Class of 2021_BURGER,ZN

P R E P A R A T I O N :_ A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA Zehann Nell Burger 214202425

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A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA

- Richard Branson, 12/07/2021, OuterOrbit of Earth

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“To all the kids down there, I was once a child with a dream looking up at the stars. Now I’m an adult in a spaceship with lots of other wonderful adults looking down to our beautiful, beautiful Earth. To the next generation of dreamers, if we can do this just imagine what YOU can do.”

DECLARATION II A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA

I hereby delcare that the dissertaion submitted for the MPAR18 Masters of Architecture, at the Tshwane University of Technology, is my own work and has not been submitted to any other institution. All qouted text and secondary information are indicated and acknowleged by a comprehensive list of references.

- Zehann Nell Burger 214 20 2425

TELESCOPES ON THE PLATEAU, SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

PREPARATION: A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA By Zehann Nell Burger 214202425 Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Architecture at the

A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA

Department of Architecture and Industrial Design in the FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT at the TSHWANE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Supervisor: Prof AO Osman Professor PhD (Arch) (UP) Co-supervisor: Mr. JH Dubery Lecturer MEd (UP) PRETORIA NOVEMBER 2021

SOUTH AFRICA LARGE TELESCOPE(SALT), SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

PHOTOGRAPH OF AUTHER AND MOTHER, ON THE OBSERVATION PLATAUE, SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

_ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to: All of my architecture friends and the “Crying – is – cool – and – Compulsory” Discord group that went through this process together. Always there for each other and the support and help given in crits. Thanks to you all for always being part of my university architecture career with all of the after-exam chill sessions and Mc Donald’s runs.

I would like to thank the staff at the SAAO and SALT, Kathryn Rose (SAAO), Keegan Titus (SAAO Technician) and Jonathan Love (SALT Technician), for all of their assistance in helping me get on site and escorting me on site, while offering their time to show how the telescopes work and the equipment is used. A special thanks goes to Keegan Titus for sharing his office space for the weekend to act as a home base and shelter from the cold weather.

My thanks go to my other friends, Francois Blomerus and Corné van der Merwe, for all the help with modelling and for their input and support along the year.

To my family and girlfriend, Nicci Buys, for the continuous support and motivation, all the time spent proofreading documents and helping gather information, I would like to express my appreciation.

To Abrie Vermeulen and Cornel van der Westhuizen for your continued help and guidance through the design and contract phase. All of the crits really did help me to see the design from a different perspective.

Lastly, I would like to give a special word of thanks to my supervisors, Prof. Osman, and Mr Dubery, for their guidance through the process.

ABSTRACT

_ABSTRACT

Space as the final frontier, is a popularised slogan made famous by the science fiction television and film enterprise ‘Star Trek’. The possibility and feasibility of manned Space Travel to planets beyond the Moon, and colonisation of Mars is quickly becoming a reality. The interest in the development of a mission to Mars is so great, it is comparable to the Space-race fever that was last seen during the era of the Apollo missions to the Moon in the 1960s. Although the United States ultimately dominated the race to the Moon, the argument can be made that in order to realise the ambitious race to Mars, skills, and professionals from around the globe can contribute towards these goals and special consideration should be made to include countries and scientists from the southern hemisphere.

Keywords: • Space Exploration • Simulated Environment • Training Facility LEFT : PHOTO OF MARS SURFACE FROM MARS ROVER / BBC News. 2021.

Mars: Nasa’s Perseverance rover sends stunning images. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-56238018> [Accessed 14 July 2021].

A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA

The aim of this thesis is the inception and creation of a facility that is capable of replicating terrain and climatic conditions of the Martian terrain, for the training of Astronauts for manned missions to the Mars planet. To this end, the project relies on identifying a site in Southern Africa that would be best suited for accommodating these requirements. The proposed site would influence the general planning and thematic conditions that a crew of Astronauts would experience. It is argued that the narrative and experience of a long Space journey would best be replicated or simulated in an isolated setting. It is further argued that such a facility will promote the capabilities of the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) for consideration and inclusion in future Space expeditions. It is hoped that the development of such a technology intensive Space programme could benefit the development of supporting technology industries in South Africa.

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At the time of this dissertation, South Africa already boasts seven observatories. These are: South African Astronomical Observatory, Southern African Large telescope, Royal Observatory Cape of Good Hope, Hartebeest Hoek Radio Astronomy Observatory, Boyden Observatory, Radcliffe Observatory and Natal Observatory. Also included in this extensive list is The South African National Space Agency (SANSA). However, the South Africa National Space Agency has to date limited involvement with Space exploration. The aforementioned South African institutions are currently exclusively oriented to astronomical documentation. These Space documenting infrastructures are the most significant contributing factors in South Africa when consideration is given to Space documentation and Space events (SAAO, 2019).

PREFACE

_PREFACE

A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA

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This project is inspired by the author’s long-standing interest in all aspect pertaining to Space. From Travelling through Space and observing galaxies millions of miles away to understanding humanity’s own position in all of this – this dissertation is inspired by Space and all that Space encapsulates.

These future Space Travel plans are divided into different aspirational missions: there is the Mission to Mars, with the definitive goal of establishing a human colony on the Red Planet. There are also plans for “off-world” mining operations. It is proposed that mines, as well as housing be established on the Moon. Consequently, the development of a new form of tourism has also begun – Space Travel – and this is exemplified by both Sir Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos’ recent low Earth orbit trips. Thus, these are all only the starting points for the next generation of explorers and Astronauts, where everyday people will start to form part of Space Travel.

Currently, the national and privatised Space agencies are all located in the so-called First World countries. This creates an imbalance in shared knowledge and contributions to the shared global knowledge and interests. This dissertation strives to provide a platform for South Africa to make a larger and more significant contribution to the new Space-race. Furthermore, this thesis argues that so-called Third World countries can make significant contributions to the future of Space exploration and Travel aspirations, all while benefitting from a shared human interest.

SCULPTURE IN SITE & SALT,SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

_TABLE OF CONTENTS

KAROO,SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

Outline Brief ..............................................pg.2 Background ..............................................pg.4 Argument ..................................................pg.21 Limitations ................................................pg.24 Delimitations ............................................pg.24 Research Methodology .............................pg.25 1.6.1 Who am I as a Designer ...........pg.26 1.6.2 World View ..............................pg.26

02 _ I M P O R T A N C E

AND BENEFITS OF SPACE TRAVEL

03 _ C O N T E X T

AND SITE ANALYSIS

3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6

Site Selection Criteria ...................................pg.36 Three Possible Sites ......................................pg.37 The Proposed Site ........................................pg.38 Climate Study Comparison ...........................pg.39 Material Study ..............................................pg.40 Regionla Context ..........................................pg.42 - MeerKAT + SKA ...................................pg.44 - SALT ....................................................pg.45 3.7 About the SAAO ...........................................pg.45 Found on Site ........................................pg.48 South Panorama ...................................pg.54 East Panorama ......................................pg.56 West Panorama .....................................pg.58

Elements on Site .......................................................pg.64 Site Analysis ..............................................................pg.66 Site Breakdown ...........................................pg.66 Existing + Proposed .....................................pg.70 Vegetation ...................................................pg.72 Rock Edge ....................................................pg.72 Rainwater ....................................................pg.73 West Sun .....................................................pg.73 Linking Existing toNew ................................pg.74 Axis Mundi ..................................................pg.74 Proposed Movement on Site ......................pg.75 Dispertion on site through Architecture .....pg.75 Proposed Building location .........................pg.76 Hidden vs Seen ...........................................pg.76 Respecting the Axis and Views....................pg.77 Form giving Massing ...................................pg.77

04_ P R E C E D E N T 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4

STUDY

Eden Project .......................................................pg.80 Academy Museum of Motion Picture ................pg.81 Johnson Space Center ........................................pg.82 John F. Kennedy Space Center ............................pg.83

5.1 Brief + Program .............................................pg.86-87

06_ C O N C E P T 6.1 Space Architecture.........................................pg.90-93

07_ D E S I G N D E V E L O P M E N T 7.1 Design Exploration..............................................pg.96 Linking rooms + Program.............................pg.96 Iteration 1 ..............................................pg.96-97 Iteration 2 ............................................pg.98-100 Iteration 2.1 .......................................pg.102-103 Iteration 3 ..........................................pg.104-107 7.2 The Process ......................................................pg.108 The Colony .........................................pg.108-112 The Domes .........................................pg.113-115 Further Refinement ...........................pg.115-121 7.3.1 Initial Proposed Plan ..............................pg.124 7.3.2 Initial Proposed Sections ........................pg.125 7.3.3 Initial Proposed Elevations .....................pg.126 7.3.4 Initial Proposed 3D .................................pg.127

08 _P R O P O S E D 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4

PLANS

Proposed Ground Floor Plan ............................pg.128 Proposed First Floor Plan .................................pg.129 Proposed West Elevations .........................pg.130-131 Proposed East Elevations ..........................pg.132-133

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2.1 Innovation ...................................................pg.31 2.2 Culture and Inspiration ...............................pg.32 2.3 New means to address global challenges ...pg.33

View of Site .................................................pg.60 Soil Conditions on Site ................................pg.61 Aerial of Site from PLateau .........................pg.62 Aerial of Site ................................................pg.63

A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA

1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6

05_A PNRDO PJ ER COTG RB AR MI E F

TABLE OF CONTENTS

01 _ I N T R O D U C T I O N

8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8

Proposed Section A - A ..............................pg.134-135 Proposed Section B - B ..............................pg.136-137 Proposed East Street Elevations ................pg.138-139 Proposed West Street Elevations ..............pg.140-141

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RESOLUTION

Specification V (SFN209.M) .....................................pg.142 Overview ..................................................pg.144 Exploring Domes ......................................pg.145 Types of Domes ........................................pg.146 Model Exploration ............................pg.147-148 ETFE System Outline ...............................pg.149

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11_ C O N C L U S I O N Conclusion................................................................pg.170

12_ R E F E R E N C E S List of Refrences ...............................................pg.174-177

Contract Documentation V (CDO209.M) .................pg.150 Locality & Site ..........................................pg.150 Ground Floor Plan & Section .....................pg.151 Edge Details ..............................................pg.152 Details .....................................................pg.153 Dome Theory ...........................................pg.154

10 _ F I N A L

PRESENTAION

Final Exhinition Board 1 ..........................................pg.158 Final Exhinition Board 2 ..........................................pg.159 Final Exhinition Board 3 ..........................................pg.160 Final Exhinition Board 4 ..........................................pg.161 Site Model Scale 1 - 25 000 ....................................pg.162 Geodesic Dome Model ...........................................pg.162 Site Model Scale 1 - 1 000 ......................................pg.163 Site Model Scale 1 - 500 .........................................pg.163 Author Preparing for Final Exhibition .....................pg.164 Author After Final Exhibition ..................................pg.165

PLATEAU AND SALT,SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

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SOLARIS TELESCOPE,SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA

INTRODUCTION

_INTRODUCTION

01 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1_ O U T L I N E B R I E F

This dissertation presents the design of a training facility for Astronauts from the national and private Sector Space Agencies located in Sutherland, South Africa. It explores the possibility of how the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) can form part of the bigger discourse when it comes to Space Travel and also assisting in the training of Astronauts for manned missions beyond Earth’s orbit.

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It is also noted that this dissertation will investigate the possibility of how SANSA could assist by hosting workshops in the development and building of equipment and technologies that could be used on these missions. In turn, it is the aspiration of this dissertation that this endeavour will start to bring new investment opportunities to SANSA along with the benefits of Space Travel and the technological advances that it will accompany it. This could potentially lead to multiple opportunities for countries with new and small Space Agencies to assist and compete along with already established Space Agencies.

Furthermore, this facility aims to integrate with The National Research Foundation (NRF) as well as with the future plans of the South African Astronomical Observatory. The proposed facility will cater as a training facility for future Astronauts whereas the workshops will serve as an extension to already existing workshops at the observatory.

This dissertation explores the following design considerations and narratives: • The creation and development of a facility that can be the starting point for SANSA to form part of human-crewed missions.

• Exploring landform buildings as a way to limit light pollution, so as not to interfere with the observation of Space on the proposed site.

• How the building could potentially mimic the experience that Astronauts will have on a daily basis • Introducing the public realm into Space and Space training.

• Architecture as a physical manifestation of the link between humanity and an experience in Space.

_Clarification is given below on the use of the word ‘PREPARATION’ in the title of this dissertation:

The protocol includes rules such as the following: “Each project name will be a simple euphonic word that will not duplicate or be confused with other NASA or non-NASA project titles. When possible, and if appropriate, names will be chosen to reflect NASA’s mission. Project names will be serialized when appropriate, thus limiting the number of different names in the use at any one time; however, serialization will be used only after successful flight or accomplishment has been achieved.” (Lewis, 2015) Although the committee only lasted two years, the protocol was designed to keep NASA’s project names simple and streamlined, many early missions were pushed back, cancelled, or continued as part of a mission series, such as the Apollo missions. Crew members started to give Spacecrafts informal codenames such as Apollo 9 being nicknamed “Spider” and “Gumdrop” respectively.

The Apollo 10 Spacecraft received different nicknames for the different sections, namely “Snoopy” and “Charlie Brown”. “Snoopy”

became the safety mascot for NASA a year before the Apollo 10 flight. This proved to be very successful with Astronauts and employees and therefore these nicknames were chosen by the Astronauts (Charles M. Schulz Museum, 2021).

NASA still uses a similar protocol even though the committee no longer exists. The organization added a few rules in 2000 such as the specification that the mission names should be easy to pronounce and mostly avoid acronyms. Nowadays days the person in charge of a particular NASA unit will decide whether the name is appropriate. NASA often reaches out to the public to assist in naming everything from Mars rovers to planetary features as this in in line with the inspirational ideals of the organization (Lewis, 2015).

