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We decided to participate in this project to create a simple, yet effective moon facility for a group of astronauts to live in. In the project we divided the facility in different parts to maintain a certain organisation. These different parts consisted in the main room, the greenhouse (with a warehouse below), the exercise area, the leisure room and the resting room, the bathrooms, a research laboratory, the solar panels area, the water storage container and the ventilation system. By doing this, we could ensure that the astronauts would be able to live a calm, safe and productive life on the moon. To create the project in a 3D model to scale, we used Fusion 360 and all it’s features.

Our base, to function properly, would need to be at least partially placed on a place with a high level of light exposure due to the need of sunlight to give energy to the solar panels. At the same time, it should be in a place that could offer some protection against comets, asteroids or even smaller spacial rocks. Not far away from the center of the base, but far enough from the edge of the crater to receive enough sunlight, the solar panels would be placed. For our base to be able to retrieve water from the lunar soil, the Moon Camp base would need to placed on top of a region that had water trapped underneath. Conveniently, many lunar craters are likely to have these reservoirs. Concluding, we would like our Moon Camp base to be built in a crater.

We plan to build our Moon Camp with resistent metallic materials to ensure that our astronauts would have a durable, hard to break facility to live in, while also protecting them from possible small space debris/rocks falling to the Moon. To transport these materials we would build parts/components of this facility on earth and then, at the same moment we launched the astronauts to the moon, space probes or even other rockets would transport these easy to combine components to our astronauts on the moon, that would easily build the facility with the help of other machines also transported by the space probes/rockets previously mentioned.

By placing our base above a water reservoir we make sure that we are always extracting water that is added to the base ecosystem to replace the one that cannot be filtered or is consumed by the plants. Some used water can still be cleaned in the filters.

By building a greenhouse big enough (that can be supported), we could ensure that our astronauts had the necessary food with great variety. Besides that, space probes and rockets would accompany our astronauts in their trip to the moon, with animal-based and canned food for a long period of time to complement the large vegetal food stock they would produce. If the Moon Camp succeeds, we would transport animals to this facility, create a special room for them and upgrade the ventilation system in order to keep these animals alive and in good health.

By building many solar panels (on a separated area as shown in the project), the astronauts would have a great energy supply to support all the electric devices and lighting in the facility, due to the connection on electrical cables throughout all the facility and also between the facility and the solar panels. Besides that, some of the smaller water containers would have a turbine that, with the force of the water passing through them, could generate power to help to support the electrical needs of the facility.

As the moon doesn´t possess an atmosphere we need to recycle the base’s air. And so, to filter it, we have the plants in the greenhouse that make photosynthesis, consuming carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. The ventilation system ensures that there is oxygen in every section of the base.

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By building our base close to a crater wall, we can take profit out of a natural protective barrier against any space debris/rocks, to protect the astronauts from the other side (not protected by the crater wall), we would use stronger materials on the outer layer of these walls to reinforce them. To protect our astronauts from the lack of atmosphere, we would create a ventilation system that would provide clean breathable air for our astronauts. Besides that, when the astronauts are on the actual moon soil, the others that remain in the base will have a control room in the research laboratory (with a glass that gives a full view of the outside of the base) to always maintain contact and pay attention to the astronaut that is in the exterior to help that person in case of any problem.

Firstly, the crew of astronauts should check if all of the main essencial systems (ventiation, water, solar panels and electricity) are working correctly. After this, the crew can calmly eat breakfast to prepare for the long and effective day. Afterwards, some elements of this crew prepare to go outside to collect different samples of the moon soil, for example, while the other astronauts that stayed in the base divide in 2 groups: one stays in the control room helping the ones outside, while the other group does exercise. When the astronauts return, all of the crew gets togheter to eat lunch and prepare for the second part of the day. After lunch, the astronauts that were in the base on the first part of the day go outside to map the surface of the moon (to provide more information about it), while the other 0nes divide yet again in the same 2 groups, but this time, the group that is in the research laboratory (where the control room is) will simultaneously analyse the sample collected. When the astronauts return close to the end of the day, the whole crew divides in half: one that will rest in the resting and leisure rooms, and the others will be working in the greenhouse, ensuring the plants have all the necessary conditions/resources to survive while also planting new ones. When the work is completed, the crew has dinner and assembles a report of the day, sending it back to earth. After that, the crew has some time to rest and prepare to go to sleep.