The moon camp project is an initiative devoted to the more in-depth study of the moon and the possibility of installing human outposts outside the Earth.

A lunar base would be used for various researches: the more in-depth study of the Moon, its composition and formation (discovering more about the history of our satellite also means knowing more about the origins of the Earth), the effects on the human body in its different aspects, that is psychological, physiological and social in living in such an extreme environment, moreover an environment so far from the earth would allow astronomical observation without interference caused by atmosphere and radio signals.

Our version was designed with the aim of hosting three astronauts, as three is the minimum number of people to carry out maintenance, scientific experiments and the maintenance of healthy psychological support. In addition to the modules for survival in our moon camp, the following are included: a radio telescope, a rover for the extraction of lunar samples and useful materials and a laboratory.

Our project involves positioning the base at the south pole of the moon, the south pole is one of the best places to land for several reasons: the presence of solid state water has been confirmed, which can be used for drinking but we can also separate it and use the oxygen to breathe and hydrogen as a propellant, another advantage is that the poles spend more time than other parts of the Moon in the sun (solar energy is the main source of energy for our base) and for this the temperature is one of the best (0 / -50 °) compared to the extreme temperatures on the rest of the surface, moreover on the south pole of the moon there is a clear presence of a strong past meteorite activity, which allows a great variety of minerals and metals that we can reuse.

Our moon camp is designed to be built inside a lunar mountain, therefore the construction of the structure is divided into three phases:

initially, before the arrival of the astronauts, rovers are sent to dig in the mountain, then the main structure is built and the walls are created using 3D printing methods (the material used to print consists mainly of regolith and metal alloys extracted from the lunar soil itself), the interior of the main structure is then covered with aluminum alloy plates to define the habitable volume and make it airtight, subsequently the first astronauts to arrive at the moon camp are responsible for the installation of the equipment and furniture.

In total, our moon-camp consists of a central circular room that connects nine modules and an airlock.

Our base is located at the south pole of the moon, at the south pole there is solid state water, a rover takes it and brings it to the base where after being purified it is used by astronauts to then be recovered, purified and still used, for do not waste water we can recycle urine, sweat and the water used for cleaning, to do this we need a WRS system.

In the base we have designed there is a greenhouse where to grow vegetables of different types, the plants are grown with artificial lighting and can provide a large part of the food for the astronauts, however plantations cannot be the only food source for the astronauts however, supplies from Earth will be essential, which must provide meat and other essential foods that cannot be produced on the moon.

The main source of energy used by our camp is solar energy, in fact our moon camp will take energy from a thermodynamic plant. The advantages of using a thermodynamic plant compared to traditional solar panels are many: the thermodynamic plant can produce much more energy in less time, precisely because of its heat concentration function, it continues to produce even after several hours in the absence of sun and since in optimal conditions it can produce more energy than what is needed energy can be stored and then used if necessary.

The atmosphere of our base is mainly formed by oxygen, nitrogen which serves to dilute the oxygen and carbon dioxide produced by astronauts. The regolith (the lunar soil) is formed mostly by oxygen, for this reason in our moon camp a rover collects it and takes it to the base, where according to the electrolysis process of the salts in powder we can separate the oxygen from the regolith, in addition, greenhouse plants can clean the air of carbon dioxide and transform it into oxygen thanks to photosynthesis.

The moon is a very inhospitable place, the astronauts who live on the moon must be protected from a massive number of radiations and the fall of meteorites, for this reason our moon camp is built inside a natural mountain, the rocky wall allows the protection even from large meteorites and the thick layer of soil above the moon camp is capable of stopping strong solar radiation, also being inside a mountain helps thermal insulation.

Inside the moon-camp, a module is also used only for a life support system that tries to reuse and recycle as much as possible, allowing the base to be almost completely autonomous.

A day in our moon-camp starts at 6 a.m. with the crew’s alarm clock, astronauts have an hour for personal hygiene, dressing and having breakfast. At 7 officially starts the working day with a briefing with the various control centers on Earth, during the day the astronauts are engaged in different types of activities:

there are numerous scientific experiments that astronauts must conduct and control, the experiments can be of various types and cover different scientific fields (from physics to chemistry to from geology to medicine), they can also include activities such as exploration via a rover or the observation of the cosmos through the radio telescope. A lot of time of the day is also used for the maintenance of the moon camp, in fact a good maintenance is essential to allow the good functioning of all the machinery, the maintenance also includes possible E.V.A. for the external structures or the stowage of the loads coming from possible supplies from the land. Events such as ground connections for schools, museums or television programs can be scheduled, other activities can be preparation for future E.V.A. or simulation training for possible more complex activities.

An astronaut’s working day ends at 7 p.m. and during this time the astronauts have one hour to have lunch and one hour to conduct compulsory physical activity (very important in order not to lose muscle mass and bone density), after dinner the astronauts can call family and friends and can and share their experience on social networks, before going to sleep for 11 pm astronauts must also check the activities of the next day and prepare for them by going over the process or preparing the tools.

During the weekend the astronauts have much more free time but still have to clean the station, do activities and prepare for nearby outdoor walks.

The ground connection for any type of communication or event is guaranteed by a laser communication system, which guarantees data transmission much faster than any other existing communication method, thus allowing the transmission of videos and photos in high definition.