The last four rovers that explored the Red Planet were all named by students who won essay contests. Recently NASA held a public vote so that they could choose a naming scheme for any new features or formations found on Pluto. The vote settled on a theme that related to the afterlife and underworld, leaving scientists with a long list of names.

In context of the project, the facility focuses on preparing Astronauts for the up-and-coming Mars mission by means of training and simulations. These training simulations focus on preparing Astronauts for certain events that might occur on Mars and ways to resolve these events. The Astronauts will have to be prepared for both expected and, more importantly, unexpected events that could possibly occur, as “assistance” will be a planet away and it will take a long time to get new equipment or resources to Mars.

Thus, the decision to highlight and feature the term PREPARATION in the title.

3 A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA

NASA has a very specific set of rules when naming Spacecrafts and equipment and Space missions. The Spacecraft names are often inspirational and borrowed from Greco-Roman mythology and names given to ships from the Age of Exploration. NASA has had naming guidelines since its earliest days as it is a government institution that is governed by bureaucratic rules (Lewis, 2015).

The Project Designation Committee was tasked with approving all the early NASA mission names. This committee was tasked with developing the first naming protocol of NASA.

INTRODUCTION

1.2_ B A C K G R O U N D _The Space Race Space is quickly becoming the new frontier to be explored by national governments and private sectors. In the process, these different parties are preparing themselves for an environment with the same competition and collaboration that can typically be found on Earth. Historically the Space-race began in August 1955 when the Soviet Union responded to the USA’s announcement of their intention to launch artificial satellites for the upcoming International Geophysical Year (History.com Editors, 2020).

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The Soviet Union achieved an early lead in the race when it launched the first artificial satellite named “Sputnik One” and “Sputnik Two” – the first satellite to carry a living animal in 1957. In the same year the USA suffered a terrible loss and critical step back with their experimental rocket “Vanguard One” when it exploded on the launch pad. The back-and-forth race between the USA and Soviet Russia became a remarkable point in history and became one of the biggest races known today. In the following two years the USA and Soviet Russia celebrated great leaps in advancement in technology and successful launches of satellites.

Along with the technological advances came better equipment that could better map Space and communicate with equipment on Earth. This in turn, meant that scientists and astronomers could now start to obtain better readings and imagery from satellites in Earth’s Orbit. Humankind celebrated with Vanguard 2 when it successfully measured cloud cover and sent back the first attempted photo of Earth from a satellite; the constant motion resulted in difficulty interpreting the data. Soviet Russia made a big stride for-

ward with Luna 3 as it was the first mission to photograph the far side of the Moon in 1959.

In these two years Soviet Russia and USA kept on trying to compete in the Space-race, but the true leap came from the Soviet Union on the 12th of September 1959, when they had the first Spacecraft to reach the surface of the Moon. This was also the first human-made object to land on another celestial body (NASA, n.d.). The USA gained back some lead in the race with the success of “Explorer Six” which included an instrument to study particles and meteorology. The success of “Pioneer P-3” with the Lunar orbiter probe as a

the first test flight of the Soviet Vostok programme, and had the first Vostok Spacecraft, as well as the first flight into outer Space in which animals were sent into orbit and returned back to Earth safely. (NASA, n.d.).

After the previous missions in and out of Earth’s orbit, and the missions to the dark side of the Moon, the setting was ready for mankind to send a human being into Space. The Soviet Union grabbed the opportunity and sent humanity’s first Cosmonaut, a Russian Astronaut, into Space. The Soviet pilot and Cosmonaut, who became the first human being to journey into Space, was Yuri Alekseyevush Gagarin. This was a major milestone in the Space-race. The capsule with which he went into Space, Vostok 1, completed one orbit of Earth on the 12th of April 1961. Yuri Alekseyevush Gagarin truly became an international celebrity and received a number of medals, as well as his nation’s highest honour, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (TITO, 2004).

During the 1960’s an ambitious plan was set in motion and involved successfully and safely sending and returning a human being into Space.

In April of 1960 humankind celebrated a solar monitor system along with “TIROS-1” (or TIROS-A). TIROS-1 was the first successful low-Earth orbital weather satellite and the first of a series of Television Infrared Observation Satellites from the USA. While the Soviet Union launched

These missions included a series of solar-orbiting, spin-stabilized, solar-cell and battery-powered satellites designed to obtain measurements on a continuing basis of interplanetary phenomena from widely separated points in Space and a research satellite designed to explore Earth’s ionosphere.

A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA

payload, also put them ahead in the race. The intent of the probe was that it would be placed in high orbit so that the Space/section between the Earth and the Moon could be better investigated, and a secondary objective to gain better control over Spacecrafts in orbit from Earth.

The middle part of this decade had more technological advances and more successful missions for both the USA and the Soviet Union. Some include, but are not limited to, Ranger 6 through Ranger 9. These missions all included Lunar impactors, which returned different results. Various missions during this time period all returned varying results such as some missions only returned pictures until they landed on the Moon.

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CENTER : Graphic of USA vs RUSSIA Space race. 2021. Haikudeck.com. 2021.

The Space Race Eras - A Haiku Deck by Gregory Trieste. [online] Available at: <https://www.haikudeck.com/the-space-race-eras-education-presentation-htDX0Xakrh> [Accessed 9 AUGUST 2021].

These missions mark the start of the great Moon race which was a race to see which country would be the first nation to safely land a human on the surface of the Moon and to return that human safely to Earth. While the race was head-to-head at the start the U.S. won the “Moon Race” when the Astronauts Niel Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the Moon in 1969 (Royal Museums Greenwich, 2021).

The middle part of this decade held more technological advances and more successful missions for both the USA and Soviet Union. Some include but are not limited to Ranger 6 through Ranger 9. These missions all included Lunar impactors; these different missions returned various different results. The race drastically started to slow down for the Soviet Union when they tried to perfect their N1 rocket, but after two failed launches in 1971 and 1972, they cancelled the research and development of the rocket in 1976. The United States celebrated five successful launches, with Apollo 12 to 17, during in the 1970’s (Knight, 2021).

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Throughout the 1970s other nations experienced a sense of inspiration and joined in the Space expansions. Some of the nations, including Japan, France, the United Kingdom, China, and India, all sent up satellites during this time and became part of the development of technology for Space Travel. The timelines pictured in figure 1 and figure 2 show the sequence of events of Space expansion from 1610 to current day events and future plans.

Since the inception of the Space-race, thousands of satellites have been launched into Earth’s orbit. Ultimately these are aimed at helping humanity to better understand and investigate our planet and solar system. Consequently, we now have access to better-detailed world and star maps, as well as more sensitive techniques in analysing weather patterns which enable us to be more prepared for natural disasters (UOCSUSA, 2015).Technology has improved with leaps and bounds through the years. In November 2011, humanity celebrated the launch of the Mars Rover named Curiosity. Society celebrated again on August 6, 2012, when NASA confirmed that Curiosity had successfully touched down on the surface of the distant Red Planet (Sea and Sky, 2020). History again repeated itself when we celebrated the touchdown of the new Mars Rover, namely Perseverance, on February 18, 2021. This little machine is now continuing with the mission of Curiosity mission by further exploring the surface of the Red Planet (DW, 2021).

However, closer to home, observatories located in strategic areas around the world are on a never-ending search to piece together an entire map of our cosmos. They collaborated in 2019 to form a Nero-Net. (Stardate, n.d.) This was used to photograph the first-ever event horizon of a black hole. This great accomplishment marked a point in the history of what we as humanity knew about Black Holes and resulted in a completely new subfield in science that needs to be explored even further (Loff, 2019).

However, closer to home, observatories located in strategic areas are world are on a never-ending search to piece together an entire map of our One of the leading companies in the private sector of the Aeronautics Division, is SpaceX. SpaceX prides itself in the re-use of rockets. A significant milestone in creating a more sustainable approach to the manufacture and launching of space craft. SpaceX has designed, engineered,

INTRODUCTION

The first Spacecraft from the USA to orbit the Moon was designed to photograph smooth areas of the lunar surface for selecting landing sites, and the first US soft landing; the Surveyor program performed various tests in support of the anticipated and planned manned Moon landings.

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INTRODUCTION

` INTRODUCTION ABOVE : FIRST PHOTO OF LUNAR FARSIDE. Moon: NASA Science. 2021. First Photo of the Lunar Farside – Moon: NASA Science. [online] Available at: <https://moon.nasa.gov/resources/26/first-photo-of-the-lunar-farside/> [Accessed 14 JUNE 2021].

A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA

8 BELOW : LAIKA THE DOG, FIRST ANIMAL IN SPACE. Space.com. 2021. Laika the Dog & the First Animals in Space. [online] Available at: <https://www.space.com/17764-laika-first-animals-in-space.html> [Accessed 4 May 2021].

`

One of the leading companies in the private sector of the Aeronautics Division, is SpaceX. SpaceX prides itself in the re-use of rockets.

This drastic mechanical change is a significant milestone in creating a more sustainable approach to the manufacture and launching of Space craft. To date, SpaceX has designed, engineered, and built their iconic Falcon 9 rockets, which have been successfully launched a total of 49 times. (SpaceX, n.d.) To augment the position and contributions of South Africans, and contribute to the argument for this thesis, this has been achieved because of South-African born visionary, Elon Musk. He has been pushing the limits of imagination and linking it to reality to build a better future. (Zimmermann, 2020) Elon Musk has a great fear that some form of catastrophic extinction event will happen in the future that will in turn wipe-out humanity. This catastrophic event might come in a form of a natural disaster or human made pollution that gets to a point that makes the earth uninhabitable. This “fear” is what drives Elon Musk to be humanities savour in the future. His safety net plan is to expand humanity to other nearby planets, Mars; so that humanity stands a better chance of surviving with colonies of humans expanding into the cosmos and give humanity the best chance for survival. This will, in turn, give way to new challenges that need to be adapted to and overcome (Tech Vision, 2020).

Blue Origin funded and supported by Jeff Bezos is one of the other leading companies in the private sector division of aeronautics. This company already has two working, designed rockets, namely the New Shepard, and Omega A, and with a third type of rocket underway, the New Glenn. Blue Origin links the rocket to the kind of payload that needs to be delivered into the Earth’s orbit. (Origin, 2007) Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Blue Origin and Amazon, has a different approach to Elon Musk. His approach is to retain Earth as humanity’s one true home and expand resource gathering outward into the cosmos.

ABOVE : GRAPHIC OF ELON MUSK AND FALCON 9 ROCKET. Ft.com. 2021. SpaceX: how Elon Musk’s new rocket could transform the space race. [online] Available at: <https://www.ft.com/content/25e2292ba910-41c8-9c55-09096895f673> [Accessed 09 November 2021].

Jeff Bezos realizes that natural resources on Earth are starting to run dangerously low and these resources will have to be obtained elsewhere. home and expand resource gathering outward into the cosmos. Jeff Bezos realizes that natural resources on Earth are starting to run dangerously low and these resources will have to be obtained elsewhere.

Bezos’ plan involves moving our resource mining to the Moon, and to other planets and their Moons. (Chang, 2021) There he hopes to find alternative resources, or at least one resource in abundance which can replace one of our significantly important and strained resources.

Space expansion holds a new age of wonder, technological advances, resources, and challenges. Having said that, humanity needs to ensure it is ready and prepared for the challenges that may lie ahead. Robert Goodwin once said: “All civilizations become either Space fairing or extinct.” (Atkinsin, 2011).

_ ANALOG STATIONS

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ABOVE : GRAPHIC OF JEFF BAZOS & NEW GLEN SPACCESHIP. Ft.com. 2021. Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin says it will take a civilian to space in July. [online] Available at: <https://www.ft.com/content/7bc1c0c2-3e54-4dc0-89ca-828ff57e82ca> [Accessed 9 November 2021].

The current high paced rate of preparation and development of Space exploration technologies should contribute to significant changes for humanity within the next few years. Jobs known today may drastically change in the future. These future “Space” jobs will demand skills and preparation, depending on the challenges that lie ahead.

With these jobs and changes that lie ahead, humanity might have to expand its views and knowledge on what it might take to be part of this Space expansion (Author, 2021). How will humanity cope with the intense physical and mental training needed to adjust to Space Travel and Space Mining? How can humanity ensure that everyone is included in the inevitable development? With the current expansion of humanity, there will be positive and negative effects as with everything else globally.

NASA has been actively planning to expand into the cosmos, beyond Earth’s orbit; in order to do this, they have started conducting human analog missions and field tests. NASA uses the word “analog” as a descriptive word for these missions as it describes something that can be represented using a continuously variable characteristic.

These human analogs take place in extreme environments.

These analog missions and field tests will become more essential in preparing Astronauts for the environment on other Planets. These analog missions field tests are done on Earth in various locations that are identified based on their physical similarities to the extreme environments of a specific target mission (NASA, 2011). These missions are used to simulate different aspects of missions to future destinations, including the Moon, asteroids, and Mars.

These missions are performed so that hardware and operational concepts can be tested in these relevant environments before they are used for Spaceflight. It is important to note that these analog missions cannot simulate all aspects of the Space missions here on Earth. Thus, it is generally accepted that a very wide array of different analog missions is essential and vital to future Space exploration.

This is done so that each analog mission only tests a few concepts and/or hardware at a time so that they can critically focus on these objectives and ensure that they are tested correctly (NASA, 2011).

_ ANALOG GOAL

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NASA’s goal is to prepare Astronauts and robots for the complex challenges of living beyond low Earth orbit. To do so, it conducts analog missions both on Earth and in Space in similar extreme environments. A key aspect to note is that NASA keeps adding locations to the analog list to better suit the extreme conditions (NASA, 2011).

_ ANALOG STATIONS LOCATIONS AND OBJECIVES These locations, and the objective of the location include, but are not limited to:

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Desert Research and Technology Studies (RATS).

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In-situ Resource Utilization Demonstrations.

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Haughton Mars Project

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Pavilion Lake Research Project

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NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations.

•

International Space Station Testbed for Analog Research (ISTAR).

•

D-MARS

Desert Research and Technology Studies (RATS).

