LUNAR OASIS – Part 4 - Architectural Visions for an Integrated Habitat - Design Studio WS 2021

LUNAR OASIS

Architectural Visions for an Integrated Habitat

Research Unit of Building

Construction and Design 2 - HB2

Institute of Architecture and Design, TU Wien &

Department of Architecture and Design

College of Engineering, Abu Dhabi University

GREEN LAB

FOOD RESEARCH CENTRE

a project by

Meleksima Akarcay, Rukiye Ulak, Abdullah Kanbari, Muna AlHarbi, Dima ElBsat, Aya AlKhatib

LOCATION

Lunar south pole, near shackleton crater

YEAR VISION 2068

YEAR FIRST CREWED MISSION 2038

CREW MEMBERS 3 scientists, 3 astronauts

MISSION OBJECTIVE Research on plants and food production

CHARACTERISTICS

Prefabricated inflatable structures and in-situ resource utilization for radiation protection

LUNAR OASIS

For many, an oasis is the source of life in a barren land, where life surrounds it and is attracted to it.

The idea for this research facility is to implement the image of an oasis, to search for food and provide colour to the moon.

This base is meant to become much more than a research base. It is meant to enforce the idea that life can existe on the Moon, to give hope.

LOCATION

The Green Lab is located in the South polar region of the moon, near the Shackleton crater. A lunar base would benefit from a location that possesses three things: ice, ample sunlight and relatively moderate temperatures. Shackleton has at least two of these three attributes. Measuring 21 km across and 4 km deep, the crater’s peaks are exposed to almost continuous sunlight while its floors and walls are in near perpetual shadow. Mild temperature differences, a high percentage of sunlight for supplying solar power and the possibility that the deep crater may harbour ice, which could be tapped as a water supply make it interesting as a location of a permanently manned lunar base.

SITE PLAN

For safety reasons, the base will be > 2 km away from the landing zone. It will have two airlocks, one to connect to the greenhouse and one for the rover. The solar panels will be at a safe distance, but at the same time close enough for maintenance and the IMM solar cells will be added to the shielding of lunar regolith in order to provide the base with sustainable energy resources and also to use the surface of the shell in the best way. An antenna will be nearby, so the crew can have a connection with earth. Future habitat development can expand in all directions and make optimal use of the space.

CONCEPTUAL IDEA

SPHERE

Ideal compact design for inflatable structures

TORUS

Easily segmented into separate pressure compartments for safety

INFLATABLE STRUCTURES

Surrounding outer belt of greenhouses acts as a source of food

Visual connections between habitat, laboratory and greenhouses

Fluid spatial program

Visual connection between habitat and starry sky through cupola

Visual connections between different levels

Spatial organization according to radiation and noise level

RESEARCH TOPICS

FOOD PRODUCTION

Research on producing food in outer space has increased in the past decade. Resources in space, like oxygen and water, are precious. Hence, lunar bases must find ways to provide these resources to elongate the astronauts‘ stay. The idea of transporting enough food for a long mission is not possible. Growing food is more reasonable other than transporting it. Planting on the moon provides a multilevel of benefits.

VEGGIE SYSTEM

The vegetable production system, known as veggie, is a space garden residing on the space station. Veggie’s purpose is to help NASA study plant growth in microgravity, while adding fresh food to the astronauts’ diet and enhancing happiness and well-being on the orbiting laboratory.

WHY THE VEGGIE SYSTEM?

The veggie system is a light-weight system with a promising future. It requires minimal maintenance and uses simple technology. It is also able to grow flowers, unlike other technologies.

WHICH CROPS GROW IN VEGGIE?

