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.
Third Place – ESA Member states
Oban High School Oban-Argyll and Bute United Kingdom 16, 15, 14, 13 5 / 1 English
3D design software: Fusion 360
This project looks to create a base camp on the moon. We have a few domes on the surface, whereas most of our design is going to be situated underground. The base is able to comfortably accommodate 10 astronauts and possibly more if crews work in shifts, and contains basic amenities such as toilets, dormitories, a kitchen and a common area but also more work related rooms such as workshops, storage spaces, labs and a greenhouse. The base also has an additional dome separate from the main base that contains high energy and high temperature processes such as electrolysis chambers and furnaces, this separation helps protect the main base in the event of a failure of these systems. The base is primarily constructed of Aluminium due to its strength and lightness as well as the fact that any extra Aluminium required for the maintenance of the base can be extracted from ore in the lunar regolith using the FFC Cambridge process which is one of the processes being researched at this base. The base also uses the lunar soil as a building material to protect the crew from radiation.
The main reason for the installation of this base is to serve as a scientific research platform on the moon. This base would allow astronauts to stay stationed on the moon for much longer meaning more experiments and projects could be handled in the lunar environment, which in return would improve our understanding of the moon and our universe significantly in the long run. Another major purpose would be to examine the environment and the way certain things react to it as well as studying the lunar surface, getting practice growing food on the moon and examining results of long term living in lower gravity environments. This would be information that could easily be gathered and distributed back for scientific use on earth. This information could be very useful in the development of future spacecraft, in the planning of future astronaut training or even improving technology on earth.
Our moon base camp would be built at the south pole of the moon on the ridge between the De Gerlache Crater and the Shackleton Crater. This location is advantageous as when the sun illuminates this part of the moon, it hovers just below or just above the horizon, creating relatively stable temperatures upwards of 54°C. The sun being available helps with the growth of crops in the greenhouse and the production of energy for the base using the solar panels as well as preventing equipment from permanently freezing. This location also has access to many essential resources such as ice deposits and lunar regolith containing ores such as Anorthosite. The terrain is also very easy to traverse by foot or rover due the the gentle ridge slopes and sparse ground debris. The location also has direct satellite connection to earth due to the direction it is facing.
As explained before the base is made of mainly aluminium due to its availability on the moon as well as on earth and its lightness, strength and material properties, it has also been well tested in a space environment as the ISS is constructed of it. The base is primarily constructed of domes and cylinders to minimise pressure points on the edges and reduce the risk of hill breaches due to the pressure difference with outside of the base. This design choice also makes the building of the structure much easier as these rounded structures can be segmented and easily transported on spacecraft and assembled. Most of the base will also be covered in a few metres of lunar soil to protect the base from flying debris and radiation. The ore Anorthosite also produces Silicon as well as Aluminium in the FFC Cambridge process which can be used to manufacture some components of the base on the moon.
The only equipment that would be needed to be brought from earth are excavation robots and mining facilities to get the necessary dirt, ice and ore. The original base modules can also be transported via spacecraft to the moon to help ensure humans can survive on the moon while the permanent base is set up. 3D printers would also be utilised in the construction and maintenance of the base as specific components and tools can be created from feedstock plastic and metal that would be transported in from earth.
As explained before, we plan to build our camp mostly underground and cover it with lunar soil over the top so our astronauts are protected from solar radiation when they are inside the building. Lunar soil is good at protecting against radiation as a few metres of this material will protect against most radiation types. This soil will also protect against asteroids and flying debris that the astronauts and base will experience. Space suits and moon rovers will be used by the astronauts to keep them safe and better help them when they travel outside of the camp’s walls. Each module is separated from the main base by interior airlocks which can seal and help keep the crew alive in the case of a hull breach. The base also has a central air cleaning and circulation system but this can be isolated to keep a few or just one module survivable in case of a breach. The only modules that have their own air systems are the workshop, science lab and entrance. This is in case these rooms become contaminated or toxic and can prevent this air from circulating round the whole base. This base also has air filtration systems to prevent harmful gases and particles from being breathed in by the crew, for instance lunar dust has silicate in it which if inhaled in huge amounts can cause damage to the lungs. All the high energy processes are kept separate from the living modules which can prevent the whole base from being destroyed in the case of a catastrophic failure. The pipes transporting the products of these processes to the base also have pressure activated charges which will breach the pipe in the case of a pressure surge, preventing the base from being damaged.
The moon camp will get its power supply mostly from the sun using 99 solar panels which can pivot to always face the sun, that will be put into place around the base which would produce power during the day, powering the base as well as charging lithium ion batteries for the base at night. These solar panels will produce a maximum of 135.63 kW this means in 12 hours the solar panels produce 5.86 MJ in total.