The RATS center provides a data base for engineers and scientists to design, build, develop, and evaluate technology, human-robotic systems, and extravehicular equipment in the high desert near Flagstaff, Arizona (NASA, 2011).

LEFT : RATS ANALONG PHOTO. Nasa.gov. 2021. Nasa.gov. 2021. NASA - D-RATS Set Sights on Asteroid. [online] Available at: <https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/analogs/desertrats/ dratskennedy.html> [Accessed 23 November 2021].

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The Arizona desert has a rough, dusty terrain along with extreme temperature swings that simulate those that may be encountered on other surfaces in Space. Additionally, the remote location of Arizona provides realistic scenarios for extreme remote communication.

In-situ Resource Utilization Demonstrations.

The terrain has a very heavy rock distribution, soil materials and permafrost. This human analog station is situated in Mauna Kea, Hawaii. This location provides a great testing ground for equipment and operations that cannot be done in laboratories. In situ resource utilization demonstrations are performed here, and this is a necessary element in NASA’s exploration architecture. Technologies that are also evaluated here could be used to find ice in lunar or planetary environments (NASA, 2011).

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The use of in situ resources can be described as a process that harnesses local resources for the purpose of human and robotic exploration, including end-to-end oxygen extraction, separation, and storage from volcanic material. There are several resources that can be used for this purpose, such as regolith (or surface material), minerals, metals, volatiles, water, ice, sunlight, vacuum, and thermal gradients.

RIGHT : In-situ Resource Utilization Demonstrations PHOTO. NASA. 2021. Overview: In-Situ Resource Utilization. [online] Available at: <https://www.nasa.gov/isru/overview> [Accessed 2 November 2021].

Haughton Mars Project

The Haughton Crater is located on the Devon Island in Canada.

This location can only be accessed by aircraft from Resolute Bay, Cornwallis Island, Canada. The crater is a rocky arctic desert environment that features geological and biological attributes. This creates an ideal setting to set out requirements for future missions for robotics and human beings. The setting is the most often used setting to prepare for future Mars missions.

RIGHT : Haughton Mars PHOTO. NASA. 2021.2021. [online] Available at: <https://twitter. com/HMP> [Accessed 23 November 2021].

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In collaboration with NASA, the Mars Institute, and the SETI Institute, members of the Haughton Mars Project perform a number of representative lunar science and exploration surface activities using infrastructure and assets already on the ground. Several science and operational concepts are demonstrated, such as extravehicular activity traverses, long-term high-data communication, complex robotic interaction, and on-board rover and suit engineering (NASA, 2011).

Pavilion Lake Research Project

Pavilion Lake Research Project is an international, multidisciplinary science and exploration effort that seeks to understand the origin and biogeochemical processes of freshwater microbial communities in Pavilion and Kelly lakes in British Columbia, Canada.

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Pavilion and Kelly Lakes contain ancient microbialites (rock-like underwater structures) that are relevant to understanding ancient microbes on early Earth. Scientists and astrobiologists on Earth can apply findings from this research to searches for life in the solar system and beyond. These analog missions are done by NASA because they are conducted at established critical science research locations where a variety of methods and technologies can be tested and developed to conduct future surveys and gather science data (NASA, 2011). In some cases, scientists use submersible vehicles and methods to explore microbialites under water in a way that is similar to what a robotic precursor mission would do to explore a near-Earth asteroid. Process refinements for traverse planning and scientific data collection will improve future Space exploration missions and scientific research techniques.

RIGHT : Pavilion Lake Research Project Pavilion Lake Research Project PHOTO. Space.com. 2021.

Canadian Lake Helps Scientists Refine Alien Life-Hunting Skills. [online] Available at: <https://www. space.com/8652-canadian-lake-helps-scientists-refine-alien-life-hunting-skills.html> [Accessed 23 November 2021].

NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations.

In addition to being harsh and unpredictable, the ocean provides many parallels to living and working in Space. National Marine Sanctuary in the Florida Keys, where the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operates the underwater lab Aquarius, is a test site for NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operation (NEEMO) project. The isolation and real hazards of this laboratory make it an ideal place to test concepts of Space exploration.

RIGHT : NASA’s Extreme Environment Mission Operations. PHOTO. NASA. 2021. About NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations). [online] Available at: <https://www. nasa.gov/mission_pages/NEEMO/about_neemo.html> [Accessed 3 November 2021].

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Long-duration missions, lasting up to three weeks, provide Astronauts with the opportunity to simulate living in Space and perform extravehicular activities beneath the surface of the ocean. They can test advanced navigation and communications equipment, as well as future exploration vehicles, during these missions. Astronauts undergo these tests in order to gain a better understanding of day-to-day mission operations (NASA, 2011). These locations create realistic scenarios for crews in close quarters to practise and grow accustomed to making critical and crucial decisions in real time.

International Space Station Testbed for Analog Research (ISTAR).

The International Space Station (ISS) provides an ideal environment for testing future exploration missions since it provides a long-duration, gravity-free Space environment and the opportunity to test many factors not possible on analog missions. As NASA develops new exploration systems and capabilities, the ISS will be used as an assessment platform to identify risks and challenges to Astronauts’ health and safety, train crew autonomy for handling communication delays, and evaluate new exploration systems as they are developed (NASA, 2011).

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The aim of ISTAR is to challenge Astronauts to work progressively longer periods without assistance from mission control, just as on a mission to Mars or on an asteroid close to Earth. In the future, ISTAR missions will be able to last as long as six months, and they will utilize the ISS confinement system and zero-gravity to simulate crew activities during long-duration flights and crew arrivals at exploration destinations.

RIGHT : International Space Station Testbed for Analog Research (ISTAR) PHOTO. Ashley Strickland, C., 2021. Astronauts will conduct a spacewalk this Sunday. [online] CNN. Available at: <https:// edition.cnn.com/2021/02/24/world/nasa-spacewalks-preview-february-march-scn/index.html> [Accessed 3 November 2021].

D-MARS

Desert Mars Analog Ramon Station (D-MARS) is a Space analogue research centre in Israel. This centre is used for analog Astronauts to go on scientific journeys of exploration that simulate an actual mission on the surface of Mars (D-MARS, 2018).

Space analogs are becoming well-developed sectors of the Space science discipline. These analogs are used to train future human explorers, test related hardware, and make Space more accessible to the public.

Alon Shikar, a co-founder of D-MARS and a Ramonaut in the first team, is responsible for developing the research bases, and together with Moshe Zagai he led the development and construction of the first habitat on Mars. Alon is an architect and the owner of Shiksa Design Collective (D-MARS, 2018).

RIGHT : D-MARS. PHOTO. NASA. 2021. D-mars.org. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.d-mars.org/index.php?dir=site&page=gallery&op=category&cs=1> [Accessed 3 November 2021].

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D-MARS was established in 2017 and began performing an analog mission to Mars in 2018 (D-MARS, 2018). D-MARS has, since then, performed several analog missions, created special educational programmes, and established unique and state-of the-art course for Ramonauts (crew members from D-MARS), crew member at the station, and control room operators.

When looking at the refined and focussed literature study and the existing operational Astronaut training facilities that are available, it is clear that on the one hand the Russian Space Agency focuses mainly on the survival training aspect and only runs simulations on the four or five modules from the ISS that they have built. On the other hand, NASA, the US Space Agency, focuses mainly on the simulation aspect of training. NASA has all the modules from the ISS on which to run simulations and prepare Astronauts for installation and repairs of equipment, as well as experiments that will be done on the ISS. This is a good example to consider because with the simulations they run on the modules, they already have the ISS orbiting Earth.

Consequently, there is a framework to use when doing simulations. The challenge with Mars is that SpaceX will only send two rockets containing equipment as a starting point and therefore the Astronauts will need a different level of training so that they know how to handle multiple scenarios with little to no equipment. This will have to suffice until more equipment and resources can be sent to assist the Astronaut colony on Mars. At the start of the colony on Mars, equipment and resource ships will be the accepted modus operandi to receive and process the necessary resources that will be needed until such time as a permanent settlement is established.

The proposed facility at Sutherland, South Africa will focus on both survival and simulation training while also establishing an area where Astronauts can test the equipment and familiarize themselves with the equipment.

_Astronaut Training When looking at training facilities and how to design a programme to ensure that Astronauts are prepared for the uniqueness of working in Space in a microgravity environment, one must overcome many challenges (NASA, 2006). These facilities and the trainers are not only there to familiarize Astronauts with specialized flight vehicles, equipment, and suits, but also to simulate microgravity environments. Microgravity is the condition where people or objects appear to be weightless (May, 2017).

Simulators like the ones found in both the Jake Gran Training Facility and the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility, both located at NASA’s Johnsons Space Centre, are used to train Astronauts in vehicle operations. These simulators prepare Astronauts for launch, landing, payload operations, and rendezvous activities (NASA, 2006).

Astronauts also need training in pool facilities. The world’s largest indoor pool, namely the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, holds 23.5 million litres of water and is 61 metres long and 12 metres deep (NASA, 2006). This pool can be found within the Sonny Carted Training Facility. The pool simulates the weightless environment in Space; for every hour Astronauts will spend on a Space Walk they need to spend 10 hours in the pool for training.

Finally, Astronauts who will become pilots need aircraft training, and this is done in a Gulfstream jet aircraft that has been modified to mimic the approach and landing of a Space shuttle (NASA, 2006). This provides a training experience that helps Astronauts prepare for the Spacecraft’s runway approach.

The following qualifications must be met to become an astronaut: •

Possess a master’s degree in a STEM field such as engineering, biological science, and physical science from an accredited institution.

•

Have at least two years of professional experience or at least 1,000 hours of pilot-in-command time on jet aircraft.

•

Pass the NASA long-duration flight astronaut physical

•

Distant and near visual acuity must be correctable to 20/20 in each eye.

•

Blood pressure not to exceed 140/90 measured in a sitting position.

•

The candidate must have a standing height between 1.5m and 1.9m (Wild, 2020).

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INTRODUCTION

1.3_ ARGUMENT

Astronauts undergo training exercises such as survival training in Russia, the USA, and the ocean. They do this training while also familiarizing themselves with the different parts and inner workings of the ISS modules. The survival training aims to teach the Astronauts advanced survival techniques needed when re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere; these techniques are essential if the return pod missed the landing mark and ended up in a life-threatening situation (Free Documentary, 2019).

Astronauts also need a diving licence, because they simulate weightlessness on Earth at the Johnsons Space Centre, where there is a 12m deep pool. Astronauts tend to spend up to six hours a day submerged in water, where they carry out simulations and installations of equipment on the ISS modules. This exercise helps Astronauts get into the habit of securing themselves to anchor points while working on these modules; this also helps them to familiarize themselves with the different equipment (Free Documentary, 2019).

LEFT : SPACE POOL, JHONSEN TRAINING CENTER. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.esa.int/ ESA_Multimedia/Images/2019/04/Luca_Parmitano_training_at_NASA_s_Johnson_Space_Center32> [Accessed 23 November 2021].

INTRODUCTION

As previously stated in paragraph 1.2 the “Background” the Russian Space Agency mainly focuses on the survival training aspect and only run simulations on the four or five modules from the ISS that they have built. Meanwhile, the US Space Agency focuses primarily on simulations when training Astronauts.

All of the ISS modules are available to NASA for running simulations and training Astronauts for the installation and repair of equipment, as well as experiments that will take place on the ISS. The proposed facility will combine both survival and Space training.

Astronauts have to perform this type of training simultaneously to ensure they are prepared for any situation on Mars that may arise.

Additionally, they need to be familiar with the equipment that they will be carrying with them.

Due to this, the proposed facility in Sutherland, South Africa will focus on both survival and simulation training, as well as establishing an area where Astronauts can test and familiarize themselves with equipment.

SALT CONTROL ROOM, SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

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1.4_ L I M I T A T I O N S The nation-wide Lockdown that was implemented on the 26th of March 2020 to better prepare South Africa’s medical facilities against the fight against the COVID-19 virus, caused certain limitations when it came to site visits to local observatories along with the limitations of the observatories not always being able to allow the public on site at certain parts of the year due to the research that is conducted there. If site visitation is not allowed at a later stage, all information used will be gathered from web sources and appropriate precedent studies. If more information was needed from the site, the author elected to make use of Google Maps.

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The focus of this study is the proposal, investigation, and development of an Astronaut training facility and all that is needed for proper training indoors. The study will be limited to currently available training equipment. Proper training for this facility will include equipment training by using scenarios and survival training. The workshop will be used to build the equipment used for training, as well as to adjust the equipment for specific scenarios. The materials that will be used in the different scenarios for the equipment include modern materials, lightweight composite materials and unknown future materials for example, aero gel, nano materials, modern technical textiles, and lightweight carbon fibre. The study accepts the South African National Standards (SANS Regulations) as the guide for minimum official regulations and standards.

The study accepts the South African National Standards (SANS Regulations) as the guide for minimum official regulations and standards.

1.6_ R E S E A R C H M E T H O D O L O G Y

Information was collected by perusing precedent studies during literature research and researching existing facilities worldwide. The purpose was to understand the building mass and spatial relationships of existing facilities. The proposed research methodology is done as a qualitative study. It includes a literature review of currently available documents and an evaluation of the state-of-the-art facilities already in use. The purpose is to understand the anticipated building mass, as well as develop and improve the spatial relationships of existing facilities.

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The study will produce, document, and interpret plans, sections, elevations, and physical models. The purpose is to establish a new way of being part of Space programmes worldwide by using architecture to develop a training facility that can be used by national and international Astronauts. In the following paragraphs, the author will be looking at who they are as a researcher and designer and which of these different methods they use when designing and researching.

1.6.1_ W h o a m I a s a D e s i g n e r ?

When looking at how one designs as a person, it is important to realize that designers have created two classifications. Those two classifications are namely predominantly systematic and predominantly intuitive. The one follows a “path”, which helps guide decision making and assists with design (Merriam-Webster, 2021). The other can obtain information and knowledge without the aid of recourse to conscious reasoning, where decision-making leads or guides the process of design (Merriam-Webster, 2021).