• Red romaine lettuce

• ‘Tokyo bekana’ chinese cabbage

• Mizuna mustard

• Outredgeous red romaine lettuce

• ‘Waldmann’s green’ lettuce

• ‘Red russian’ kale and ‘dragoon’ lettuce

• ‘Wasabi’ mustard and ‘extra dwarf’ pak choi

• Mizuna mustard

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The veggie system consists of a LED lighting system with modular rooting “pillows” designed to contain substrated media and time-release fertilizer. The pillows are watered manually by the astronauts in low earth orbit (LEO). The design of Veggie allows cabin air to be drawn through the plant enclosure for thermal and humidity control and for supplying CO2 to the plants.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF THE VEGGIE SYSTEM?

The Kennedy Space Center team envisions planting more productive in the future, such as tomatoes and peppers. Foods like berries, certain beans and other antioxidantrich foods would likely have the added benefit of providing some space radiation protection for crew members.

WATER RESOURCES

Apart from being a marker of potential life, water is a precious resource. On the moon, water is necessary not only to sustain life but also for many other purposes such as generating rocket fuel. If space explorers can use the moon’s resources, it means they need to carry less water from Earth.

There are a few methods available to extract water from regolith. For example:

- Based on phase change: pumping energy into the regolith to sublimate the ice into vapor, then capturing the vapor, re-freezing it, and hauling the solid ice to a chemical processor where it is converted again into vapor for purification then electrolysis.

- Based on strip mining: hauling the resource along with slag (the unwanted silicates, which constitutes about 95% of the mass), to a processing unit

- An Ultra-low-energy grain-sorting process can extract the ice without phase change. The ice can then be hauled to the chemical processing unit in solid phase and converted into water or rocket propellant.

spacecraft launch

separation of the solid rocket

detachment of the lunar lander from the rocket

arriving of the lander on moon‘s surface

unloading of the airlock and autonomous robots inflating the

digging the holes

3D-printing the cover of lunar regolith

first module

TIMELINE

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

The mission design process is based on a robotic exploration of the chosen crater area, a research for a suitable location and resources. Robotic exploration missions to the deployment site will ensure preparation, the placement of the habitation module and all necessary support equipment. The GREEN LAB is based on a set of habitable modules that can be transported to the moon separately and connected on site.

The next missions will be roboticonly and prepare the base for the first humans. The first rocket will launch in 2034 and will transport the habitat. Once the module is deployed and inflated to its full size, it will be covered with the previously excavated lunar regolith to provide shielding. An airlock, a 3D-printer, an excavation robot, a construction robot and solar panels will be brought to build the base and make the habitat ready for the humans.

The second mission will bring three greenhouses, a second airlock and a rover. Once the greenhouses are deployed, inflated, attached to the habitat and the shell is 3D-printed, robots start growing food for the future inhabitants. Energy will be needed for the base to properly function and will be generated from the solar panels. The harsh lunar environment will be a true challenge for humans, therefore it is important for them to have all life-support ready when they arrive.

Phase 4

With a third rocket, the crew of six people will arrive. They will bring an antenna for communication with Earth and additional supplies for their survival. The robots should already be finished with their job, so the humans can settle into their new home and begin scouting the area. It won’t be long until scientists can start with their research on sustainable plantbased food. Production on the moon and the first plants in the greenhouses grow.

Completion of the habitation area, research facility and transformation of the base into the inhabitants home is the main goal of this phase. The crew is settled in and starts working on the interior outfitting, such as inflation and rigidization of interior walls, mounting of floors and furnishings of each area by adding internal installations and sanitation elements. Production on the moon and the first plants in the greenhouses keep growing.

Phase 5

By and by, new modules can be added and the initial system might get modified as technology advances and the needs of the inhabitants change. As successive astronauts and people arrive, the settlement will expand. People will continue developing the greenhouses as wellasset additional habitation units, laboratories and power supplies around the initialbase, and pressurized tunnels will be used for connections.

ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT & DESIGN

The lunar base uses 3D-printed regolith as environmental shelter. The facility consists of one spherical habitat in the middle, and three surrounding semi-torus shaped inflatable structures used as greenhouses connected with an airlock. Greenhouses are physically separated in order to keep the atmospheric conditions ideal for farming purposes. Still visual connections exist.

