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.
Second Place – ESA Member states
Lycée bartholdi Colmar-Grand Est France 18, 17 6 / 2 English
3D design software: Blender
Stephen Hawkings said “To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit”.
With this quotation in mind, we conceived of mankind’s new home, Hestia. Hestia is composed of numerous six-sided lunar modules, which confer the most benefits from all thinkable forms. Each one of those is self-reliant and linked to others thanks to airlocks regulating pressure and impeding mishaps from spreading. Hestia was based on the will to create an optimised base.
First, there is an area dedicated to astronauts’ daily lives with a large module, called “main module” which is composed of the kitchen, spacesuits and means of communication with Earth. Then, another area dedicated to work, composed of modules for cultivation, storage, laboratory.
The well-being of astronauts is important, thus we thought of a relaxation module with a ceiling made of glass, opening onto space. Should astronauts feel hemmed, this lunar module is a way of soothing and admiring the vastness of our world.
Finally, outside of the base will be small basins reserved to water and moon regolith electrolysis and the production of electricity, thanks to solar panels.
Hence, Hestia is a secured, optimal and pleasant base.
Our mission has two objectives. The first one is to study if mankind can live, adapt and evolve on another celestial body than Earth.
The Hécate I mission will be Hestia’s implementation and start-up, whereas Hécate II consists in the arrival of the astronauts. The latter will enable us to discover and explore the Moon to be well acquainted with its characteristics and to win over the blue planet’s satellite. Here lies our second objective.
Thereby, learning about the Moon makes us become more knowledgeable on other celestial bodies and enables progress in universe sciences.
Moreover, Hestia is the first step to greater prospects. Indeed, after Hestia, we will be able to create other bases with different purposes, like the assembly of space rockets that could not depart from Earth and launch them from the Moon. That way, our satellite will serve to build space rockets that reach remote destinations.
We chose to build our base on the ridges of the Shackleton crater, located near the South Pole of the Moon. This place is perfect to see through our project.
This one accrues noticeable advantages like a feeble thermal amplitude and a strong amount of sunshine rate. The latter gives the base a satisfactory electrical output.
Furthermore, the presence of water in great quantities (in the form of ice) is perfect in order to assume the base’s needs as well as to extract hydrogen, which is vitally important for the production of flammable.
A noteworthy point: lots of materials, which in all probability are extractable, like regolith, surround the Shackleton crater.
Finally, the crater’s proximity with the South Pole-Aitken basin, offers to the astronauts ways to implement research thanks to the out of the ordinary characteristics of this place.
A first mission, entitled Hécate I, will send to the Moon the necessary equipment for the construction of the base. Our base will be built, starting from the most important and sine qua non parts parts, thanks to robot rovers capable of carrying heavy loads.
The base will be split into multiple spaces by airlocks and will be organised as lunar modules. That way, it is possible to establish progressively the main module as well as the parts which are required to maintain life on board. The remainder will be placed later, in the wake of the establishment of the astronauts during Hécate II.
We yearned to have a shape that gives a good organisation of available space and that is easy to put together. Consequently, we chose the hexagon, a form that ticks all boxes.
On top of that, to reduce the cost and the overall weight of our modules, they will be made of a very resistant multilayered Vectran polyester. Once the space rockets land, the only action needed is to inflate the modules with ozone, shortly replaced by water originating from lunar glaciers. The modules’ floor will be composed of titanium plates.
Last but not least, the base will be covered by a layer of regolith dug from the Moon’s ground by a portable robot.
The base was designed to protect the astronauts and make them evolve in ideal conditions.
The lunar environment is hostile and so the multilayered polyester, of which is made our modules, answers those constraints. It is an effective protection against space debris due to its resistance, five-fold more than steel and ten-fold more than aluminium.
Moreover, owing to the inflatable properties of the base, the external and internal layers are separated by a gas, the ozone, that absorbs a major part of the sun’s UV radiations. Then, this space will be progressively filled by water, which is a better solar insulator than ozone and which provides a satisfactory hermiticity.
Additionally, another protection will be put around our base: regolith. Regolith will act as a shield that alleviates solar radiations.
In order to prevent infections and accumulation of dust in the base, sterilisation rooms will be built in front of each entrance and between modules used for cultivation. Furthermore, if there is a leakage or a malfunction, all of the modules will not be affected, because each one will be independent from the others. The risk of spreading danger is now nullified. Each module is divided by a decompression chamber.
Finally, the modules where incidents may happen, for instance laboratories or the electrical centre, have been put aside so that, if something should occur, it will not affect the main module.
Access to resources to meet human needs is a major stake for the success of Hestia.
First, fare will be brought from Earth, and once Hécate II is installed and operational, all vegetables will be cultivated on site. The base will only have products which are easy to farm where space and time are limited. We had to think about the quantity that can be produced as well as the water and fertiliser requirements. Some vegetables require little to no water and fertiliser (potatoes, lentils, red beets, green beans, spinach and red fruits). In order to mimic seasons, UV lamps will be put at each superimposed crop growing and thus optimise the limited space of the lunar base. Likely, we planned to make pisciculture. Astronauts will have access to water thanks to the ice present on the lunar ground.