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Looking back at previous years and projects, I can confidently say that I am a pre-dominantly systematic designer. My method for doing a project consists of analysing the brief, looking at previous work, finding a concept, and developing that concept while looking and working through president studies of similar buildings. While this might sound like a linear process that I am following, my approach is much more like a spiral. I keep looking back at previous steps to aid the process as we advance and work towards a result as best I can.

This process is aided by crit sessions with lecturers and fellow students. In this process, I find myself in a situation where I try to complicate things unnecessarily and try even more challenging ideas to find a more complex solution to the design problem. Through all the years of study, one lecture, Mr. Phillip Crafford, greatly impacted me as a designer and architecture student. I feel that some of the design projects do get a bit personal where the building becomes your own and that at a point you think you need to “stand up for your work”.

The truth of the matter is to never refer to it as “your project” or even “you’re building.” Mr. Philip Crafford has helped me realize this and taught me to distantiate myself from the project if I feel that significant changes are unnecessary. In his words, “Keep it simple, Baby,” and “If you can’t solve a problem where it occurs, simply move it to

where you can solve it.” This has assisted me drastically to take a step back and to view the project from an objective third-party view.

1.6.2_ W o r l d V i e w Researchers generally tend to embrace specific methods of study.

Those methods follow a qualitative approach, a quantitative approach, or a mixed method of the two scenarios. Quantitative research mainly involves a process of gathering and working through numerical data. This type of research is generally done in a data-heavy field where the objective is to obtain an average of a specific area, locate a re-occurring pattern, or make certain predictions. Whereas qualitative research turns ways from numerical data. This method of study involves understanding and working through concepts, other individuals’ experiences, and your own experiences; this is done to gather and understand in-depth the specific research problem and to attempt to generate an alternative solution to the issue at hand (Streefkerk, 2019).

This study follows a qualitative research method. It does not need to investigate numerical data, but rather looks at other buildings and previous projects to better inform design decisions. As architects and students of architecture, we generally find a concept that fits the task at hand, and it is a fine thread that ties the entire project together. We also find inspiration from previous works by other architects and students to understand their view and personal experience of their buildings as precedent studies. This study will mainly focus on the lessons learned from the Johnson Space Centre, Astronaut training facility, as it is the most well-known and commonly used facility.

Architecture is an evolution of experiences from the future users of the building and the expertise of architects that design those buildings. This forms a collective experience that one can try to decipher and better understand their qualitative research method.

With plans to colonise Mars, we can only imagine what these brave pioneers will have to go through, hence, this is why this project aims to look at what facilities are needed to train Astronauts in order to successfully sustain life on Mars with limited equipment and resources. A secondary aim of this project is to link this facility up with the future of the National Research Foundation(NRF).

Positivism is one of many world views where we as human beings obtain knowledge through experience and natural occurrences along with their different properties and relations toward one another. We are put on Earth to fulfil a purpose, but do not know what that purpose is, so we try to find it through experiences with other human beings around us. This, in turn, helps or guides us towards a better understanding of life and purpose. With some experiences come drastic consequences, and for that, human beings have developed a set of rules that restrict these experiences for the better in specific scenarios (Trochim, 2020).

AUTHER INSIDE OF SALT, SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

SOLARIS TELESCOPE, SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

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According to the International Space Exploration Group in an article they published, the quality of life on Earth has improved in the past fifty years because of human activity in Space that has produced societal benefits. The development of satellite telecommunications, global positioning, and weather forecasting advances became possible because of critical knowledge contributed from the first satellites. Each year funds invested in Space deliver high returns such as research that can be used on earth for technological advances.

(OECD, 2012).

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Space exploration and its challenges have sparked new scientific and technological knowledge. This newfound knowledge has inherent value to humankind, leading to a better understanding of our universe and solar system (International Space Exploration Group, 2013). This knowledge and ingenuity have provided people with valuable products and services and new solutions to known problems.

Future Space exploration goals are set up to send human beings and robots past Earth’s low orbit and construct sustainable access to other destinations in our cosmos, such as the Moon, meteors, and Mars. Space agencies that form part of the Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) are in the process of formulating plans and deducting procedures for achieving these goals. The central part of this approach and future human-crewed missions is the ISS (Robinson, 2012).

The Johnson Space Centre in America is responsible for preparing explorers from the USA and international partners for the demands of living and working in Space (NASA, 2006). Since 1959 when the first Astronauts were selected, 321 U.S. Astronauts and more than 50 explorers from other nations have been trained at the centre.

The Space centre is home to the US Astronaut Corps, which consists

of 240 men and women, including 130 international Astronauts. Potential Astronaut candidates undergo one of the world’s most competitive selection processes, and selected individuals must complete two years of intensive training before specialized mission training starts (NASA, 2006).

These benefits can be classified into three areas: innovation, culture and inspiration, and new means to address global challenges (International Space Exploration Group, 2013).

BELOW : NGC 6302: THE “BUTTERFLY NEBULA”.HubbleSite.org. 2021. NGC 6302: The “Butterfly Nebula”. [online] Available at: <https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2020/31/4680-Image> [Accessed 9 October 2021].

2.1 _ I N N O V A T I O N

Along with Space exploration came many diverse technological advances in human life. These advances include solar panels, implantable heart monitors, cancer therapy, lightweight materials, water purification systems, improved computing systems, and a global search‐and‐rescue system (NASA Headquarters, 2012).

Space exploration generates excitement in people; this inspires people to develop an understanding and appreciation for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, thus helping to develop a global scientific and technological innovation society (Canadian Space Agency, 2020).

LEFT : INNOVATION GRAPHIC. NASA. 2021. Research Innovation Funding. [online] Available at: <https:// www.nasa.gov/ames/ocs/research-innovation-funding> [Accessed 20 August 2021].

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The Space sector will continue to target other companies and partner with them so that they can ensure joint research and development, open new science and technology domains that will form part of future Space exploration. This will return immediate benefits to Earth in materials, power generation, energy storage, recycling, health and medicine, waste management, advanced robotics, transportation, engineering, computing, and software. In turn, these technological advances will provide better services and better return on investment in institutional and commercial Space activities to humanity (International Space Exploration Group, 2013).

2.2 _ C U L T U R E A N D I N S P I R A T I O N

Space exploration missions fulfil peoples’ curiosity by producing new information about our solar system. This makes significant contributions to understand and to begin answering many profound questions that have been asked for centuries.

Such questions include, but are not limited to the following: • Is there life elsewhere in the universe? (International Space Exploration Group, 2013) • Is humankind bound to Earth?

• Is our planet unique?

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Space exploration has also inspired many artists. The information received from Space exploration has led to many different movies and books being created. This has encouraged people to enter careers that are linked to Space and all its various disciplines.

RIGHT : ARE THEE ANY OTHER LIFEFORMS GRAPHIC. Newscientist.com. 2021. Are there any aliens out there? We are close to knowing for sure | New Scientist. [online] Available at: <https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24332450-800-are-there-any-aliens-out-there-we-are-close-to-knowing-for-sure/> [Accessed 20 August 2021].

2.3 _ N E W M E A N S T O A D D R E S S GLOBAL CHALLENGES Space exploration can be seen as a contributing factor to diplomacy and relationships between nations. This global relationship may install better exploration capabilities and assist humanity in preparedness for protecting their planet. For example, asteroid strikes, these strikes are advancing collaborative research on Space weather and research on protecting Spacecraft by developing new means for Space debris removal. Environmentally sustainable development policies may be set in motion with the knowledge gained from Space exploration.

LEFT : SPACE PROMONADE. Peakpx.com. 2021. Space Promenade, collage, moon, nasa, orange, retro, space, stars, surreal, vintage, HD mobile wallpaper | Peakpx. [online] Available at: <https://www.peakpx. com/en/hd-wallpaper-desktop-pvmxo> [Accessed 25 November 2021].

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During the research phases for Space exploration, benefits that may occur include health and medicine, new materials, computer technology, and transportation. Some private enterprises have come to terms with Space exploration and seek new ways to further invest in this field to create new job opportunities and economic growth, emphasizing that one day Space exploration would become more affordable, reliable, sustainable, and profitable (Space and Beyond Box, 2021).

NORTH PANORAMA ON SITE, SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

_CONTEXT AND SITE ANALYSIS

03

The selection of a location proved to be a complicated process in terms of where the proposed facility can benefit from the terrain and climate. At the same time, it is also crucial to keep certain forms of Space exploration and mapping in a centralized location.

In order to simulate the weather conditions and terrain that can be found on Mars, the author examined general rock terrain in cold parts of the country in order to mimic the type of climate and terrain that can be found on Mars. Note that any gravitational changes required to simulate the gravity on Mars will be conducted through the use of mechanical means.

Site selection criteria were developed to assist in the identification of potential locations for the intervention or to aid in the placement of the proposed training facility.

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3.1 _ S i t e S e l e c t i o n C r i t e r i a : •There must be a terrain on the site that mimics or comes as close as possible to those of Mars’ geological conditions.

•There must be some way for the site to replicate Mars’ climatic conditions.

•Must be located close to civilization, but far enough to be remote from major cities.

The criteria mentioned above functions as a guide that is only to aid in site selection for the intervention.

3.2 _ T H E T H R E E P O S S I B L E S I T E S :

1.

2.

Sutherland, Northern Cape, South Africa Latitude: -32° 22’ 27.59” S Longitude: 20° 48’ 23.09” E

Nelspoort, Western Cape, South Africa Latitude: 32° 30’ 0” S Longitude: 21° 53’ 59” E

3.

Steynsburg, Eastern Cape, South Africa Latitude: 31° 17’ 56.58” S Longitude: 25° 49’ 21.36” E

1. SUTHERLAND. Craig Fouché Photography. 2021. Travel - Sutherland - South Africa. [online] Available at: <https://www.craigfouche.co.za/travel-sutherland-south-africa/> [Accessed 10 July 2021].

2. NELSPOORT. Siyabona.com. 2021. Colesburg Info - Northern Cape South Africa - The Great Karoo. [online] Available at: <https://www.siyabona.com/northern-cape-colesburg.html> [Accessed 10 July 2021].

3. STYNSBURG. Flickr. 2021. Teebus and Koffiebus. [online] Available at: <https://www.flickr.com/ photos/leveypa/3198554881> [Accessed 10 July 2021].

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3.3 _ T H E P R O P O S E D S I T E

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Proposed Site: Sutherland, Northern Cape, South Africa The proposed site is located at Sutherland, in the Northern Cape, South Africa. It is on the southern edge of the central astronomy advantage area. There is a small town located 15 kilometres from the proposed site and the closest major city, Cape Town, is approximately 360 kilometres away.

This might cause some difficulty and strain in transporting building materials to site. To lessen the strain that this might cause, alternative building construction or a different building material can be used.

Alternative building materials: • • •

Site wall constructions Timber or Steel constructions Rammed earth Constructions

3.4 _ C L I M A T E S T U D Y C O M P A R I S O N :

Mofidi (2007) explains, in a research paper titled “Passive architectural cooling principles for arid climates”, that most early civilisations were established in arid and semi-arid climate conditions.

According to Mofidi (2007), survival of life is highly dependent on the environment. These semi-arid environments were acknowledged by ancient settlers, they learned from them and adapted their buildings and construction accordingly. It could be argued that the climatic conditions of a region should play an important role in the architectural design. Mofidi determined design strategies for semi-arid and arid climatic conditions by using case studies of buildings in arid and semi-arid conditions.

When looking at the figures below, it is evident that the climate conditions in Sutherland closely mimic those on Mars during specific times of the year. From April to September the temperature in Sutherland closely mimics the temperature on Mars. During the rest of the year these temperatures do not fluctuate extremely far from temperatures on Mars.

The understanding and general consensus amongst the scientific community is that Mars is an incredibly arid and warm, or hot, climatic region. Thus, the planet has hot “weather” for three months, whereas Sutherland experiences three months of colder weather.

This shows that when considering the climate on Mars and comparing it with Sutherland’s climate, it is inverted, because the climate on Mars is cold, warm, cold, and Sutherland’s climate is warm, cold, warm.

Figure 3: Average Climate of Sutherland (Best Time to Visit, 2021)

Figure 4: Average Climate of Mars (NASA Quest, 2015)

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Temperature fluctuations in the Karoo tend to be extreme with temperatures dropping to below 0°C during the winter season and reaching up to 40°C in the summer. Rainfall in the area is scarce with only 244mm rainfall in an average year, and the average humidity is approximately 51%.

3.5 _ M A T E R I A L S T U D Y :

According to Maniatidis and Walker (2003), rammed Earth constructions need a very particular soil type mixture to be adequate. This mixture has to contain a high sand/gravel content. Silt and some clays are also necessary to ensure that good soil conditions are met.

According to the Council for Geoscience, sediment found in the region of the astronomy advantage area are mostly sandstone, shales, siltstone, and mudstone (Adams, S, et al. 2001). A study done by the Council for Geoscience indicated that the soil conditions in this area is adequate for rammed Earth construction.

The South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) is approximately 1798m above sea level on the top of a hill. The proposed design will be located on the Western slope of the hill linking a lower plateau to the Observation plateau on the top of the hill.

SAAO is the South African centre of optical and infrared astronomy, carrying out research into astronomy and astrophysics. This is a contributing factor to the selection of proposed site. In an attempt to keep the advancements and Space programme contained to one site at the start as well as to centralize progress and advancements in Space technology in South Africa.

3.6 _ R E G I O N A L C O N T E X T

In spite of being the largest province geographically in South Africa, the Northern Cape is also the least populated.

This proposed site is situated on the Western side of the mountain slope, north-west of the existing hostels on the proposed site. As has been mentioned previously SAAO’s facility is located 15 km east of Sutherland.

As part of the proposed intervention, it is of relevance to take into account the astronomical growth that is taking place in the Northern Cape, especially in the Southern parts of the province.

