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The aim of our Moon Camp is to provide the most efficient, practical and safe environment for 2-4 astronauts to live in for an extended amount of time.

We opted for a camp consisted of two living quarters, three underground modules (for resource/water storage and greenhouse), one communications center, one underground laboratory, one water fusion-filter facility, one nuclear battery (located a safe distance from the rest of the camp) and one solar panel field.

Commuting between different modules would be done through outdoor tunnels which allows for a safe and efficient way of connection. Airlocks will also ensure safety between all spaces.

The structure of the camp would consist of each module linked by tunnels, each of approximately 5-10 meters in length, to ensure that in a catastrophic event, all module is safely isolated from danger.

The camp provides all vital necessities through systematic facilities.

After thorough research, we chose the high mountains on the rims of large craters on the Lunar Poles based on our site criteria (temperatures, water availability, material availability, solar energy capture potential and scientific interest).

First, the Lunar poles contain valuable ice, which is unique on the poles and scientifically valuable. Also, after subject to experimentation on the Moon, it would hopefully be drinkable thanks to our fusion-filter facility. Also, through electrolysis water can be separated into hydrogen and oxygen, for fuel and life-support.

Then, the other key resource is sunlight, which would be practically eternal thanks to the high positioning and Lunar poles, meaning our solar panels would constantly be collecting energy.

Finally, the Moon’s poles have a more constant temperature, in contrast to the rest of the surface’s extreme temperature variations, meaning the astronaut’s adaptation to the new environment would be much easier, as well as equipment maintenance.

For the exterior buildings (geodesic domes, tunnels and other buildings) we will be using a 3D printing concept, which will use lunar soil as the main component for the building material. The machine will consist of a robotic arm printing a geopolymer concrete mixture known as “Lunarcrete”, consisting primarily of lunar regolith that will be excavated thanks to the LEB (Lunar Excavation Blade). Also, the unique blend of silica and iron-bearing minerals in Lunar soil can be fused into a glasslike solid using microwaves.

For the underground buildings such as storage and greenhouse, the astronauts will use the LEB, capable of digging large holes, which will later be finished with the 3D printing robotic arm to build the walls. The lunar excavation blade can also be used to clear up and terraform the land around the base for other construction projects, such as a landing area and solar panel field.

Thanks to the practical location of the base on the Lunar Poles which contain 600 million tons of nearly pure ice, it can be the main source of water. The fusion-filter facility located on the edge of our base will receive the excavated ice and make it drinkable (through multiple physical and chemical processes), providing the astronauts access to a very large amount of this vital resource which can be used not only for drinking but for other hygiene tasks such as showering and toilets.

The main food source for the initial astronauts at the base will be the food brought from the Earth, in canned and dehydrated forms. For the first astronauts, the food brought in the first trip should be enough until the food can start to be produced from the greenhouse (a dedicated underground module). Not only will the greenhouse produce vital oxygen, but it will also be able to grow food such as potatoes, tomatoes, beetroots, etc. Later on, the greenhouse can be expanded to produce more goods depending on the number of astronauts present or the storage capacity.

There will first be solar panels which will be highly efficient in the Lunar Poles due to the high and constant amount of sunlight present. Two batteries located next to the solar panel field will store the power captured.
Then, there will be a nuclear battery, located at a safe distance from the main base. Helium-3 is abundant in the Lunar soil (where it’s been generated over billions of years by the solar wind) and is a key ingredient in a viable fusion power reactor. It leaves no radiative waste behind and has a high energy yield per kilogram.

The oxygen needed by the astronauts to breathe will initially be used through the form of an artificial life support-system, which will provide them with enough oxygen until the greenhouse is functional enough to produce oxygen and become the main source. The greenhouse will contain a dedicated area for oxygen-producing plants such as areca palm, neem tree and Sansevieria Trifasciata Zeylanica (snake plant).
Then, the lunar soil is 40-45% oxygen by mass, meaning it can be heated to 2500 Kelvin using solar power and unlock from it minerals to generate 100 grams of breathable oxygen for every kilogram of soil.

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After having all vital resources previously covered by our facilities and specialized modules, the main remaining threats are listed as radiation, meteorites and temperature.

The geodesic dome-shaped modules are designed to spread and minimize any impacts and the average thickness of the rigid walls reside around 0.5 meters, which is enough to protect against small asteroids and solar radiation, as well as insulating against the cold Lunar temperatures. Around the Lunar Poles also resides many lava tubes, formed long ago by basaltic lava which flowed on the Moon. They can be as wide as 300 meters and have a stable temperature of -20°C. These lava tubes can be used in future expansion of the Lunar base or as a secondary option in case the first site becomes damaged or simply incapable to operate.

In order to remain healthy, the astronauts must keep a regular sleep schedule, getting 8-9 hours of sleep and remaining awake for 16 hours at a time.

After wake-up, the astronauts are to eat in one of the living quarters and have a briefing of the day. They are required to work-out at least 2 hours a day to maintain strong muscles and bones, as the Moon’s weak gravity can have negative effects on their return to Earth.

However, the astronauts would initially be entirely dedicated to the construction of the camp. The astronauts would first excavate the Lunar soil/regolith in large quantities thanks to the Lunar Excavation Blade (LEB) and then go through the chemical procedures of testing its properties and turning it into useful “Lunarcrete” to build the base with the 3D printing robotic arm.

After the completion of the camp, the astronaut’s day would consist mainly of research and experimentation. They would either work as teams or research individually, depending on their independent expertise and the conditions or requirements of the experiment itself.

For example, one astronaut could focus on the physiological effects on humans and plants from living in space, testing and experimenting on astronauts and in the greenhouse at different times of the day. Another astronaut could research the Moon itself, exploring and analyzing the environment (landscape, meteorites, polar ice) and experimenting with the Lunar soil/regolith in the laboratory facility. One more astronaut would be entirely committed to the well-being of the camp. He/she would monitor the functionality and different mechanisms in the camp, such as the solar panels, nuclear battery, greenhouse, storage facility, communications facility etc. If there were to be only 2 astronauts present, they would both regularly surveil the performance and components of the base.

It is necessary to constantly verify the camp’s condition, due to its size, complexity and importance. At the end of the day and during the last meal, all astronauts would meet in the living quarters and debrief. Also, they would be required to do a last check of the entire camp before going to sleep.

Essentially, the 16 hour “awake period” is comprised of 3 meals during which astronauts must meet, 2 hours of physical conditioning, research and experimentation, and a constant maintenance of the Moon base.