Air is produced in multiple ways from splitting water to the FFC Cambridge process; the air in the modules will not include nitrogen as nitrogen is not needed by humans to survive. Oxygen will be produced by feeding water melted from ice into an electrolysis chamber to split it into oxygen and hydrogen. The hydrogen is transported to storage tanks to be used as rocket fuel and the oxygen is transported to the main base. The FFC Cambridge process is more experimental and also produces oxygen which will be used for rocket fuel and breathable air.
Water is again produced by melting down ice deposits and is either used to make oxygen or is piped to tanks in the base to be used as drinking water. The water is filtered to remove impurities and undrinkable molecules so it is safe to drink. This water is used for drinking and other systems however most of it is recycled and refiltered again.
The majority of food is imported from earth however it is supplemented with crops and food produced on the moon. The food produced on the moon is not the primary food source however if there is ever an issue with the transport of food from earth, the crew can survive on the products grown on the moon.
The organic waste produced by the astronauts can be composted or used as fertiliser for the growing plants. We would also like to implement trash-to-gas reactors as well, as they can be used to turn trash into gas that the crew could reuse in the building or for rovers, as the reactors use a thermal degradation process to convert waste items into a gas. Air and water filtration would also be used to limit the amount of waste. Liquid waste products will be filtered and recycled to minimise the stress on the water production systems and to help conserve energy, water that is clean but has been run through systems and is unable to be drunk will be used for toilets and the watering of plants.
We will be using comms arrays and a high-gain 4.2 metres, deployable parabolic antenna to send communications to the Queqiao relay satellite as a means to communicate with Earth. The Queqiao relay satellite is a satellite launched to be in an L2 halo orbit where it’s in the perfect place to be able to send communications from the Moon to Earth and vice versa without any problem. This is because this position is in the one place where it can have access to the far side of the moon yet still reach Earth without fear of the Moon blocking its transmissions. The transmissions from Queqiao can be brought in contact with other LEO satellites to relay the messages to whatever company needed.
We also need communications on the moon. As such, basic radios will be implemented to allow communication with not only the astronauts but also other moon bases.
The topics our research will focus on helping will be low gravity environment and geology. As these two topics will be the main focus of the base, gathering information about said topics will be the main priority when it comes to the usage of research. Drilling methods will be used to gather ice and soil which can be further examined and experimented on back at the camp. These experiments can be done to find out more data on specific areas such as the components found in the soil, how radiation affects the elements on the moon, how much information samples of soil and ice dating back to the solar system formation can be salvaged and even how growing plants on lunar soil will fare considering the different build of the ground.
The gym that is built into the base, although there to support astronauts’ physical and mental conditions, will also be available as a method of gathering information on how low gravity affects the human body. This can also give way to information about how an individual’s routines are affected by this peculiar change in environment, while also providing information on how to suspect symptoms of low gravity affinity in a person depending on how their body fares physically. We will also study the FFC Cambridge process as it is still in experimental stages due to the lack of regolith on earth however on the moon progress will drastically increase. This process will help to implement larger moon bases in the future due to it producing building materials locally on the moon.
To help prepare the astronauts for the moon mission ahead we would like to add the following as part of their training program;
Have the candidates run be thoroughly briefed about conditions, the environment that can be expected and the sort of problems along with the solutions that may come up while away.
Have drills, exercises and then overall tests within lunar environment scenarios brought to life in simulators of the exact problems that the debrief talks about.
Incorporate underwater/pool training in their regimes. Swimming pools can simulate the feeling of low gravity, which the astronauts would have to get used to before leaving for the moon. Performing drills, walking or just simply floating in the water will have them adjust to the feeling of low gravity and overtime will help them learn how to manoeuvre in it with their suits. This has been proved to help as astronauts preparing for the Apollo missions had also undergone the same training.
Build a mock base. Safety protocols can be run in mock up bases to make sure that no one in the team will freeze up and that everyone will know how to conduct themselves in a time of emergency. The mock up bases will also be of use for familiarity, as they present the opportunity for the candidates to get to know the labs and workshops while also offering a chance to see the living quarters to get used to layout.
Long term isolation training. Crews will be trained to work together and corporate in long term isolation together in a mock base to simulate the social aspect and challenges of being alone.
We will be using a rover to drive astronauts to and from mission sites, other potential camps, mining sites or to just simply explore the land. The design for our rover has the vehicle use solar power to produce energy as well as a charger to connect to the main base, which would account for powering the machine up. As for how we would travel back and forth between the moon and earth, we have landed on using reusable rockets like the SpaceX Starship to make the journey. This is a great idea since the rockets could be refuelled both on earth, with the resources there, and on the moon ,with the hydrogen and oxygen separated from the lunar ice water gathered from there. Space suits would also be supplied to allow astronauts to traverse the lunar landscape on foot. EVA time would be limited however due to radiation exposure.
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