BELOW: AERIAL MAP OF SUTHERLAND, NORTHEN CAPE. Google.com. 2022. Before you continue to Google Maps. [online] Available at: <https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sutherland,+6920/@-32.

429733,20.7468294,12.25z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x1c2cea65ad37a715:0x3b55e074ff5fc372!8m2!3d32.4100977!4d20.670528> [Accessed 13 August 2021]. GRAPHICS ADDED BY AUTHOR

LEFT: AERIAL MAP OF SAAO, NORTHEN CAPE. Google.com. 2022. Before you continue to Google Maps. [online] Available at: <https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sutherland,+6920/@-32.429733 ,20.7468294,12.25z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x1c2cea65ad37a715:0x3b55e074ff5fc372!8m2!3d-32.410 0977!4d20.670528> [Accessed 13 August 2021]. GRAPHICS ADDED BY AUTHOR

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M e e r K A T

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S K A

MeerKAT, a collection of radio telescopes located in the Karoo, is destined to become the world’s largest and most sensitive collection of radio telescopes in the Southern Hemisphere. The SKA is scheduled for completion in 2024, with a total surface area of approximately one square kilometre (SARAO, 2021).

This advancement in the radio telescope technology in South Africa will have a vital role to play in future development of the technology used by the SKA. These telescopes seek to answer some of science’s most difficult questions. This could help us develop a better understanding of how stars and galaxies form, develop, and evolve, as well as encourage research into other forms of life within the Universe (SARAO, 2021).

BELOW MEERKAT + SKA, KAROO. Brits, E., 2021. South Africa’s KAT has begun prowling the universe. [online] GroundUp News. Available at: <https://www.groundup.org.za/article/south-africas-katshave-begun-prowling-universe/> [Accessed 5 September 2021].

S

A

L

T

Africa’s Giant Eye on the Universe is the most powerful optical telescope in the Southern Hemisphere, known as the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT). The construction of SALT was completed in 2005 and the facility became operational in 2011. Aspects of the Universe are currently being observed by this telescope (NRF/SAAO, n.d.).

SALT, SUTHERLAND

(photo by author,2021)

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_ ABOUT THE SAAO SAAO was founded in 1820 and is South Africa’s national centre for optical and infrared astronomy. It provides astronomers and astrophysicists with world-class facilities for conducting fundamental astronomical and astrophysical research. In addition, the SAAO strives to promote astronomy and astrophysics in Southern Africa, by sharing research findings and discoveries, and by participating in outreach activities to engage citizens in the field of physics and astronomy.

This facility is part of the National Research Foundation, which is part of the South African Department of Science and Innovation. The SAAO comprises of centralized headquarters in Observatory, Cape Town, and a dedicated research and observation station with several operating telescopes (including SALT) in Sutherland, the Karoo town in the Northern Cape.

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SAAO PLATAUE, CLUSTER OF TELESCOPES, SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

Since 1972, SAAO astronomers have taken advantage of the dark, unpolluted skies of the Karoo, with minimal to no heavy cloud cover to hinder observation.

Studies have ranged from the study of planets to the study of stars and galaxies both close and far away. A development such as the one described above contributed to the development of on-site, built infrastructure (SAAO, 2019).

1.

Currently the site houses: 14 housing units for permanent staff members.

A hostel accommodating 24 visitors.

An visitors’ centre proximity 875m² A recreation facility for staff members only.

Workshop area Plateau of telescopes

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2.

1. SAAO LOGO. Saaocongress.co.za. 2021. Home - SAAO. [online] Available at: <https://www.saaocongress.co.za/> [Accessed 12 November 2021].

2. SALT LOGO. Pysalt.salt.ac.za. 2021. [online] Available at: <http://pysalt.salt.ac.za/proposal_calls/ current/ProposalCall.html> [Accessed 12 November 2021].

3. NRF LOGO. Nrf.ac.za. 2021. Advert for NRF Chief Executive Officer Vacancy | National Research Foundation. [online] Available at: <https://www.nrf.ac.za/media-room/news/advert-nrf-chief-executive-officer-vacancy> [Accessed 12 November 2021].

3.

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• • • • • •

These restrictions on site include: • No vehicle lights on the plateau after 17h00

It is important to note they there is a light restriction zone on site, and that the staff members on site use the security boom as a waypoint of where the zone starts. The light restriction zone starts approximately 50 metres after the security boom.

This light restriction zone was set in place to assure that the instruments and equipment that the telescopes use have minimal light pollution to filter out. Along with the light restriction zone, the SAAP has very strict regulations regarding light on site and in Sutherland.

• Any lights inside a building or telescope observation room must be confined to that room.

• Any outside lights below the light restriction zone must be a yellow light.

• Any outside lights below the light restriction zone must be pointed at the ground.

In Sutherland some restrictions include: • Any outside lights below the light restriction zone must be a yellow light.

• Any outside lights below the light restriction zone must be pointed at the ground.

• Any light that comes from inside a building must be contained as much as possibly.

•

Any outside signage must be dimmed after 21h00

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As previously mentioned, the proposed site is located in Sutherland on the Southern edge of the central astronomy advantage area, along with the cluster of SAAO telescopes, SALT along with some private and international telescopes located on the top of the hill plateau. Most of the residents and other site buildings are located lower down the hill.

• After 17h00 dim red lights can be used for small periods of time.

SAAO PLATAUE, CLUSTER OF TELESCOPES, SUTHERLAND (photo and graphic by author,2021)

The image on the left was taken by the author and shows the order of telescopes that can be found on the observation plateau. With SALT on the Northern side of the plate (far left side of image) the mechanical workshop and cluster of SAAO telescopes more to the centre.

Smaller international and private telescopes and projects can be found towards the southern side of the plateau (far right side of the image).

ROCK AND STEEL STRUCTURE ON SITE, SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

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With the proposed site being in a baron location with extreme temperatures that occur, the site does not have a big population of wildlife or large amounts of vegetation.

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Wildlife:

Vegetation:

•

Doekvoetjies - Bunolagus Monticularis

•

Botterboom – Tylecodon Paniculatus

•

Girdled Lizard - Cordylus Catapharctus

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Olifantspoot – Dioscorea Elephantipes

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Springbok - Antidorcas Marsupialis

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Vygies – Mesembryanthemaheae

•

Barlow’s Lark - Certhilauda Barlwi

•

Halfmense – Pachyoidium Namaquanum

•

De Winton’s Golden Mole – Cryptochoris Wintoni

S O U T H

P A N O R A M A

SOUTH PANORAMA ON SITE, SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

SITE

E A S T

P A N O R A M A

EAST PANORAMA ON SITE, SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

W E S T

P A N O R A M A

WEST PANORAMA ON SITE, SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

SITE

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(photo by author,2021)

O F

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AUTHER ON SITE, SUTHERLAND

S I T E

S O I L

C O N D I T I O N S

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S I T E

SOIL ON SITE, SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

A E R I A L

P H O T O

O F

AERIAL PHOTO OF SITE FROM PLATEAU, SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

S I T E

F R O M

P L A T E A U

A E R I A L

P H O T O

AERIAL PHOTO OF SITE , SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

O F

S I T E

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E L E M E N T S _LEGEND

- Current Buildings

- Plateau Area

- Vehicle Road

- Slope of Mountain

- Edges

- View Points

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O N S I T E

E L E M E N T S _LEGEND

O N

S I T E

_ S I T E

01

A N A L Y S I S

_ S I T E

P H Y S I C A L

B R E A K D O W N

02

A

D

M

I

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STAFF RESIDENTS

STAFF HOSTAL

03

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SITE ADMIN OFFICE

VISITORS CENTER

P A T H W A Y S 1. GRAVEL PATH 2. DIRT PATH 3. ASPHALT PATH

1.

2.

04

3.

RECREATION 1. GRAVEL PATH 2. DIRT PATH

BUILDINGS FOUND ON SITE, SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

1.

2.

B R E A K D O W N

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T E C H N E ’ SALT TELESCOPE

SALT WORKSHOP

LCO TELESCOPES

SANSA TELESCOPE

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SAAO 1.8m TELESCOPE

IRSF TELESCOPE

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_ S I T E

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A N A L Y S I S

_ S I T E

B R E A K D O W N

T E C H N E ’

KELT-SOUTH TELESCOPE

MONET/South TELESCOPE

SOLARIS TELESCOPE

BiSON TELESCOPE

LESEDI TELESCOPE

MASTER TELESCOPE

MEERLIGHT TELESCOPE

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AERIAL PHOTO OF RESIDENTIAL ON SITE, SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

_ S I T E

A N A L Y S I S

_ E X I S T I N G

+

P R O P O S E D

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EXISTING PRIVATE MOVEMENT

PROPOSED PRIVATE MOVEMENT

-Residential -Hostal -Observatories

-SALT -Observatories -Site Admin

-Proposed Securaty gate -Proposed Monitor Building -Proposed Office -Proposed Workshop -Proposed Bio-Domes

_ E X I S T I N G

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P R O P O S E D

EXISTING TOURIST ROUTE

PROPOSED TOURIS T ROUTE

-Visitor’s Centre -Observatories -SALT

-Proposed securty gate -Proposed Monitor Building -Proposed Training Domes -Proposed Viewing Tower

_ S I T E

A N A L Y S I S

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V E G E T A T I O N Vegetation is mainly found around constructed areas and drainage channels.

R O C K

E D G E S

Natural rock edges create boundaries within the mountainscape.

_ S I T E

A N A L Y S I S

R

A

I

N

W

A

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Water from rain and melting snow drains downward from the mountain.

SITE ANALYSIS

(graphics by author,2021)

E

R

W E S T E R N Due to the western sun, it’s cool during the mornings, and a bit warmer during the afternoon.

S U N

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_ S I T E

A N A L Y S I S

SALT Axis

Proposed Tower

Axis Mundi

Observatories

Proposed Facility

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Road Axis

L I N K I N G T O

E X I S T I N G N E W

Creating a link between existing on-site buildings and the proposed facility.

A

X

I

S

M

U

As part of the design process, axes are established based on existing infrastructure.

N

D

I

A N A L Y S I S

BIO-Domes

Movement Node

Distribution Node

Movement Node

Distribution Node

SALT

Distribution Node

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P R O P O S E D O N S I T E M O V E M E N T

In the proposed design, movement nodes are created to facilitate site integration.

DISPERSION ON SITE T H R O U G H A R C H I T E C T U R E In addition to enabling dispersal of movement within the site, the proposed movement nodes establish a connection to SALT and the Proposed Bio-Domes.

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_ S I T E

A N A L Y S I S

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PROPOSED BUILDING L O C A T I O N The building is situated on an existing plateau, linking the proposed development to the existing infrastructure on-site.

H I D D E N

V S

S E E N

BIO-Domes, the simulation portion of the facility, are the main focus, while the “Earth” portion is hidden in landform architecture.

_ S I T E

A N A L Y S I S

R E S P E C T I N G A X E S A N D V I E W While keeping the view of SALT and the natural landscape, the proposed development will intersect with the axes.

SITE ANALYSIS

(sketches by author,2021)

F O R M M A S

G I V I N G S I N G

Space elements and natural landscapes should be incorporated into the design of the building, while incorporating the site views that have been previously discussed.

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_PRECEDENT STUDY

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04 LEFT: Out of this World COLAGE. Widewalls. 2021. The Art of Collage - From the Studio to the Street and Back | Widewalls. [online] Available at: <https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/art-collage> [Accessed 22 November 2021].

RIGHT: LEJOS DE LA TIERRA COLAGE. Pinterest. 2021. Lejos de la Tierra | Surreal art, Collage art, Surreal collage. [online] Available at: <https://za.pinterest.com/pin/89086898863175630/> [Accessed 22 November 2021].

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4.1_Eden Project, Botanical Gardens, Cornwell, United Kingdom.

Architect: Nicholas Grimshaw Twenty years ago, the site of this project was a barren clay wasteland in Cornwell, UK. With harsh conditions and baron soil, this site was transformed into a show case of plants and people in the span of two decades. This precedent was chosen for the study of the geodesic dome, demonstration of technological ingenuity and the regeneration of a barren landscape.

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Showing that a part of the Earth can be isolated and forced to show regenerative properties. This is the fundamental idea that will be implemented on Mars to regenerate the Martian soil to a liveable state. This also gives a means to this thesis as to replicate the harsh soil and terrain conditions on Mars here on Earth to give the future Astronauts the best preparation training in such an environment.

LEFT: Eden Project. the Guardian. 2021. Gardenvisit.com. 2021. Eden Project Garden. [online] Available at: <https://www.gardenvisit.com/gardens/eden_project_garden> [Accessed 23 November 2021].

4.2_Academy Museum of Motion Picture, Los Angeles, United Sates of America.

Architect: Renzo Piano The focus of this precedent was the technical aspect of the building of the geodesic dome. The technical applications of concrete and the steel geodesic dome, how these two elements can meet. The geodesic dome proved more complicated than initially envisioned and this study assisted in the understanding of joints on a Geodesic dome.

LEFT: Academy Museum of Motion Picture. Klein, K., 2021. Renzo Piano’s Academy Museum of Motion Pictures takes shape in Los Angeles. [online] Dezeen. Available at: <https://www.dezeen. com/2020/02/12/renzo-piano-academy-museum-of-motion-pictures-los-angeles/> [Accessed 6 October 2021].

4.3_ Johnson Space Center, Houston Texas, United Sates of America.

Architect: Chares Luckman The Space Center has been a major factor in Space exploration for the last 50 years as of the time of this thesis. Most of the information regarding deep Space technologies are still held secret. This precedent was chosen to better understand the sizes of some of the equipment that is used for simulations and the way that they assist in simulations with the Astronauts.

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The Space pool consists of a twelve-metre-deep pool that contains all the modules from the International Space Station (ISS).