The greenhouses are not intended for the astronauts to interact with the plants, their only purpose is to grow enough fresh food to feed the crew. The systems of aeroponics and veggie are used to produce food.

I

n order for the crew to remain mentally healthy over a long period of time, it is important to not feel trapped in a confined space. So we wanted to create a fluid spatial program with functional areas separated by different levels. An open space encourages communication between the crew and contributes to good mental health.

The ground floor of the habitat is divided into three main areas - laboratory, kitchen, open living space, as well as toilet and medical unit. The crew members will have the opportunity to do sports and relax on the upper level. A cupola provides the chance to gaze at the stars and increases habitability by alleviating the feeling of confinement.

To fully protect from radiation, the private rooms were placed on the underground level. The center serves as a small common space, with sleeping quarters and bathrooms surrounding it.

1. Rover

2. Airlock 1 (rover docked)

3. Greenhouse aeroponics

4. Stargazing platform

5. Recreation space

6. Research laboratory

7. Kitchen and Dining

8. Greenhouse aeroponics

9. Crewquarters

10. Crew Lounge

11. Bathroom

12. Tech Compartment

ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT & DESIGN

Life-support system

GREEN LUNA project by

Anna Maria Just-Kunrath, Sara Abuhelweh, Amna AlHammadi, Haleema Sadia

ABSTRACT

The project utilizes an hybrid structure to effectively design the lunar habitat. Given the year-long mission and occupying 4-8 astronauts, the habitat requires comfortable and safe spaces. The inflatable structure would aid comfortability and the rigid structure for safety. The core of the project is the underground vertical greenhouse, drilled in situ by a drill onboard an ATHLETE rover, and using a 3D syntering process to cast the outer walls of the well.

This one is composed by a membrane tube which carry water and nutrients, with a yield per tube of 2,5 m2, and up to 60 tubes in the greenhouse for a total of 150 m2 (37,5 m2 per person). The overall volume of the greenhouse is 200 m3

THE CAMP GROUNDFLOOR

M 1 : 100

integrated irrigation head

GREENHOUSE MODULE

Nursery

Preparing the Membran Tube Pots

Seedling Storage Research Lab

Harvest

Life Support System [Water- & Air - Treat

Wii

- Tour the France

- Golf

- Boxing ...

THE HABITAT

Multimedia Fitness

"Monkey Park" [Wall bars, Roof Bars, Gymnastic Rings]

"Weight Lift"

Storage

Life Support System [Waste/Water]

Private Room per Person

Sanitary

THE CAMP

LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM

CO2 Storage [> PLANTS]

O2 Storage [>HUMAN]

N2 Storage > Pressure Control

Energy Storage

Ventilation

MONITORING 0th Floor

ROOM 1-4

STAR LOUNGE (2nd Floor)

Sanitary

"LET´S WATCH THE STARS"

LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM

MULTIMEDIA ROOF [SAVE HAVEN]

Multimedia Lounge

Music Lounge

Sanitary

Lounge has bedfuntction

SHUT THE SLIDING DOOR FOR PRIVACY

1st Floor: IN CASE OF EMERGENCY = SAVE HAVEN

1st Floor: MULTIMEDIA LOUNGE

0th Floor: KITCHEN

THE MOBILE NEST

by Karmen Janzekovic, Edis Kujovic, Widad Nasir, Areej Shawahna, Zainab AbuArabi, Ghada Khalil

project, images & text

ABSTRACT

The mobile nest is a project that investigates possibilities of the human kind out of the box and out of the everyday comfort. It is a journey in an environment no one has ever seen or written before. It is an opportunity to remind us how far we have come and how far we still can and shall go.

What we were interested through our project journey, was to adapt the technologies to the harsh environment and the psychological effect that an environment as that can have on a us as humans. We asked ourselves what would we miss the most and the answer was inevitable.

Please, join our journey. We are ready to take off!

