one of the most effective medium-sized fish for cultivation.
The hydroponics system will consist of several basins for growing tomatoes and lettuce with a total area of 80 square meters, yielding a total of 1000 kg of fresh produce annually. This will provide a nutritious and balanced diet for our pioneers.
To determine the appropriate amount of fertilizer for our crops, we used the following formula: Volume of water = Total biomass of fish / Stocking density
In terms of waste disposal, the biomass excreted by the pioneers will be refined into fertilizer for the aquaponics system, while the more liquid waste will be filtered and reintroduced into the water network. The water purifier will handle all of these needs and efficiently transform waste into usable materials.
Our base communicates with the Earth station and other Moon colonies through ultra-light radio signals and satellite communication. The satellite communication system uses high-end technologies and enormous amounts of solar-based power for sending and receiving video and audio signals. The 32m² radio-communications antenna on the roof of the base is capable of transmitting data at a speed of up to 201.998 km/s, which ensures the best data transmission speed.
The purpose of our base is to develop and test new technologies that will not only benefit us on Earth, but also enable us to achieve interplanetary travel. We will focus on the development of bio-engineered crops, automated extractors, efficient power plants, reliable renewable energy sources, ultra-light vehicles, reusable rockets capable of automatic fuel regeneration, and ultralight bionic human parts with lattice gas healing systems. This base will serve as a testing ground for new technologies and will fulfill a greater purpose than that of a regular colony. It will pave the way for our future.
The training that our lucky pioneers will undergo will be similar to that of ISS astronauts, but with a few additional skill sets and professions necessary for survival on the moon. They will receive comprehensive training in areas such as geology, basic and advanced construction, botany, astronomy, cooking, nutrition, and more.
Two of the colonists will be skilled construction workers, responsible for building and maintaining the base’s infrastructure. One colonist will be an electrician, responsible for the base’s power systems, while the other will be a scientist, responsible for conducting experiments and overseeing research on the moon.
In addition to these specialized roles, all members of the team will need to have a broad range of skills and knowledge to ensure the success of the mission. This will include skills such as medical training, problem-solving, and adaptability, as well as an understanding of the various systems and technologies that will be used on the moon.
The training program will be rigorous and intense, designed to prepare the pioneers for any challenges they may face during their time on the moon. By the time they depart for their mission, they will be fully equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to not only survive but thrive on the lunar surface.
To transit between the Moon and Earth and exchange various goods, we will be using cheap, high-capacity single-use shuttles. This approach will ensure that travel is minimized while keeping costs down.
For exploration, extraction, and transportation purposes, we will be using a combination of manned rovers, such as the buggy, and unmanned, remotely controlled, and automated rovers. One of these rovers will be designated for exterior labor, while the other two will be responsible for indoor resource transportation. This approach will allow us to collect and transport resources more efficiently, while also reducing the risk to our pioneers.
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