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Our Moon camp Project is made up of 8 main structures that each serve a vital purpose. The purpose of our greenhouse is to provide food for the astronauts. Astronauts conduct research and work on projects in our laboratory which also contain mealworm boxes. We have 5 living modules connected to a communal area. More living modules can be built using our 3-D printer and regolith from our Regolith Processing Plant. The Air Filtration Systems Center distributes and regulates airflow to the buildings. Another building we have is the Water Purification and Extraction Plant that provides water from microwaving lunar ice. Our moon camp also has a Centripetal Artificial Gravity Station that astronauts can regularly visit to exercise in Earth gravity. The main energy source for the moon camp comes from the Solar Panel Field that would provide energy from 75-99% of the day.

We chose to build our moon base at the Lunar Poles because it has the most sustainable environment for astronauts. The temperatures at the Lunar Poles are considerably less harsh than the rest of the moon. The poles are illuminated by sunlight about 86-89 percent of the time and due to the near-constant sunlight, temperatures fluctuate less drastically. This makes it easier to regulate living conditions at the optimal temperature for the astronauts. The lunar poles are also the location of many resources, including lunar ice, which is a possible water source. They are located in permanent lunar shadows of the moon that have only been found at the poles. In addition, there are many craters and caves at our chosen site. Underground buildings can be built in these areas increasing the protection from air pressure, asteroid impacts, and temperature changes.

Our Moon Camp’s structures will be partially built on Earth but not assembled. Many of our structures, including the geodesic domes that make up our living area and laboratory, are designed to be folded/disassembled into sub-parts for easier transport and space conservation. Industrial construction machines that are adapted to work efficiently on the surface of the moon will arrive before the structures and astronauts to clear the moon terrain. Programmed soft robots will assist in construction of the moon camp. Because soft robots are made up of compliant materials, they are flexible, can complete a wider variety of tasks, and are safer for humans to work around. These robots will continue to aid with repair of structures after the Moon Camp has been built. New buildings will be built quickly using additive manufacturing, as we will bring a giant industrial 3-D printer to build structures using abundantly available regolith.

Because water is a vital resource necessary for human survival, we chose to set up the camp at the Lunar Poles, which contain water sources. Lunar ice will be melted using microwaving modules to provide water for our hydrologic system, which will be used for agriculture, hydration, hygiene, energy, and research. Hydrogen fuel cells, which aid the generators in producing electricity, make water undergo photolysis, creating oxygen molecules and hydrogen ions for rocket fuel. Excess water, which is produced as a waste product, is collected and combined with water from greenhouse percolation and acceptable human wastewater to be recycled.

Our camp will maintain a balanced meal plan incorporating multiple food sources. Highly nutritious plants grown in the greenhouses, which use recycled water and soil, will provide carbohydrates.The greenhouse is reinforced by pocketed metal structures that protect against meteorite collisions while allowing light to enter, and is adaptable for aquaponics in case soil becomes scarce. To ensure astronauts get all the nutrients they need, the lab manufactures vitamin supplements and fats. In addition to greenhouse crops, a mealworm farm provides astronauts with much needed protein, as mealworms reproduce quickly and are highly nutritious.

The camp harnesses solar power at the Lunar Poles, which have a solar irradiance greater than 1367.6 W/m^2, using a solar panel field that moves to face the sun. Some electricity is stored in batteries for use during lunar eclipses. Electricity is also produced by electromechanical generators, which are perpetually powered by the Centripetal Force Space Station. The Station constantly spins and provides mechanical energy while also creating artificial gravity. Spinning the Station is extremely efficient; the force required to start spinning at the correct RPM to simulate gravity is lowered due to the Moon’s reduced gravity.

It is crucial to provide an atmosphere optimal for human living conditions. Oxygen will be provided by multiple sources in the camp, including the photosynthesis of plants in the greenhouses. In addition, oxygen generators will utilize carbon dioxide and water to produce more oxygen. The Air Filtration Systems Center distributes and regulates steady airflow within the different buildings and maintains the correct percentages of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and more, which prevents suffocation from carbon dioxide. The Air Filtration Systems Center also houses algae tanks, which provide nutrients for consumption as well as aiding in the production of oxygen.

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The Moon has a harsh climate of extreme heat and cold. To protect astronauts from the moon’s conditions our facilities have controlled temperature. Low levels of gravity lead to astronauts experiencing bone and muscle loss. Our moon camp has an artificial gravity room with exercise equipment that astronauts can use to prevent severe damages to their muscular and skeletal systems. The Space Camp buildings are spherical shapes, built to withstand micrometeorite impacts. Structures like the geodesic dome are used so that the modules are safe and durable. Living on the Moon exposes you to constant radiation. Astronauts living at our space station will be protected by an electromagnetic field generator that blocks radiation. The living area, storage tanks, air filtration center, microwave water extraction module, and hydrogen fuel cells are located in an underground tunnel, further shielding the astronauts from radiation, climate, and meteorites.

An astronaut’s day in the Moon Camp starts at about 6 am and ends at around 9 pm. Their schedule is modeled after the routines of the astronauts living at the International Space Station. The residents of our moon camp have three meals a day and are required to log two hours of exercise in the Centripetal Artificial Gravity Space Station. Living in a low gravity environment damages your bone and muscle mass, with 1-2% of your bone mass deteriorating in just a month. By exercising in Earth gravity conditions prevents long term weakening to astronauts bodys. During the day, crew members work according to their area of expertise and researchers oversee their projects and analyze their data. The researchers that got their projects approved to be conducted at the camp spend their time gathering data on nutrition, their health, the solar system, lunar ice, properties of lunar soil, and more. Crew members go on expeditions exploring and mapping the lunar surface, as well as testing new surfaces and tunnels for safety to help decide in what direction the camp will expand. Maintenance and construction is done by human workers alongside the soft robots, which are much safer to work near due to being made up of compliant materials and filled with air rather than hard metal like most robots. Back in the laboratory, astronauts work on projects such as researching vapor deposits in lunar soil. One example of a research project on our camp is an investigation into the chemical makeup of regolith, which has recently been found to contain micrometer-sized mineral grains that are encompassed by thin amorphous rims, suggesting that it has been exposed to solar wind. Currently there is a misconception that amorphous rims are a result of radiation damage however electron microscopy shows that amorphous rims are made up of vapor deposited material from micrometeorite impacts on the moon and more data will be collected to support these new observations. In addition to housing equipment and supplies for performing research, the laboratory houses mealworm boxes which provide a good source of nutrients and protein. Inhabitants of the Moon Camp can use the telescope built in the lab and view other parts of the solar system.