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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.

Galaxy Investigator

郑州轻工业大学附属中学  河南省郑州市-金水区    China 18, 19   5 / 1 English
3D design software: Fusion 360



1.1 – Project Description

The lunar camp project is a future-focused program that aims to provide humans with a way to survive sustainably in space. We have been exploring space, and the establishment of a lunar camp will be an important milestone in humanity’s conquest of the universe. This project is dedicated to designing and manufacturing sustainable infrastructure that will enable human scientific exploration on the moon.

We hope to establish a base on the moon to explore experimental missions that are difficult to achieve on Earth, such as superconducting experiments at ultra-low temperatures in the permanent shadow zone on the moon; Observe the effects of low gravity on plant microorganisms; Observe the more distant universe on the moon without an atmosphere; And on the moon, by heating lunar soil, the scarce helium-3 and rare earth resources on Earth are exploited.
Our lunar base is also a base full of humanistic care, we plan to use the rotation of the base to simulate the gravity of the earth on the outermost side of the base to avoid the hazard of people in low gravity conditions, and design a special elevator to allow people to enter and exit the base safely.

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).

The main purpose of our lunar base is scientific research.

On the one hand, we want to solve some of the problems that humanity and the planet encounter. For example, we will use ultra-low temperature superconducting experiments in some permanent shadow areas of the moon, build a lunar rover to mine and utilize the moon’s sufficient mineral materials and helium-3 resources, and build rockets that can realize the energy transportation of the earth and the moon to solve the current problem of insufficient energy on the earth.

On the other hand, we will make use of the fact that the moon has no atmosphere to make astronomical observations, and hope that the lunar camp can comprehensively and systematically carry out lunar in place exploration and space exploration, which can deepen human understanding of the moon and space.

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

We will choose a reasonable location on the moon according to the needs of our scientific research and life.

There is a polar day region nearby, and part of the energy source for our base and lunar rover comes from the electricity provided by solar panels.

There is a permanent shade nearby, our water resources mainly come from ice water in the permanent shade zone, and some of the experiments in our scientific research also require ultra-low temperature environments in the permanent shade area. In addition, some liquid storage of hydrogen, oxygen, and helium also requires ultra-low temperature environments in permanent shadow zones

Flat and open areas, stable operation of the base and transportation of materials require open areas on the platform.

Based on the above needs, we chose the site near Shackleton Crater at the south pole of the Moon.

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.

Step 1: Preparation. We plan to first transport pre-prepared machines such as 3D printing robots, excavators and rover to the moon and prepare some water and food for pre-use.

Step 2: Site Selection Detection. Find the geographical environment we need on the moon, and the rover scans the lunar surface with ultrasound to find the best location for mining lunar soil.

Step 3: Base construction. After finding a suitable location, the excavator collects it, and the microwave melts the particles for 3D printing, mainly using the weathering layer on the surface of the lunar soil to print the shell of the base, and collecting the molten glass beads on the moon for the construction of glass materials in the base.

Step 4: Stay afloat. After the overall framework of the base is built, you can start planting some ecological crops and testing the normal operation of various control system detection systems.

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

We have designed a humanized base based on some environmental problems encountered on the moon, such as low gravity, meteorites, radiation, and high temperature difference

Low gravity: Our base’s own rotation can achieve the effect of simulating the gravity of the earth, which can protect astronauts from the harm of microgravity to the human body.

Meteorite: There is a bionic skeleton similar to a spider’s web outside the base to gather friends with a certain self-repair function, and the central column also adopts a bionic structure similar to the ratio of the inner diameter of the bone to the outer diameter of 8:11 while reinforcing the base, which can make the base resistant to small and medium-sized meteorites

Radiation: During the construction process, our surface will be covered with a layer of lunar soil, which can effectively resist radiation by using the characteristics of lunar soil and moonrock.

Temperature difference: The chamber inside will cover the lunar soil, and the extremely low thermal conductivity of the lunar soil allows us to maintain the temperature in the base well.

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

Water: Our base mainly relies on collecting ice water on the moon to maintain the normal operation of the base, and there is a device for water reuse in the cabin, which can collect and treat the wastewater discharged from the human body and plants and put it into the water storage device of the storage compartment to achieve the effect of reuse.

Food: We will also build a biological regenerative life support system modeled on the Yuegong-1 and some facilities of the space station that have been realized, and the organic matter produced in the ecological capsule can meet the needs of astronauts for sugars, proteins, fats, vitamins, and mineral elements.

