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.
ŠC Ptuj, Strojna šola Ptuj-Maribor Slovenia 16, 17, 18 6 / English
3D design software: Fusion 360
https://www.ptujvesolje.si/moon-camp-challange/moon-squirrels
We started the project with a clear goal in our minds, to populate as many people as possible on as many planets as possible. We plan to place the habitat in a safe cave where it would be safe from deep space radiation temperature fluctuations and comets. At the beginning of our civilization, people were settling in caves, and it is the most primitive way of living yet effective. The problem with living in a cave on the Moon is that they are hardly accessible. We solved that problem with a platform that is being lifted by electric winches. We call it the cave gondola. This would get our astronauts safely to the bottom of the cave. When you are in a cave there are multiple benefits and all the problems are worth it. We are going to help ourselves with our Moon rovers which are designed for different purposes and will therefore be useful for building and 3D printing. We will supply ourselves with food from greenhouses and water from north pole glaciers of water.
The main focus will be on the development of technologies that would serve to sustainable living away from Earth. . And if there is no way back there is only a reasonable thing (from our point of view) to colonize another planet. The good start is our Moon, which can be a stepping stone to reach deeper in the space. There we will use all knowledge from mistakes on Earth to not repeat the same mistakes. On the Moon, there is a constant need for innovative technologies. But maybe things will change. And the story of the Moon exploration will inspire young generations to save the Earth. Or it will be that innovation developed on the Moon will resolve Earth’s biggest problems. Anyway, as adaptive beings we will find the way out of this mess. We look forward with optimism.
We want to build our habitat in a lava tube. We want to enter the lava tube from the pit crater. That is when a tube collapses under gravitational force and creates an opening. More specifically we want to build our habitat in the Marius Hill region. This pit was discovered in 2008 by the Japanese Kaguya spacecraft. There are a lot of different pit diameters. Ranging from 5 meters to 900 meters. We are looking for one that is about 60 meters in diameter. The cave is about 70 meters deep. We want to land with a rocket at a close distance from our pit to minimise issues with transportation. At the location that is backed by a wall to not Moon dust around.
Phase one – Firstly we plan to build solar panels and a nuclear power plant to power all the necessary equipment.
Phase two– After the location is chosen from pictures via satellites,rovers customized for building started working on the cave gondola so we could have access to the cave. Alongside that on the north pole are autonomically rovers/ 3d printers building expedition bases. Because of the distance from the main base, there is a need for those labs to be printed with . That is a mix of water, lunar regolith and little cement. Only cement would be needed to be carried there.
Phase three – After the lifting platform is finished, we would use it to get folded habitats to the bottom of the cave. They will be unfolded and connected with tunnels. That way it is easier to transport and is suitable for more people. We would use folded habitats at this stage because it is a more predictable method. Labs printed out of lunarcrete are at the development stage and should be tested if they are suitable for astronauts living there.
Phase four – after everything is ready, the settling of the people would begin. Our concept rocket would carry the first five people to the Moon and they would stay there for 6 to 7 months.
The camp is based in a cave and is protected by itself. There are multiple benefits of building in a cave. In the underground, there is a constant . At the surface, there is a temperature range of 200+ degrees Celsius. The cave is used as a shield from UV and deep space radiation. Because there is thick atmosphere and on the Moon there is a lot bigger radiation. If we were not in a cave there would be meters of the Moon’s regolith needed to minimize radiation to what is on Earth. At the surface, there is a chance that the habitat can be hit by a steroid or space trash. Habitat is prefabricated on Earth and is unfolded on the Moon. Made out of steel and serves to airtight breading oxygen. There is also a protection wall that stops dust from entering the cave.
At the north pole where there are the expedition bases, there is a place where ice is trapped. From there we will extract ice with an autonomic rover that is converted into a cistern to transport water. In the future when there will be a need for supplying more people with water, we will start building a water supply network. Current research shows that the Moon is around 600 billion kilos of water.
Food:
At the cave, there will be a separate building in which astronauts will grow vegetables with hydroponics. That is a technique in which plants are grown in nutrient-rich water instead of soil. With that method, there are big savings in water consumption.
Power:
We would get electricity from two sources because on the Moon there is nobody to help. Solar panels would be our main source. Because it is tested under various harsh conditions. But on the Moon is a problem because there is a Moon night that lasts for 14 days. During that time it is critical to store energy. Lithium batteries are heavy and can’t withstand that high big temperature range. So, at night there is a nuclear power plant that supplies the necessary energy during that time. But that technology is still in experimental phases under that condition.
Air:
On the Moon there is a lot of oxygen, but not in a form that our lungs can access. Oxygen is inside minerals. To get it into the gas form there is a process of electrolysis. That process is common on Earth and is used to produce aluminium.
Managing waste is crucial for any long-term human presence on the Moon. The first solution is to implement a closed-loop system that recycles water and air. This system involves filtrating water physical elements through sand filters. The chemical filtration with bacteria to get out pure drinking water. Additionally, reducing waste at the source is critical in minimizing the amount of waste produced. All things that are sent to the Moon must be multi-purpose. Even plastics paper and organic waste going to be recycled for different purposes.
We propose building an interplanetary Internet. That technology has the potential to revolutionize deep-space communication and enable real-time collaboration between scientists and engineers from Earth and the Moon. By creating a network of satellites that works like one big unit, we can overcome the challenges of long-distance communication. That way would serve as a foundation for future space missions into a galaxy. However, that is a multi-stage plan and will require a lot of financing and research before it will be built. There will be a need to develop new communication protocols and the deployment of additional communication relays to ensure reliable and efficient communication between users. Overall, the Interplanetary Internet is an exciting concept with the potential to revolutionize deep-space communication and enable discoveries in space exploration.
The main focus will be on the development of technologies that would serve to sustainable living away from Earth. Since the moon is the closest place to us with similar functions to a planet, we think it is the best place where we could start learning about living on other planets and getting the basics down. This can potentially be the first step in colonising the milky way and our key to other planets. On the moon, there is a constant need for innovative technologies. But maybe things will change. The facilities meant for researches on the moon would also research new materials we could gather and use to our advantage, we would also do a lot of research in botany and the reactions of plants in such a gravity change.
It is hard to prepare someone for something that has never been done before. Mandatory should be the great physical condition. That meant that astronauts would train in the desert and Antarctica. Skills that can be learned from living in the most unforgiving condition on planet Earth can be valuable on the Moon. Another crucial thing is that a team must work as one. . That means even though there are competitors they should not reflect that on the team dynamic. That is because of two main reasons. On the first expedition, there will be only 5 astronauts there. No one else to help them. And second, because they live in such a close group they must know how to cooperate. They should also have previous experience from the International Space Station.
There is an absolute need for missions to the Moon that we develop reusable rockets. In addition to being reusable, rockets need to be able to fly to the Moon and land there is also essential. That way we can drastically reduce costs and fly more frequently. That is also a safer option because you know how the rocket would behave. Once on the Moon’s surface, custom rovers would be used to transport equipment and astronauts. These rovers must be designed to withstand the harsh conditions on the Moon’s surface, including extreme temperatures and rugged terrain. They also must be long-range because our expedition base is far on North. With the use of custom rovers, we can efficiently transport equipment and conduct scientific research on the Moon.