“But oh!” thought Alice, suddenly jumping up, “if I don’t make haste I shall have to go back through the looking-glass, before I’ve seen what the rest of the house is like! Let’s have a look at the GARDEN first!

Lunar oasis is a reciprocal journey. It is a privilege and goal. It is a light after darkness and a rain after storm. We can sense it as a meditation, a guidance, a shelter and an orientation. It is attractive and fertile. It is our valuable hope and reward. It is our reflection and proximity of who we are.

It is a after darkness and a rain after storm. We can sense it as a

Lewis Carroll: Through the Looking Glass (Chapter One)

CONCEPTUAL IDEA

We were asking ourselves, what would we miss the most while traveling into the outer space. Our people, our daily routine, our plants, our garden. This would definitely have the biggest psychological effect on us. Therefore we focused from the beginning, on the prehuman phase on the lunar surface, for the astronauts to enter the new habitat as if it were home - by looking at the GARDEN first.

Our mission would start by sending the equipment and rovers for excavation of the lunar regolith and preparation for our habitat, focusing on the lunar south pole, because of its minimal extreme temperature and sunlight conditions. After successful landing, the main focus would be on our deployable structure, which would be brought to the lunar surface in its minimal and shrunken surface, inspired by Hoberman sphere. Already from the beginning we got inspired by Water walls bag support system developed by Marc M. Cohen. We thought of having the bag system all around the sphere surface, that would get activated after filling of the bags with water from the lunar south pole. This would give the structure pressure, stability, radiation shielding and an approach to a life support system.

We also wanted for our main sphere to be able to move, find the best spot for the further habitation and to focus on the research of the behaviour of the plants in low gravity. Surrounding design and habitation space would follow radial after the arrival of the astronauts.

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

From the beginning, we strongly believed in human and natural environment as the fundamental basis for the creation of a new habitat. Our thoughts went back to Vitruvius and the Primitive hut that was shown to us in early phase of studying. How to build in a new environment? What to use, where and why?

While researching more and more about the conditions and hazards, it was clear to us that any long-term human presence on the Moon will require protection from surface hazards such as radiation, micrometeorites, temperature amplitude etc. We solved our first sustainable aspect by choosing the existing cave, the Marius hills pit, around 80 meters deep in the west side of Oceanus Procellarum. It is an environment that is naturally protected from the hazards and the extreme temperature differences between the lunar day and night therefore being a favourable environmental condition for a human being.

As we mentioned earlier in the concept phase, we got inspired by another sustainable aspect, water wall life support system. We chose this system because of its integration of the air treatment, solid waste treatment and thermal control recycling all in one. These water wall bags would consist of series of the membrane bags that would be pre-integrated into existing modules and would function via forward osmosis that replicates the processes of the mechanically passive methods in the nature. With an approach of the thermal and osmotic differences, we would avoid many conventional failure prone mechanical systems. It provides 100% reuse of all metabolic waste with gray and black water processing of urine and wash water, air processing for CO2 removal and O2 revitalisation and thermal and humidity control, including of the algae growth that would play an important role in psychological colour scheme and well-being of the astronauts.

Next step was to include the higher plants and finding a way to grow food for a one year mission. In further research we focused on the greenhouse and aquaponics system.

Primitive hut by M.A Laugier Wikimedia Commons

RESEARCH TOPICS

In the research part we focused mainly on the four topics, that were relevant for our project development and what is our actual goal on a one year mission: greenhouse, integration of an aquaponics system, energy and mobility in the cave and water walls life support system implementation.