Air: Our oxygen sources mainly include microbial algae, green plants and oxygen concentrators. Microbial algae have a strong ability to produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide, green plants can adjust the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide, and our base can also produce a lot of oxygen with an oxygen generator.

Power: The energy required for the normal operation of the base mainly comes from the nuclear power plant, and the daily electricity consumption mainly comes from the electrical energy converted by solar panels. We will set up large livestock batteries in storage compartments, and transport electrical energy to various locations on the base through animal batteries.

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

Liquid waste recycling device: collects the sweat of astronauts and exhaled water vapor, which can be purified into reclaimed water that can be quoted.

The excreta generated by daily life can be simply treated and reused in the ecological cabin and used as fertilizer.

Some harmful garbage that cannot be reused needs to be dehydrated, compressed, stockpiled, and then burned in the atmosphere when it returns to Earth.

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

The base is in contact with the Earth: We plan to build an observatory near the lunar base, where the Earth is always suspended a few degrees above the horizon. Suitable terrain can be selected, and antennas for low-frequency radio charged observation can be built in depressions or craters to obscure the earth. At the same time, high-frequency antennas for communication are specially built at high places to maintain contact with the earth.

Communication between bases: We will establish communication links between lunar bases through lunar communication satellites, and the orbit of the lunar communication satellite is an orbit around the Earth-Moon Lagrange point, and stable communication between bases can be achieved by operating lunar frontal communication satellites in this orbit.

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 our lunar camp, research focuses on the study of superconducting experiments, astronomical observations, the utilization of the mineral resource helium-3 resources in geology, and the exploration of low-gravity environments.

Some permanent shadow areas in the moon are in the ideal environment for superconducting experiments below minus 100 degrees all year round; The fact that the moon has no atmosphere also makes the moon a good astronomical observation site, which can serve as a stepping stone for human exploration of the deeper part of the universe; The moon also contains a lot of rare earth resources and helium-3- resources that are scarce on the earth, and by transporting the resources in the moon to the earth, it can promote the better development of human beings on the earth; The center of our base, including the ecological module, is in the low-gravity environment of the moon, and the growth of some plant microorganisms in the low-gravity environment can be observed.Section.

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

Our training content includes three aspects: general training, aerospace environment training and flight simulation training.

General training: 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 swing, swimming, water skiing, surfing, skiing, climbing and bandage.

Aerospace environment training includes:(1) Aircraft flight training: to exercise the adaptability and proficiency of the air environment. Vestibular function training, commonly used spiral ladder, four-poster swing and swivel chair to prevent or reduce the occurrence of space motion sickness.(2) Weightlessness training: commonly used aircraft for parabolic flight and the use of neutralizing buoyancy simulation pool for weightless action practice.(3) Overweight training: Large centrifuges are commonly used to enhance the tolerance of personnel to overweight.(4) Aerospace living environment training: isolation capsules are commonly used to improve the adaptability of personnel to the silent environment and life rules of space.(5) Emergency life training: lifesaving training of ejection seats or lifesaving towers according to different lifesaving schemes.

Flight simulation training is divided into 4 stages, first of all, all astronauts are familiar with their respective operation content in their respective positions; followed by flight subject training; The latter two stages are flight procedures and comprehensive training of various projects, such as communication between astronauts and ground control centers, comprehensive handling of flight emergencies and faults, and familiarity with the whole process of flight missions. The simulation training also includes comprehensive exercises in spacecraft landing training, spacecraft docking training, out-of-cabin, intravehicular and extravehicular activities, recovery and life-saving aspects. Ground simulation equipment used to train astronauts usually includes weightless aircraft, neutralization and buoyancy simulation cells, human centrifuges, vacuum chambers, and various flight simulators.

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.

Our vehicles on the moon mainly use a sealed, in-cabin pressurized electric lunar rover. The lunar rover is equipped with environmental control and life support systems that provide oxygen, water, food, and carbon dioxide processing and equipment to maintain temperature and humidity. It’s like a small living cabin that can be moved. The pressurized lunar rover also has an airlock module for astronauts to access and travels longer distances and works longer than open lunar rovers.

We mainly travel to and from the moon by launch vehicles, spacecraft. Before we land on the moon, we will build a lunar orbital space station, through which the lunar orbiting space station can be reused by the spacecraft that landed on the moon.