Mars Outpost 01 by Metaldrgn

Last crawled date: 2 years, 12 months ago

Update: Well now that it’s over I can add a few things I forgot about and clarify a few things that I wasn’t able to because time ran out (I swear the original deadline was 1159AM not PM or I would have made these corrections).
This is my design for the MakerBot Mars Base Challenge. This is actually based off a concept I came up with 14 years ago! I used the basic design and built on it.
The Structure stands five stories high. It would be built by a modified type of SLS (selective laser sintering) printing in which the rover(s) could be equipped with a high powered laser or, if feasible, a system that would use the sun’s rays focused through Fresnel lenses or a large parabolic lens split into a variable length line and use an LCD array on the lens(es) to act as the on/off switch and the rover would act as the “print head”. The tread would be designed to be interchangeable and the primary one for construction would least disturb the material under it. It would also not roll over the path it just laid until sintered to increase precision. The lens(es) would be an attachment for the rover. A rover would also have an attachment that would allow it to extract metal (either iron, aluminum, titanium, or a combination thereof) from the mars regolith by way of electrolysis to build the structure with. This would significantly reduce the cost of the mission. The printed structure could be accomplished with one or multiple rovers working in unison and alignment markers on three or four corners along with their rate sensors and accelerometers for precision building. As the rover lays each layer, only roughly two inches beyond the metal that is designated to be sintered would the powdered metal need to be laid to reduce the time and energy gathering the metal. Mars soil/dust could be used outside this region as filler. The whole structure would not need to be enclosed like traditional SLS printing, but rather at a slope of 34 degrees or less from the highest build point so the layers would not avalanche. To combat dust storms, if necessary, from getting foreign material in the build, large plastic sheets or a lightweight material on carbon fiber composite poles creating a dome would have to be installed around the exterior of the build area. Once the structure is built the rover(s) would remove all the soil/dust from the outside and inside. The interior would then be closed cell spray foam insulated and the levels/walls could be made of a different material or a composite that is strong enough and easier to produce to decrease heating demands. The levels/walls would be installed in sections. The sides would have ledges for personnel or a remotely piloted vehicle (land based, air is too thin to for normal flight) to make repairs if needed. The structure would be designed to accept airlock doors and any other desired features prior to being built so all that has to be done is install doors/features directly after, via the rover(s). Additionally the rover(s) could utilize subtractive manufacturing to finalize these fit in place parts. If this was successful, the rover(s) could start building another outpost as a backup or in another area of interest and perpetually continue to build them.
The Living Space would accommodate 8-16 scientists, astronauts, war heroes, and/or olympians. It’s designed to reduce the radiation level bellow a maximum of 50 mSv/yr (0.137 mSv/24hrs) by making the outer walls one foot thick reducing radiation by 98.44% which would bring the average max radiation to 0.023 mSv/24hrs or 8.21 mSv/yr. This would allow for some permanent residents as well as visitors. The windows would have a radiation reflective coating. The bottom level under the living area is dedicated to research and medical treatment.
The Central Power Station is the power storage section and auxiliary power generation. Two unattached structures would house fission reactors connected only by power and shielded network cables for monitoring. The structures would also be created using the same building process except they would be made out of an easily attainable material on mars that could be melted. Their openings would not face the main structure to shield the personnel in case of a failure of the fission reactor(s). A retaining wall would also be constructed so the structure could be covered in mars soil to reduce the radiation exposure if a unit fails. These structures would not be pressurized seeing how any maintenance being done could be in a space suit or the unit could be taken back to the power station “safe room” for repair. The central power station would have a hexagonal solar panel array with an automated solar tracker to maximize power output and reduce shadows. It would be the backup if some astronomical event occurred causing the fission reactors to fail. A compressor would utilize the outside air seeing how it’s mostly carbon dioxide unless the other gases are irradiated to unacceptable levels or poisonous.
The Greenhouse is the renewable section of the outpost. Alongside the oxygen rebreathers, the plant life would assist with producing oxygen, recycling the waste, and as a food source. Artificial lighting would assist with photosynthesis. Since it is unknown if the water on mars is irradiated, the crew would bring enough so they wouldn’t have to rely on external sources, but could investigate and harvest it if it were deemed potable. There are two entrances for different type of vehicles; one being large to provide clearance for all current and future vehicles and the other with a docking connection so a smaller mass of air would be lost when boarding and egressing. The structure would have separate airlocks than the personnel entrances so they don’t waste the air. The Signal broadcast tower is for communication to remotely piloted vehicles and orbiting satellite to relay it back to earth.
References –
Power :http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2011/august/the-first-nuclear-power-plants-for-settlements-on-the-moon-mars.html
Radiation Exposure limits :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionizing_radiation#mediaviewer/File:Radiation_Dose_Chart_by_Xkcd.png
Radiation protection:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_protection
Soil slope anglehttp://www.thesafetybloke.com/staying-safe-in-excavations/
Solar powered 3d printerhttp://www.thisiscolossal.com/2011/06/markus-kayser-builds-a-solar-powered-3d-printer-that-prints-glass-from-sand-and-a-sun-powered-laser-cutter/