moon_camp

Moon Camp Pioneers Gallery 2019-2020

In Moon Camp Pioneers each team’s mission is to 3D design a complete Moon Camp using Fusion 360. They also have to explain how they will use local resources, protect astronauts from the dangerous of space and describe the living and working facilities.

Team: Claire & Neel

ISS Sindelfingen  Sindelfingen    Germany 15 to 16 years old

External viewer for 3d project

Project description

[42]

Describe your Moon Camp project.

Our moon camp is in the shape of a ring surrounded by another ring with a circular room in the middle; this shape is easy to drill because there are no corners. Attached to the two main rings will be one little ring designated to cargo storage/water processing, and a lab specially for science research. 

There will be hallways going around inside all rings and connecting to the little rings for easy/convenient access. There will be 3 exits that go to the surface of the moon to 3 round domes; one is a cargo elevator, one is the main exit from the control center, and the third is another astronaut exit that leads from the bio lab. 

The main exit is for excursions and general exit and arrival of humans; the cargo entry/exit is larger and serves for importing supplies on large space vehicles. The exit from the biolab is large enough to fit a small space rover or some humans. This is for collecting samples and exploring the moon’s surface. The samples will be able to be brought directly to the lab.

Where do you want to build your Moon Camp?

Our moon camp will be built near the Malapert Mountain. We have chosen this location because of the conveniences it has for lunar exploration and settlement, as well as its abundant amount of daylight and ice (which can be used for water). The Malapert region has a diverse range of elevations which is good for experimentation. It is located in the south pole of the moon in 85.99 S, 357.07 E. This area of the moon is constantly illuminated with sunlight, which is great for generating electricity with solar panels in order to power the base. Furthermore, this mountain will serve to partially protect our moonbase from meteorites and other debris. This location also has a great view of Earth a

How do you plan to build your Moon Camp? Describe the techniques and materials you would use.

We will send machines to the moon with automated robots to complete most of the building before the astronauts arrive. First, the shape of the base and elevator shafts will be drilled into the ground using robots. Then, we will build the structure and the domes located on the surface of the moon. Meanwhile, humans will arrive on the moon and live temporarily in the domes on the surface. Finally, we will 3-D print a thick layer of regolith on top of the habitat except for the greenhouse area. The elevators will be constructed, and the greenhouse will be built using overseeing of humans. Then the electronic systems will be installed, e.g airtight systems, oxygen recycling systems, computers and inner furnishing. Once everything is installed, the base will be ready for 6-8 astronauts to live in. 

Water
Food
Electricity
Air

We will use rovers to go out onto the moon’s surface and collect large quantities of lunar ice. These will then be brought back into the moonbase with rovers to be melted in a furnace and turned into water, this water will be cleaned for the inhabitants of the moonbase to use as drinking water. Also, urine as well as used water will be recycled. We will use filters similar to the wastewater cleaning systems on earth, and we will melt the ice by heating it up through heat powered by solar panels.

There will be multiple greenhouses in the moonbase that will grow crops using hydroponics and aeroponics (saving space) and regolith (as a substrate for the plants). Crops such as tomatoes, potatoes, microgreens and other various plants and herbs will be grown and spirulina algae (see air). Also, some canned foods and dehydrated foods will be brought from earth. The light for greenhouses will be supplied by sunlight and lamps, and the ‘glass’ of the greenhouse will be protective against radiation and meteorites.

We will have solar panels located on the side of the Malapert Mountain that will use the light from the sun and turn it into power for the moon base.
In the potential future if nuclear fusion energy is discovered, we could extract helium-3 in order to power it. Helium-3 is more abundant in the poles of the moon which is good because our base is located in the southern pole. There will also be a battery storage site, which will store lots of unused electricity so it can be used later. The batteries will help us to utilize our energy efficiently.

Growing plants will provide some oxygen, as well as electrolysis once there is enough water. The main source will be growing algae such as spirulina, which is also edible and has many health benefits. Also, in the future, we might find a way to heat up, separate oxygen, and then store oxygen from the regolith (which is very rich in oxygen).

How do you plan to build your Moon Camp? Which materials would you use?

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The environment on the Moon is very dangerous for the astronauts. Explain how your Moon Camp will protect them.

Our camp will be built near the base of Malapert Mountain. The majority of the base will be located underground along with some domes on the lunar surface. The 50-cm thick walls, printed regolith and 5-meters-underground state of the habitat protects the base from radiation and meteorites. There will be 3 domes in our base. The domes will be 3D printed with large structural printers, and will be made out of a mix of regolith and some polymers. Every dome will have an elevator shaft that will lead down to the main underground base. The domes will serve specific functions. Some of the domes will be entrances/exits for moonwalks conducted by astronauts. There will be one cargo dome which will be bigger than the other domes. There will also be a dome that can connect to passenger moon vehicles. The connection will be airtight, and it will resemble the docking adapters which can be found on the International Space Station. The underground location protects the inhabitants of the moon base from space debris on the moon. 

Describe a day on the Moon for your Moon Camp astronaut crew.

The days on the moon will differ in stages. In the beginning stage of building the moon base, there will only be robots building the moon habitat and drilling the holes underground. After most of the preparations are done, astronauts will move into temporary dome homes at the surface of the moonbase; these will later be used as entrance domes. Once the moonbase is completely built, a day on the moon for an astronaut will go roughly like this:

They will wake up, do a health check and equipment checks as well as a check of the base, and get ready. Then they will go eat breakfast (grown in the greenhouses of the base) consisting of some protein and micro-greens; after eating, they will tend to the greenhouse, to ensure that the plants are growing well. Then, astronauts will be able to go out onto the moon’s surface, or they will send a rover out onto the surface, to collect samples of rock and regolith and conduct experiments for minerals it contains and what other uses it might have. After this, the astronauts will eat a small lunch, consisting of some protein and moon-grown veggies.  The samples from the moon will be brought into the biolab to be studied for future uses. 

The astronauts will join classes about learning about the moon and then they will go to the gym. After this, they will eat dinner and go to sleep. The astronauts get 8 hours of sleep each night. 



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