Astronauts spend up to ten hours a day in the pool running certain scenarios and simulations on installation of equipment, retrieving samples and so forth. The pure size of the pool can give us a good indication of the size of the equipment that is manufactured and used aboard the ISS.

LEFT: Johnson Space Center. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://dunham-bush.com/prhttps:// dunham-bush.com/project/nasa-space-center-houston-texas-usa/oject/nasa-space-center-houstontexas-usa/> [Accessed 6 October 2021].

4.4John F. Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida, United States of America.

Architect: Chares Luckman The iconic launch site has a big impact on Space exploration with all the launches that have taken place there. The tower at the launch pad is a very iconic structure in Space history and it seems appropriate to focus on implementing a similar tower into the current project. This will give hierarchy to the site and will be able to serve as an observation deck looking down onto the bio-domes.

LEFT: John F. Kennedy Space Center Tower. NASA. 2021. Apollo 4 was First Launch from Kennedy Space Center. [online] Available at: <https://www.nasa.gov/feature/apollo-4-was-first-ever-launchfrom-nasas-kennedy-space-center> [Accessed 6 October 2021].

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LEFT: Millenniam Falcon Blueprint, Star Wars. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.artstation. com/artwork/bKaN3o> [Accessed 8 December 2021].

_PROJECT BRIEF AND PROGRAM

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5.1_ B R I E F

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P R O G R A M

This project aims to design a training facility for Astronauts from the National and Private Sector Space Agencies by documenting the required facilities needed for Astronaut training and looking for specific climatic conditions in South Africa that can potentially replicate climatic conditions encountered on Mars. This project aims to be a starting point for SANSA so that South Africa’s very young National Space Agency will start to form part of Space Travel and human-crewed missions. Once Space Travel becomes part of everyday life, for instance, colonies on Mars, the everyday civilian will need some training as well, and this facility aims to aid these civilians and Astronauts in survival and simulation training.

This training facility also aims to aid in survival training as Sutherland has one of the most unique climates in the world with high temperatures during the day and very low temperatures at night. The average temperatures in summer months in South Africa can reach temperatures as high as 29°C to 33°C and lows of 15°C. In winter months, the average daily temperatures in South Africa can go down to 20°C and low temps of 3°C can be reached (The Land, 2017). The climate conditions in Sutherland, South Africa closely mimic climate conditions on Mars for specific times of the yearas shown in the climate study.

The project brief and programme were set up by looking at what Astronauts will have to encounter and experience on a daily basis. The programme was taken from the day-to-day experiences from the Astronauts at the Johnsons Space centre and how they execute their missions and testing of equipment. They get briefed on the simulation that will take place on a particular day for a certain timeframe; after the briefing they are shown the equipment and tools that they have available to perform and complete the simulation. The Astronauts are then assisted into their spacesuits and enter the simulation area where they will start the mission.

ABOVE: CHINA’S MARS BASE CAMP. The Sun. 2022. China’s fake Mars base camp lets visitors explore Star Wars style ‘space colony’ in the Gobi desert. [online] Available at: <https://www.thesun.co.uk/ tech/8882814/china-mars-base-camp-space-colony-star-wars/> [Accessed 4 February 2022].

This gives a clear indication that a briefing room is needed as well as a room that is used to monitor and evaluate the Astronauts while they are carrying out the simulation. Another part of the project brief can be formed by referring to the equipment used and built during these simulations. This indicates that a workshop is needed as well as a storage area, for equipment and materials. Heavy machinery will be used, so as to ensure safety and an overall welfare a medical area is needed.

Staff who monitor the Astronauts will also perform other activities; therefore, they will need other areas such as offices to do these tasks.

This in turn, gives a reason for both the addition of offices and boardrooms. It is essential for people on site to have an area where they can get away from the office and enter a communal space with co-workers. The cafeteria proposed on site is there to tend to this need and in turn give everyone on site a communal area. The proposed site is part of the NRF forum and therefore needs to have a security point so as to ensure public safety, as well as the safety of those working on site.

ABOVE: PARTI DIAGRAM OF AXES AND LINKS. (sketch by author)

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LEFT: MARS COLONIZED VISION, ELON MUSK. NASASpaceFlight.com. 2021. For Mars colonization, new water map may hold key of where to land - NASASpaceFlight.com. [online] Available at: <https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/12/mars-colonization-new-water-map-hold-key-land/> [Accessed 23 November 2021].

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6.1_ S P A C E A R C H I T E C T U R E Space Architecture - This field of study pertains to the design and construction of facilities and systems in Space. The concept of designing and building outer Space environments is widely used in various industries.

These environments include, but are not limited to, vehicles, stations, habitats, and lunar, planetary basis, and infrastructures, as well as Earthbased control, experiment, launch, logistics, payload, simulation, and test facilities. (Space Architecture Technical Committee AIAA, 2020).

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When designing a Spacecraft, the entire built environment must be taken into perspective. In the same way that architecture is on Earth, it is an attempt to look beyond the components and systems and gain a thorough understanding of the factors that influence design success.

The goal of Space architecture is to allow human beings to live and work in Space by utilizing different kinds of architecture. There are many examples of these types of design elements, and they include tiny housing, small living apartments, vehicle design, capsule hotels, and so on.

In the area of Space architecture, a great deal of work has been

BUILDINGS AS WE KNOW

CLUSTER OF BUILDINGS

directed towards developing concepts for orbital Space stations, lunar and Martian exploration ships and surface bases for the world’s Space Agencies, mainly NASA. A practice of including architects in Space programmes originated in the Space-race, but its origins can be traced much farther back. Their involvement was necessary as a result of efforts to extend the durations of Space missions and address Astronauts’ needs, which go above and beyond the minimum needs of survival.

In order to build a theoretical framework for Space architecture, one starting point would be the search for extreme environments in terrestrial settings, where human beings have lived, and the creation of analogs between these environments and Space (University of Houston, 2009). These analogs are useful design references for Space systems. Terrestrial analogs not only provide design insights, t but also serve as testbeds so that technologies for Space applications can be tested further.

AERIAL OF BUILDINGS

The conceptual approach to the placement and tectonic development of the programme was driven by the purpose of the facility, which is to simulate the conditions of a distant planet here on Earth.

As part of the plan, the idea was to build and create a facility that would feel like it was designed to emulate an experience Astronauts might have in a future Mars colony.

Musk announced at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara that he plans to send at least one million human beings to Mars by 2030, where he intends to establish a self-sustaining city.

As a result of this statement from Musk, the author is incredibly enthusiastic about the proposed facility’s potential as a training facility for Astronauts facing anything they may encounter on Mars (Hersher & Domonoske, 2016).

EARTH CONCEPT

(sketches by author,2021)

The programme can be divided into two distinct functions namely the Mars mission base simulation buildings and the functions that support these missions on Earth. The architectural approach was to differentiate the different functions though tectonic treatment, as well as visual prominence.

The Mars simulation buildings are conceptualised to have visual significance and prominence in the desolate landscape of the selected site, conceptually replicating the (visual) condition of establishing a home base in the expanse of the Mars landscape.

The Mars simulation buildings consist of a cluster of habitable ‘pods’ that connect two terrain simulation structures. The terrain enclosure was developed as a geodesic dome which will be used to replicate the atmospheric conditions and analog area where planned missions on Mars will be carried out.

HUMANS ON EARTH

ARCHITECTURE AS A LINK

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A long-time interest in the Space industry and all that is related to Space led the author to come up with the idea for this proposed training facility. Since the proposed site is located in a barren area that is remote from any major sites, the author felt that it was important to concentrate more on the theoretical aspects of the project.

This selected form was derived as a visual representation of the buildings that will ultimately be built on Mars. Similarly, the administrative and habitable ‘Pods’ are developed to mimic the equipment that will be used in Mars missions.

The supporting Earth programme functions are conceptualised to not only be from Earth but also form a physical part of it. These buildings are developed along a recessed access route where buildings are anchored into the landscape to obscure their visual presence. The chosen materiality of these buildings consists of rammed Earth, green roofs and timber elements.

The programme of the Earth cluster of buildings consists of Mission Control, Mission Administrative buildings, Mission Equipment building, medical treatment facility, Access control building, as well as a public observation tower.

The complex of both Mars and Earth buildings is positioned on a visual and physical axis. This axis forms the main visual approach to the complex.

The Mars buildings and observation tower makes visual reference to the existing SALT telescopes on a secondary axis. The Earth cluster of buildings honours these visual references by providing framed corridors back to the SALT cluster of telescopes.

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EARTH

CONCEPT

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_DESIGN

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_Iteration 1

The project started out by establishing a brief and centralizing certain rooms so that they connected to one another and, as a consequence, linked together the routine that comes with astronaut training.

On the right is a sketch that illustrates the concept for the first version of the program. Additionally, the various elements of the program must be able to interact with one another. The author initially used this sketch to determine what clusters of rooms would benefit from each other. The first iteration involved designing the envisioned facility from the inside outwards.

It was not only the author’s intention that this facility could prepare astronauts for what they might encounter on the red planet but also give future astronauts an overall feeling of what such a facility would be like on a daily basis.

The proposed facility focuses on simulating the terrain and climate of Mars in the Biodomes and that is the priority and the point of hierarchy of the proposed facility. This is where astronauts will spend most of their time and perform their training simulations.

The proposed workshop is situated close to the proposed Biodomes, which will provide the astronauts with an opportunity to familiarize themselves with the equipment and assist in the building of the equipment as well.

This can present certain difficulties when having such a massive facility on the proposed site; where the proposed facility will appear out of place and dominate the surrounding area.

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_Iteration 2 In the second iteration of the proposed design, the facility’s shape had changed dramatically, and a linear approach was subsequently adopted. In the second iteration of the project, most of the program efforts were focused on spreading the program along the proposed site on the mountainside. The objective was to establish the previously mentioned views of SALT as well as the views of the surrounding landscape. It was decided to divide the program into smaller groups and clusters.

The purpose of this was to identify which parts of the facility are related to commercial activities, which are related to mechanical equipment, and which are related to training.

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It was decided to construct the entire facility as a landform structure. The purpose of doing this was to emphasize the isolation that the future astronauts will have to face during their training, as some of the training simulations will require them to be locked in the Bio-domes for brief periods of time. The view of the domes is then focused mainly on the natural landscape which surrounds it. The proposed administration and workshop will break this feeling of isolation when the simulation is complete. In a sense, these can be seen as the Earth that are buried on site.

If staff members are required to work after 6 p.m., the proposed facility’s landform architecture coupled with large overhangs can limit light pollution on site. As the user or staff get closer to the proposed facility, the rest of the facility comes into view.

The current iteration gives the impression that the proposed Bio-domes are the only construction on site.

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Similarly to the previous iteration, this iteration follows the same conceptual principles. By taking on a more organic shape and introducing curves and roundings to the proposed facility. It proved to be more challenging than anticipated for the author to introduce curves to the facility.

Nevertheless, it represents a rough attempt at this implementation. It indicated that too many curves and roundings detracted from the architecture of the proposed facility.

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In the process of placing the roof, experimental treatment took an interesting turn.

The current design would feature green roofs that mimic the terrain and contours of the mountain. With the addition of a hidden layer to the facility, the roof becomes a part of the overall design.

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P R O C E S S

After taking a step back, the author decided to reassess and rethink the design strategy for the proposed facility. The movement routes of previous iterations, as well as some elements, seemed too linear. In previous versions of the design, astronauts had to be completely separate from the rest of the buildings as they had been streamlined in such a manner.

_THE COLONY

In spite of the fact that this is the purpose of this facility, the author intends to have the astronauts work with the staff of the facility and vice versa. In some respects, the author attempts to make the proposed facility seem more like a future Mars colony.

2._The open space between these “linked spaces” present opportunities for the placement of massing. A central courtyard will act as a dispersion point, where the majority of the buildings will form around it. This courtyard will keep a direct link to the two proposed Bio-domes. Along with a visual link to SALT and the proposed Bio-domes.

1._This iteration focuses on a colony structure with the establishment of three points of interest. These three-points should be the focus points in the proposed facility, with a direct link of indirect visual link between them.

3._Massing refinement takes place to establish hierarchy to the proposed workshop and proposed monitor room that will act as “mission control” when the future astronauts run simulation training. The axis mundi is placed over this sketch to respect the previously mentioned axes.

4._More refinement on the massing took place in this sketch, with certain massing’s that had to be adjusted to apply the axis mundi in a mor prominent manner.

1.

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3.

4.

In the picture above, you can see how the program comes together with the massing. The massing was refined and a sunken courtyard in an alienated shape was proposed.

This image shows how massing was further refined by decreasing some of the buildings sizes as they were too big and did not fit into the space well. There are several smaller buildings that accommodate functions that would have taken place in the big buildings. These smaller buildings are then placed on the edge where the large buildings would have been. As a result of this refinement we were able to set out the fine edge that is defined by the axis mundi.

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This is a conceptual drawing that shows how the telescopes and artistic structures on site are almost split in two where the bottom half of the building has a heavy look to as it whereas the top part of the building has a lighter look to it.

The image above shows a sculpture on site, the rocks used in this sculpture are all from the site and the wire frame above is from the workshop.

The artist of the sculpture is unknown

STRUCTURE ON SITE (Photo by author,2021)

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_THE DOME Two domes are separated by the approach to the domes. With a building connecting the two domes, there will be a point of access where equipment can be brought in. This building can be viewed as a pod that connects the two domes. Pods such as these represent the airlock systems found on spacecraft.

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The idea has been refined, and the astronauts will emerge from the domes through the building between the domes that represents the rocket room. The section illustrates how the height of the domes can be used to establish a connection with both the ground and the building. A feeling of isolation must be given to the future astronauts if they are running simulations in the proposed facility.

_FURTHER REFINEMENT The massing that was developed previously was put into CAD where further development could be done and the proposed program could be applied to buildings and refined. The movement roots that people can follow is shown and how they are linked to the biodomes.