01 GREENHOUSE

Plants can play a significant role in the biological life support system (BLSS) in future journeys to space (Meggs, 2010). In the late 20th century, several experiments were done regarding agriculture in space; since plants grown in space will not only be able to substitute food carried from Earth and save weight in the spaceship but will also provide a refreshing atmosphere in the Space Cabin, as they scrub the Carbon Dioxide in the air and produce Oxygen. Studies also showed that plants can help lower humidity levels in the cabin. In addition, growing and caring for a garden will contribute to the physiological well-being of astronauts that are away from home (Ivanova, 1997). Providing light for the plants to grow is also incredibly challenging. The moon stays dark for a period of 14.8 days (about 2 weeks) and follows it 14.8 days (about 2 weeks) of successive light. A hybrid illumination system can collect natural light on sunny days and use LED technologies to provide light on days of successive darkness. The two systems should work coordinatively but not be fully dependent. In addition, the moon has an atmosphere composed of 0 CO2. Gases like Oxygen, Carbon, Nitrogen, and carbon dioxide must be produced artificially in the lunar base. Other challenges include thermal control and Air management.

02 AQUAPONICS

Aquaponics is the combination of aquaculture and hydroponics. In aquaponics, fish and plants are reared together in one integrated, soilless. The fish waste which is an output of the fish food being eaten by fishes provides a food source for the plants and the plants provide a natural filter for the water the fish live in. aquaponics produces

safe, fresh, organic fish and vegetables. When aquaponics is combined with a controlled environment greenhouse, quality crops can be grown for few months. Our prototype consists of an inflatable, transportable greenhouse that will help with plant and crop production for nourishment, air rejuvenation, water recycling, and trash recycling. This is referred to as a bioregenerative life support system

Aquaponics system

Source: NemecR, Production Aquaponik-Farm Brno, 18.05.2021, wikicommons

03 CAVES AND EQUIPMENT

The moon is made up of old basaltic lava flows and the lunar caves are borne from volcanoes, having extremely favourable environmental conditions for human. Choosing the Marius Hills pit that is around 80 m deep, with 65 m diameter, discovered by Japanaese SELENE/ Kaguya Terrain Camera, we had to think about how are we going to bring our habitat into life.

03.01 - ENERGY

We need robots to drill in a cave, or even robots to move and carry cargo, so NASA developed wireless charging solutions for robots on the Moon as part of NASA ‘Tipping Point’ project with WiBotic‘s technology. Solar panels are

less feasible when the sun is not shining, and the lunar night on the Moon can last up to 14 days. The goal is to develop a lunar wireless power grid that can power a variety of staffed and unmanned aircraft despite of battery type, voltage, or power level. For now there are three types of wireless charger.

03.02 - MOBILITY: MOON DIVER

Moon diver is designed by NASA to explore the lava tunnels, built to descend hundreds of feet into enormous pits on the surface of the moon. It would land within a few hundred meters from its target pit and serve as an anchor for Axel, a modest two-wheeled rover. The Axel would carry a variety of instruments to explore a lunar cavern, including a stereo pair of cameras for near imaging of the walls and a longdistance camera to view across the pit on the opposite side. A multispectral microscope would examine the cavern‘s mineralogy, while an alpha particle x-ray spectrometer would investigate the rock features‘ elemental chemistry. Axel would investigate the cavern floor once it reached the bottom of the pit, giving humanity its first close look at the moon‘s subterranean worlds.

03.03 - MOBILITY: LIGHTWEIGHT ROBOTIC CRANE

First we would need a lightweight robotic crane that is made of a structurally efficient truss structure with cable actuation that moves like a human arm but with a far larger reach. It may be scaled to accommodate any lander, vehicle, or surface application and it can employ a toolbox of faster end-effectors, or tools, to do tasks including hoisting, forklifting, regolith scooping, welding, and more. The new Lightweight Surface Manipulation System (LSMS) will be around the same size as the previous prototype, with a 7.62-meter reach and the ability to hoist payloads weighing around one metric ton on the Moon.

03.04 - MOBILITY: MICRO ROVER

Daedalus is a robot, attached to a tether, that would drop the robot into the cave, allowing it to explore on its own. It is a 46-centimetre sphere, with a 360-degree stereoscopic camera, a LIDAR system for 3D mapping and sensors to help understand the subsurface environment, such as temperature and radiation levels. It would also have a rock-testing and obstacle-moving arm. The hanging tether

Lightweight robotic crane by NASA

Source: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/langley/lightweight-cranetechnology-could-find-a-home-on-the-moon would serve as a Wi-Fi receiver and wireless charging head to send data back to Earth.