A rover will heat the dirty ice, previously drilled, with the help of solar panels, until it melts. Whether the water is used in showers, machines or produced by the astronauts’ perspiration, it will be recycled thanks to filtrations, until it becomes again fully usable. It will be stored in modules specially designed for this purpose.
Air and electricity are just as vital for the smooth operation of the mission – and the survival of the astronauts – over the long term. Water, once more, is being used. Indeed, electricity, as well as air, will be made by small basins where the electrolysis of water takes place and on which solar panels will be displayed.
Another machine will make electricity and air run through the base. While electricity is stored in a module, air traverses the base, then is recycled for reuse.
Another important stake of the good proceedings of the mission is to reuse at maximum their waste in order to grant a greater independence towards the Blue Planet. Hence, it is necessary to recycle urine like faeces to ensure the sustainability of Hestia.
The urine will be purified by filtering with the aim of consuming them again. Water is vital for astronauts, and more generally, a precious resource for human beings. Being able to produce it that way is a major asset.
As for the faeces, they will be used as fertiliser for the growth of the plantations within the base. Indeed, the excreta, under the aegis of a sensible use and added to other natural fertilisers, are a satisfactory way to produce quantities of fertiliser on the Moon.
These methods bring about true autonomy for the astronauts.
At Shackleton crater, it is impossible to keep in touch directly with Earth, event using satellite dishes.
Indeed, due to the Moon’s revolution around Earth, Shackleton crater is not frequently visible and stay hidden during most periods. In order to overcome this, a geostationary relay satellite has to be placed where Shackleton crater is locaded, oriented at 30° to Earth in relation to the crater, which would transmit Hestia’s communication data to the TDRS (Tracking and Data Relay Satellites) satellites. This way, Hestia will maintain nearly continuous communication with Earth(few interruptions may occur when the communcation switches to another TDRS satellite).
For other lunar bases within a 100km range from Hestia, walkie-talkies are usable. And for distances greater than 100km, we will be able to place satellite dishes in each base and communicate through the satellite system.
Experiments conducted during the Hecate II mission will include the following;
– Study of plants’ behaviour: compare speed and quality of growth with the one measured on Earth, study the influence of low gravity on germination and yield, observation of growth in a substrate composed of lunar soil: are the nutrient needs of plants met ?
– Study of the lunar soil’s composition: search for possible heavy metals or minerals that present risks for the health of the astronauts in particular in the event of consumption of plants cultivated in a substrate containing lunar soil.
– Study of the internal structure of the Moon (nature and density of the materials) thanks to the propagation of seismic waves, in order to find exploitable resources.
– Exploration of the surroundings of the base in order to map the exploitable ice stretches.
– Study of the behaviour of unicellular organisms :
¤ The Physarum polycephalum: comparison of the results with those obtained on Earth and on the ISS.
¤ Baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae): influence of low gravity on the breadmaking process.
– Daily analysis of the crew’s sleep: biological clock, sleep quality, reaction to the change of day-night cycle.
– Study of the effect of low gravity on the functioning of the human body: cerebral and cardiac activity, blood circulation, muscular behaviour, respiratory capacity, digestion, intestinal transit, kidney activity, microbiota.
– Study of the life cycle of the yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor): the larval stage (mealworm) is a source of protein for astronauts.
– Study projects to allow students on Earth to conduct simple experiments in order to compare their results to those obtained on the Moon.
During a mission on the Moon, it is vital to be able to adapt to a new hostile and unpredictable environment and to know how to react correctly to any unexpected situation. This is why a long and rigorous training program must be followed by the crew of the Hécate mission. This program consists of training courses to perfect their command of English and Russian, speleology, survival training, and long periods of simulated sojourn on the Moon.
Indeed, learning English and Russian enables the crew to communicate more easily.
As for the speleology courses, it seems important to know how to evolve in caves or tunnels, to facilitate underground explorations of the Moon, where the astronauts will successfully complete their research.
Besides, it is essential for them to know how to live independently during long periods due to the fact that it is impossible to quickly help the astronauts once they are on the Moon (located more than 380 000 km from Earth). This is why the four members of the mission will have to follow periods of simulated life in the base, where their lunar way of life will be rebuilt on Earth. Hence, the crew will get used to the equipment at use in their future base, to their future suit, and to learn to live together for extended periods.
These training courses will not take place in Utah or Israel as for the preparation for life on Mars, but in Antarctica, where the cold, isolated and rocky desert climate is similar to the Moon. In addition, the steep, rocky, frozen terrain is also a good way to test the vehicles that astronauts will use on the Moon.
To send all the necessary equipment for the creation of the base on the Moon and for the crew, we have planned to send two different rockets (Hécate I and II). The first one will take the equipment to build the base as well as various rovers while the second the crew.
At their arrival, the bare minimum will already have been assembled by rovers sent by the first rocket. Some of these rovers will have to cover the base with regolith, a natural protection against cosmic radiation.
Other rovers will be used to recover ice from the lunar ground, which will then be melted and transported to the base.
Finally, two people in the same rover will explore the Moon, first a few hours due to the difficulty to drive on lunar ground.
Only once well established we will be able to go farther and on longer durations.
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