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The image to the right shows’ hierarchy can be built up to the domes in terms of building height. The facility will be a landform and the buildings will step in height getting higher the closer they are to the domes. It felt as if there was a height gap between the domes and the building closest to the domes therefore a viewing tower is proposed so that the height gap can be bridged. The one-story building will be hidden whereas the two-, and three-story building will peak out of the landform.

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The previous plans are the general refined plans and can still be refined. The author took inspiration from different sci-fi films and incorporated some of these ideas into the proposed design. The sketch shown below takes all the previous iterations and adds them together in one image.

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INSIDE SALT TELESCOPE, SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

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176 0

N

0° .0 90

A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA

5.5 2°

38.4

5°

5 77 13

S.O.P

27635

PROPOSED NEW BUILDING

3°

50975

.3 56

64.35 °

° .33

15

37

PROPOSED NEW BUILDING

29715 Datum Point

70 00

34465

150

EW

40750

00 17

Scale:

1:5000 , 1:500

Date IN:

Sheet No

27/09/2021

1/5

172 0

17 00

C

FALL

FALL

89mm Steel Hollow Section Space Frame Fixed with Ball Joins.

Rope Access Fall Arrest

c

h

20000 A

ETFE PANNEL NOTE: Custom Extrusion Strip by Manufacturer 0.48 Micron Thick ETFE Foil ETFE Air-Cushion High-Pressure-Air Tube 6mm Bent Steel Sheet

EXISTING LANDSCAPING

f

2365 5860

W2

230

8460

500

W1

3455

230 2400 230

4955

3455

2860

4955

ee

500 4330 230 600 600 600 230 600 600 500

400

1716 170

R oll er SL D Do AB 5 or A 74 BO 00 V E

400 1800 400 1800 400 4800

FALL

3000

FALL

10000

20 29 FA LL

PAVING

LANDSCAPING 1716 370

40 0

67 0

cc ACCESS ROAD

bb RAMP 45.0

h ACCESS ROAD

0°

LC

TOU ON

RS

gg

hh

151

400mm Comncrete Wall Smooth Finish

Concrete Apron

aa

Fall 1:12

ii jj

Fall 1:12

EXISTING LANDSCAPING AL K

135.

RAMP

3

SI D EW

00°

3000

PAVING

i

C BO ON LL CR AR ET D E S

el l W ic e

17 13

Se rv

FALL

LL FA

40 0

IA FIC ARTI

0 40

PEDESTRIAN WALKWAYY PAVIN

S OU R CO NT IAL

ff

FALL

LL FA

VE O AB 0 AB 740

TIF IC

SL

AR

LANDSCAPING 1716 370

D er 5 oll D

135.

90.00°

EW D AL

17 00

SI

EXISTING LANDSCAPING

j

00°

Concrete Apron

a

74 00

1800 400

dd

3000

R

FALL

Screed to fall 1:40

17

FALL

500x350mm Reinforced Concrete Fins

Drainage Channel to Detail 400mm Concrete Wall Smooth Finish

0 40

30000

2 A 2/5

00 74

3

ee

800x800mm Reinforced Concrete Footing 620x100 mm Concrete Coping

l el W e ic rv 70 Se 13 6 oor

00°

LL FA

b

LL

LL

70 40

135.

LL FA

c

FA

4730

33150

20 29

Reinforced Concrete Well

FA

0°

FALL

FALL

g

15 .0

FALL

LL FA

d

590 600 400 400 610

5 62

W1

3460

0°

400

Fall 1:10 51 00 Steel Handrail

4800

BRIDGE

1716 340 W4

W1

15.0

WELL COMPACTED EARTH FILL 1716 170

Steel Handrail 1160

D4

530 170 1500 400

5230

SELF LEVELING EPOXY FLOORING

L

15.00°

BIO-DOME 1

400 1800

2300

AIRLOCK

16 RA 30 DU 0 IS TO W EL

3000

8000

3495

830 2100

1716 510

FALL

LL FA

W3

625

5685

W1

SLAB ABOVE

LOBBY

1716 510

KEY PLAN

RS

dd

1800 400

230

W1

1560 1100 6002400

W5

3685

NTOU

FA LL

4730

995 2250 115 W3

D2

2400

CERAMIC TILES

5905

4330

FA LL

2400

2400 480

230 2570 1200

1716 680

W2

FA LL

ff

SELF LEVELING EPOXY FLOORING

CERAMIC TILES

W5

D1

400

100 680

500

4330

CERAMIC TILES

2000 3885 ROCKET SIM D3 SPACE TUNNEL D3 ROOM

3685 2400

1716 510

MALE ABLUTION

FD

1000

1040

SELF LEVELING EPOXY FLOORING

D5

2100 400

D5

3885 D3

MALE

D5

1000 380 1850

2365 3495

FD

FEMALE

3260

2400

ROCKET SIM ROOM W2

1716 340

Steel Handrail

7405

1000

SELF LEVELING EPOXY FLOORING

2400

D4

8000 D3

3090

3120 2600

AIRLOCK

SLAB ABOVE

2600

3120 4800

4800

Fall 1:10

400 1800 400

D6

CE

15.00°

10000

D6

ARTI FICIAL CO

0°

400 1800 400

0° 15 .0

0°

400

gg

15.0

15.0

4330

0°

15.00°

230

.0 15

BRIDGE

720

5740

G IN OT FO

Steel Handrail

00 75

230

W4 IE

TO

1040

80x5.5mm Steel Mentis Grating

32 00 0

e

115 995 2250

5860

CERAMIC TILES

FD

720

2915

W4 IE

N

Drainage Channel to Detail 400mm Concrete Wall Smooth Finish

D6

W4 IE

ER

Screed to fall 1:40

D6

CE

W3

FEMALE ABLUTION

400 2100

e

100 680

2 A 2/5

7000

G IN OT

CE NT

ER

TO

FO

RE RA

FR O

DU IS RA

DU RA

0°

WELL COMPACTED EARTH FILL 1716 170

W4 IE

0 NT 00 20 CE OM FR

500x350mm Reinforced Concrete Fins

FALL

BIO-DOME 1

230 2000 230

W4 IE

0 PR O 2200 ETE A R NC

0 W 50 26 TO IS

L EL

2915

600 600 600 600 600 630 915 1820 840 915 630

IS

620x100 mm Concrete Coping

230

DU

800x800mm Reinforced Concrete Footing

15.00°

8740

CO

0°

230

FALL

cc

TO

15.0 .0 15

4330

10700

1713 670

UIS

f

400

8750

RA

FALL

hh

1370 13700

bb

Concrete Apron

Service Well

2600

R AD

FALL

1800

500

3900 RO N

d

AP

S TE

UR TO

M

ON

32 DU 00 0 IS TO 30 CO 00 NC 0

30000

IC TIF

LC

2600

FALL

AR

IA

1845

FALL

g

2600

ii

GREY WATER TANK

SEPTIC TANK

A

aa

jj GREY WATER TANK

AREA OF STUDY

1

17 40

K

ACCESS ROAD

GROUND FLOOR PLAN

GRAVEL 1716 000 17 20

SCALE 1:200

D 17875

DOME ASSEMBLY NOTE: ETFE Pannel Fixed to 273mm Steel Hollow Section with Steel Extrusion by Manufacure.

273mm Steel Hollow Sections Fixed togher with Cast Steel Nodes.

89mm Steel Hollow Section Space Frame Fixed with Ball Joins.

11860

Rope Access Fall Arrest

BIO-DOME 1

2500

BOTTOM OF WELL 1713 540

3210 4270

Well Compacted Earth Fill in Layers of 300mm Max

460

Screed to Fall 1:40 170mm Reinforced Concrete Slab DPM Reinforced Concrete Thickening to Eng. Spec Drainage Channel to Detail

SECTION A-A SCALE 1:200

Angle of Repose 500x350mm Reinforced Concrete Fins 460mm Concrete Retaining Wall as per Detail

45220

Screed to Fall 1:40 170mm Reinforced Concrete Slab DPM Reinforced Concrete Thickening to Eng. Spec Drainage Channel to Detail

Concrete Smooth

FFL

9680

W2

FFL

230mm Burnt Clay Brick Wall 170mm Reinforced Concrete Surface Bed

10540

400

AIRLOCK

Plaster and Paint

200x600mm Reinforced Concrete Strip Foundation

460

W6

W5

230mm Face Brick Wall FFL

LOBBY D2

W5

230mm Face Brick Wall

Well Compacted Earth Fill in Layers of 150mm Max

W3

W2

Concrete Smooth

D4

FFL

2635

D4

170mm Reinforced Concrete Roof Slab to Sloped Full Bore Outlet

3060

2635

FFL

100 dia GEOPPIPE Installed to Manufacturer Spec.

100 dia GEOPPIPE Installed to Manufacturer Spec.

170mm Concrete Apron

600

Angle of Repose 500x350mm Reinforced Concrete Fins 460mm Concrete Retaining Wall as per Detail

ROCKET Plaster SIM and ROOM Paint

W6

230mm Burnt Clay Brick Wall 170mm Reinforced Concrete Surface Bed 200x600mm Reinforced Concrete Strip Foundation

400

1160

FFL

AIRLOCK

2330 340

ARTIFICIAL CONTOURS

800x800mm Reinforced Concrete Footing 620x100 mm Concrete Coping

DOME FLOOR LEVEL 1716 170

170mm Reinforced Concrete Slab 15mm dia High Tensile Cable 400mm Reinforces Concrete Wall Finish Smooth 60mm Dia Stainless Steel Handrail 620x100 mm Concrete Coping

ETFE Panel as per Detail

BIO-DOME 2

273mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

255mm Reinforced Concrete Roof Slab

255mm Reinforced Concrete Roof Slab

ED1 3/5

Custom Extrusion Strip by Manufacture Composite Truss 273mm Dia Steel Hollow Section Cast-Steel Node Steel Ball Joint

ETFE Structure Footing as per Detail

ETFE Structure Footing as per Detail

89mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

ETFE Structure Footing as per Detail

ETFE Panel as per Detail

4165

CONCRETE ROOF SLAB 1716 930

Custom Extrusion Strip by Manufacturer

Custom Extrusion Strip by Manufacture

4335

273mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

273mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

ETFE Panel as per Detail

ED2 3/5

273mm Dia Steel Hollow Section Cast-Steel Node Steel Ball Joint

TOP OF DOME 1 1732 240

TOP OF DOME 2 1728 790

273mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

ETFE Panel as per Detail

F 20000

ETFE PANNEL NOTE: Custom Extrusion Strip by Manufacturer 0.48 Micron Thick ETFE Foil ETFE Air-Cushion High-Pressure-Air Tube 6mm Bent Steel Sheet

2330 340

Composite Truss

19205

4335

Custom Extrusion Strip by Manufacture

E

14875

3450

TOP OF DOME 2 1728 790

C 29425

6930 7790

89mm Dia Steel Hollow Section 230mm Face Brick Wall 170mm Reinforced Concrete Slab 15mm dia High Tensile Cable 400mm Reinforces Concrete Wall Finish Smooth ARTIFICIAL CONTOURS 60mm Dia Stainless Steel Handrail 620x100 mm Concrete Coping FFL

460

273mm Dia Steel Hollow Section Cast-Steel Node Steel Ball Joint

M.Arch. Architecture CONCRETE ROOF SLAB 1716 930

89mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

ETFE Structure Footing as per Detail

620x100 mm Concrete Coping Angle of Repose Angle of Repose Well Compacted Earth Fill in Layers of 300mm Max 500x350mm Reinforced Concrete Fins 500x350mm Reinforced Concrete Fins 460mm Concrete Retaining Wall as per Detail 460mm Concrete Retaining Wall as per Detail 100 dia GEOPPIPE Installed to Manufacturer Spec.

100 dia GEOPPIPE Installed to Manufacturer Spec.

Screed to Fall 1:40 170mm Reinforced Concrete Slab DPM 27440 Reinforced Concrete Thickening to Eng. Spec Drainage Channel to Detail

DPM Reinforced Concrete Thickening to Eng. Spec Drainage Channel to Detail

DOME FLOOR LEVEL 1716 170

BOTTOM OF WELL 1713 540 170mm Concrete Apron

460

5

CONTRACT DOCUMENTATION Name:

ZN BURGER

214202425

Project Description:

FFL

2500

B 30000

Center Building Line

A TOP OF DOME 1 1732 240

3510 4570

600

PREPARATION: A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA Drawing Description:

GROUND FLOOR PLAN, SECTION A Date OUT:

29/07/2021 Scale:

1:200

Date IN:

Sheet No./No.

27/09/2021

2/5

A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA

FALL

FALL

ETFE Pannel Fixed to 273mm Steel Hollow Section with Steel Extrusion by Manufacure.

273mm Steel Hollow Sections Fixed togher with Cast Steel Nodes.

F

19205

30000

400 1800

DOME ASSEMBLY NOTE:

b

E

14895

Concrete Apron

3000

i EXISTING LANDSCAPING

17855

a

17 40

16 80

1

D

29425

j

30000

B 30000

Center Building Line

A

Custom Extrusion Strip by Manufacture 0.48 Micron Thick ETFE Foil ETFE Air-Cushion

A

C

0.48 Micron Thick ETFE Foil ETFE Air-Cushion DOME ASSEMBLY NOTE:

89mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

Custom Extrusion Strip by Manufacture Steel Ball Joint

ETFE Pannel Fixed to 273mm Steel Hollow Section with Steel Extrusion by Manufacure.

273mm Steel Hollow Sections Fixed togher with Cast Steel Nodes.

89mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

89mm Steel Hollow Section Space Frame Fixed with Ball Joins.

Rope Access Fall Arrest

Rope Access Fall Arrest

Steel Ball Joint 273mm Dia Steel Hollow Section 89mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

0.48 Micron Thick ETFE Foil ETFE Air-Cushion 273mm Dia Steel Hollow Section 6mm Bent Steel Sheet 15mm Steel Base Plate

DOME ASSEMBLY NOTE: ETFE Pannel Fixed to 273mm Steel Hollow Section with Steel Extrusion by Manufacure.