03.05 - MOBILITY: DRONES

Drones operate within the Earth‘s atmosphere and with a few tweaks, this technology may operate the Moon too with lithium hydride and peroxide propulsion system. The Arne mission is made of a soft-landing spacecraft and three small „hole robots,“ which are spherical flying robots with a diameter of 30 centimetres. The probe would land inside, with a direct line of sight to the earth for communications from the bottom of the pit. Once they land, tiny robots will fly into the side chambers, inspecting the walls and determining the structure.

TIMELINE I EXPLORATION II AUTONOMOUS BUILDING III HABITAT

prehuman mission starts with landing of the first rocket in radius of 5-40 km around Marius hills pit

first to exit is the rover with pre-integrated aquaponics system, deployable structure and devices for exploration followed by the lightweight crane which is going to allow objects to enter and exit the pit micro rover and drones get activated after entering the pit and start sending informations back to Earth

excavation and sending of the samples about the floor consistency and possible integration after finding the suitable position for the future habitat, the aquaponics system in the rover gets activated first results of the green house and aquaponics are positive, the rover is able to deploy itself and awaits the crew

preparation of the preintegrated modules on Earth with personal space design by the crew landing of the second rocket, close to the first one, with four modules and four crew members modules are being moved to the pit by NASA athlete, brought down by the lightweight crane and attached to the deployable structure crew of biologist, geologist, doctor and engineer enters the habitat by looking at the GARDEN first

ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT & DESIGN

LANDING - EXCAVATION - EXPLORATION

The prehuman phase starts after landing of the first rocket. All of the equipment exits and gets to the bottom of the Marius hills pit by the help of a lightweight crane. All set for exploration and defining of the position of the habitat.

SAMPLES - COMMUNICATION - AUTONOMOUS BUILDING

After successful sending of the consistency information and samples, we can determine the floor stabilisation and suitable position. The aquaponics system in rover gets activated and is ready for the deployment, creating space for circulation and leisure on 80 m2 for the future inhabitants.

MODULE ASSEMBLY

While researching the life support system we got inspired by the water walls bag system (Ref. M. Cohen) which influenced our spherical form finding for the modules of around 25 m2. Walls of the modules would consist of the water wall bags pressed between the rigid outer structure with technical part and heating of the modules in the part below and storage space in the part above.

Transportation of modules would be possible with NASA athlete, which would be able to attach or detach the modules from the rocket and once arriving to the lunar surface being able to move.

After arrival, our modules would connect via preintegrated system and attach to the deployable structure with already functioning lab and greenhouse..

(1) 20 m2 kitchen (2) 10 m2 bathroom (3) 25 m2 storage creation.

(1) 18 m2 suitports

5 m2 mobile research station vi ground fl oor plan 1st fl oor plan

(1) 6,5 m2 personal living room (2) 6,5 m2 bedroomvanion. section 1 2 2 2

22 2

1

1 1 11

1 33 21 2 2

2 2

DETAILS - WATER WALLS

The ‚walls‘ of the modules consist of the water wall bags pressed between the rigid outer structure with technical part and heating of the modules in the part below and storage space in the part above. This life support system would have additional calming psychological effect because of the algae green colour which would be able to shine through the translucent perforated inner membrane, while also having control over temperature and humidity in the modules. We would also include smart mechanism for switching between different colours and daily needs.

Reference: Water Walls Life Support Architecture by Marc M. Cohen et al (astrotecture.com)

5 cm exterior rigid construction

5 cm of vacuum for thermal insulation

25 cm interior rigid construction to support the walls and floor with pre-integrated water wall bags

5 cm perforated inner membrane for the possible temperature and humidity controlling, with translucent electrochromic layer and switch off/ colour change mechanism