273mm Steel Hollow Sections Fixed togher with Cast Steel Nodes.

Geotextile Mat Delta MS 20 Drainage Sheet

89mm Steel Hollow Section Space Frame Fixed with Ball Joins.

Taped 250 Micron Polythene Sheeting Derbigum CG4 H Derbigum CG3 Screed to Fall 1:40

Rope Access Fall Arrest

0.48 Micron Thick ETFE Foil

800x800mm Reinforced Concrete Footing

ETFE Air-Cushion 15mm Steel Base Plate M40 Bolt 30mm Steel Anchor Plate

CONCRETE ROOF SLAB 1716 930

Custom Extrusion Strip by Manufacture

CONCRETE ROOF SLAB 1716 930

Soil/Earth

Rope Access Fall Arrest

255

15mm dia High Tensile Cable 89mm Dia Steel Hollow Section Steel Ball Joint

273mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

Dripline

89mm Dia Steel Hollow Section 15 5

1530

24 10

69 0

400x400mm Reinforced Concrete Column to Eng. Spec

D1 4/5

Steel Ball Joint

15 5

255mm Reinforced Concrete Roof Slab to Eng. Spec

89mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

Steel Ball Joint

ETFE Air-Cushion

400x400mm Reinforced Concrete Column to Eng. Spec

Custom Extrusion Strip by Manufacture

Screed to Fall

1020

170

0.48 Micron Thick ETFE Foil

170mm Reinforced Concrete Slab Dripline

400mm Reinforced Concrete Wall Finish Smooth

Rope Access Fall Arrest

BIO-DOME 1

Steel Ball Joint

BIO-DOME 1

89mm Dia Steel Hollow Section Steel Ball Joint

D4

Steel Ball Joint

2635

89mm Dia Steel Hollow Section 60mm Dia Stainless Steel Handrail

0.48 Micron Thick ETFE Foil 100 20 60

Custom Extrusion Strip by Manufacture

20mm Dia Stainless Steel Handrail Top Support Bar 60mm Dia Stainless Steel Handrail Upright Post 40mm Dia Stainless Steel Handrail Middel Support Bar

1160

273mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

FFL Dripline

DPM 500x350mm Reinforced Concrete Fin to Eng. Spec

150-300mm TOPSOIL Comprised of Organic Material and Native Soil to match the Suroundings

460mm Reinforced Concrete Retaining Wall to Eng. Spec

600

20mm Self Leveling EPOXY Floor FFL

80

ARTIFICIAL CONTOURS 620x100 mm Concrete Coping

800x800mm Reinforced Concrete Footing

170mm Reinforced Concrete Slab to Eng. Spec 40mm Dia Stainless Steel Handrail Bottom Support Bar

205

DOME FLOOR LEVEL 1716 170

40 205 40 100 20

360

6mm Bent Steel Sheet 15mm Steel Base Plate

400x400mm Reinforced Concrete Column to Eng. Spec

1445

40

460

D1 4/5

340

ETFE Air-Cushion

205

60x40mm Steel Rectangulat Tube 20mm Steel Mentis Grating

Expantion Joint 150-300mm TOPSOIL Comprised of Organic Material and Native Soil to match the Suroundings

Dripline

1020

205x133 Steel I-Beam M40 Bolt 30mm Steel Base Plate

Angle of Repose

170mm Concrete Apron Angle of Repose

Single Layer Torch On Derrbigum SP4 With 75mm Endlaps and 100mm Overlaps

150-300mm TOPSOIL Comprised of Organic Material and Native Soil to match the Suroundings

Layer of Bitumen Primer to Concrete and Screed Surface to be Smooth 600mm Reinforced Concrete Retaining Wall to Eng. Spec

2495

Backfil Compacted in Layers of 150mm 6mm POLYFLOW 15 Drainage Mat Fixed to Manufacturer Spec

Layer of Bitumen Primer to Concrete and Screed Surface to be Smooth

375μm HYPERLASTIC ORANGE DPM with Overlap of min. 150mm

Full Bore Drain 20mm Steel Mentis Grating 170mm Reinforced Concrete Slab to Eng. Spec

BOTTOM OF WELL 1713 540

375μm HYPERLASTIC ORANGE DPM with Overlap of min. 150mm

375μm HYPERLASTIC ORANGE DPM with Overlap of min. 150mm

100 dia GEOPPIPE Outlet to Well 85mm Concrete Draing Bank

Screed to fall 1:60

Backfil Compacted in Layers of 150mm Well Compacted Earth Fill in Layers of 300mm Max

Single Layer Torch On Derrbigum SP4 With 75mm Endlaps and 100mm Overlaps

Coarse Layer/Drainage Stone Comprised of Crushed Stone or Other Porous Fill 100 dia GEOPPIPE Installed to Manufacturer Spec.

375μm HYPERLASTIC ORANGE DPM with Overlap of min. 150mm Screed to Fall 1:40

100 dia GEOPPIPE Outlet to Well

Coarse Layer/Drainage Stone Comprised of Crushed Stone or Other Porous Fill 100 dia GEOPPIPE Installed to Manufacturer Spec.

6mm POLYFLOW 15 Drainage Mat Fixed to Manufacturer Spec 10mm Thick soft board

Backfil Compacted in Layers of 150mm Well Compacted Earth Fill in Layers of 300mm Max

Single Layer Torch On Derrbigum SP4 With 75mm Endlaps and 100mm Overlaps

10mm Thick soft board

6mm POLYFLOW 15 Drainage Mat Fixed to Manufacturer Spec 10mm Thick soft board

2245

Dripline

2415

Coarse Layer/Drainage Stone Comprised of Crushed Stone or Other Porous Fill 100 dia GEOPPIPE Installed to Manufacturer Spec.

Layer of Bitumen Primer to Concrete and Screed Surface to be Smooth

100 dia GEOPPIPE Outlet to Well Screed to fall 1:60 85mm Concrete Draing Bank 170mm Reinforced Concrete Slab to Eng. Spec

BOTTOM OF WELL 1713 540

M.Arch. Architecture

5

CONTRACT DOCUMENTATION Name:

ZN BURGER

214202425

Project Description:

Reinforced Concrete Thickening to Eng. Spec DPM 170mm Sand/Cement Blinder

3450

340

170mm Reinforced Concrete Slab 340

A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA

152

AIRLOCK 4335

89mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

273mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

Reinforced Concrete Thickening to Eng. Spec 570

Reinforced Concrete Thickening to Eng. Spec

DPM 170mm Sand/Cement Blinder

DPM 170mm Sand/Cement Blinder

600 170 4050

PREPARATION: A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA Drawing Description:

PERIMETER DETAIL

400 570

EDGE DETAIL 1

EDGE DETAIL 2

Date OUT:

SCALE 1:20

SCALE 1:20

Scale:

29/07/2021

1:20

Date IN:

Sheet No./No.

27/09/2021

3/5

273mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

C

Cast-Steel Node

0.48 Micron Thick ETFE Foil

Rope Access Fall Arrest Custom Extrusion Strip by Manufacturer

ETFE Air-Cushion

0.48 Micron Thick ETFE Foil

0.48 Micron Thick ETFE Foil

ETFE Air-Cushion

ETFE Air-Cushion

Custom Extrusion Strip by Manufacture

M20 Bolt

6mm Bent Steel Sheet

89mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

273mm Dia Steel Hollow Section 15mm Steel Base Plate

Steel Ball Joint

Soil/Earth Geotextile Mat Delta MS 20 Drainage Sheet Taped 250 Micron Polythene Sheeting

800x800mm Reinforced Concrete Footing

Derbigum CG4 H Derbigum CG3 Screed to Fall 1:40

330

400mm Reinforced Concrete Upstand to Eng. Spec 585

CONCRETE ROOF SLAB 1716 930

6mm Bent Steel Sheet High-Pressure-Air Tube

15mm Steel Base Plate

400

255

M40 Bolt 30mm Steel Anchor Plate 15mm dia High Tensile Cable

Cast-Steel Node Dripline

273mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

255mm Reinforced Concrete Roof Slab to Eng. Spec

Bolt Ball Joint

273mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

AIRLOCK 400x400mm Reinforced Concrete Column to Eng. Spec

ETFE/ROOF FIXING DETAIL

89mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

SCALE 1:10

89mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

ETFE/ROOF FIXING DETAIL 0.48 Micron Thick ETFE Foil ETFE Air-Cushion

SCALE 1:5 273mm Dia Steel Hollow Section Cast-Steel Node

Custom Extrusion Strip by Manufacture

89mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

153

Steel Ball Joint

6mm Bent Steel Sheet 273mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

89mm Dia Steel Hollow Section

15mm Steel Base Plate

DOME FLOOR LEVEL 1716 170 FFL

Dripline

620x100 mm Concrete Coping DPM

800x800mm Reinforced Concrete Footing 460mm Reinforced Concrete Retaining Wall to Eng. Spec

150-300mm TOPSOIL Comprised of Organic Material and Native Soil to match the Suroundings

500x350mm Reinforced Concrete Fin to Eng. Spec

6mm POLYFLOW 15 Drainage Mat Fixed to Manufacturer Spec 10mm Thick soft board 3050

400

375μm HYPERLASTIC ORANGE DPM with Overlap of min. 150mm

170mm Concrete Apron Dripline 460mm Reinforced Concrete Retaining Wall Single Layer Torch On Derrbigum SP4 With 75mm Endlaps and 100mm Overlaps 150-300mm TOPSOIL Comprised of Organic Material and Native Soil to match the Suroundings

Single Layer Torch On Derrbigum SP4 With 75mm Endlaps and 100mm Overlaps

Layer of Bitumen Primer to Concrete and Screed Surface to be Smooth

Angle of Repose Backfil Compacted in Layers of 150mm

Layer of Bitumen Primer to Concrete and Screed Surface to be Smooth

Well Compacted Earth Fill in Layers of 300mm Max

Backfil Compacted in Layers of 150mm 6mm POLYFLOW 15 Drainage Mat Fixed to Manufacturer Spec

10mm Thick soft board

Single Layer Torch On Derrbigum SP4 With 75mm Endlaps and 100mm Overlaps Layer of Bitumen Primer to Concrete and Screed Surface to be Smooth

375μm HYPERLASTIC ORANGE DPM with Overlap of min. 150mm

Single Layer Torch On Derrbigum SP4 With 75mm Endlaps and 100mm Overlaps

Coarse Layer/Drainage Stone Comprised of Crushed Stone or Other Porous Fill

Layer of Bitumen Primer to Concrete and Screed Surface to be Smooth

100 dia GEOPPIPE Installed to Manufacturer Spec.

Angle of Repose

100 dia GEOPPIPE Installed to Manufacturer Spec.

375μm HYPERLASTIC ORANGE DPM with Overlap of min. 150mm

100 dia GEOPPIPE Outlet to Well 85mm Concrete Draing Bank Screed to fall 1:60

BOTTOM OF WELL 1713 540

Angle of Repose Coarse Layer/Drainage Stone Comprised of Crushed Stone or Other Porous Fill

20mm Steel Mentis Grating Full Bore Drain 170mm Reinforced Concrete Slab to Eng. Spec

100 dia GEOPPIPE Outlet to Well

Screed to Fall 1:40

Screed to fall 1:60

M.Arch. Architecture

5

CONTRACT DOCUMENTATION Name:

ZN BURGER 170mm Reinforced Concrete Slab

Concrete Slab Thickening to Eng. Spec

Concrete Slab Thickening to Eng. Spec

214202425

Project Description:

PREPARATION: A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA Drawing Description:

DETAILS

DPM DPM 170mm Sand/Cement Blinder 170mm Sand/Cement Blinder

WELL DETAIL SCALE 1:10

Date OUT:

29/07/2021 Scale:

1:10

Date IN:

Sheet No./No.

27/09/2021

4/5

A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA

ARTIFICIAL CONTOURS

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA

154

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Identify box shape: Octahedron, with a radius of x.

Take a single plane: Devide into equal heights and subdivide theintermittent vertices.

Center: Where x+y meet From radius(R): extrude vertices with leght of radius.

Connect extruded certices nodes = The new curved surface generated.

Note Curved Surface's relationship to virtual structure underneath.

The Base of geodesic dome.

Generate Panel's structure frame by offsetting. (x mm= lenght / dia of struts) From central radius point = extruded vertices of length R + dia. of structural member.

Connect the extruded vertices = create new virtual plane.

Complete dome structure.

Geodesic dome with panel strut structure and composite truss member spaced at x intervals according to structural engineer.

Completed geodesic dome structure concept.

M.Arch. Architecture

5

CONTRACT DOCUMENTATION Name:

ZN BURGER

214202425

Project Description:

PREPARATION: A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA Drawing Description:

DOME THEORY

Date OUT:

29/07/2021

9

10

11

Scale:

1:10

Date IN:

Sheet No./No.

27/09/2021

5/5

A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA

155

A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA

156

AUTHOR PRESENTING AT FINAL EXHIBITION, TUT

(photo by Nicci Buys,2021)

_ F I N A L

A TRAINING FACILITY FOR ASTRONAUTS FROM THE NATIONAL AND PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE AGENCIES LOCATED IN SUTHERLAND, SOUTH AFRICA

10 E X H I B I T I O N 157

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FINAL EXHIBITION PIN-UP BOARD 1, TUT BUILDING 11

(photo by Nicci Buys,2021)

FINAL EXHIBITION PIN-UP BOARD 2, TUT BUILDING 11

(photo by Nicci Buys,2021)

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FINAL EXHIBITION PIN-UP BOARD 3, TUT BUILDING 11

(photo by Nicci Buys,2021)

FINAL EXHIBITION PIN-UP BOARD 4, TUT BUILDING 11

(photo by Nicci Buys,2021)

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GEODESIC DOME MODEL, TUT BUILDING 11 (photo by Nicci Buys,2021)

SITE MODEL SCALE 1-25000, TUT BUILDING 11 (photo by Nicci Buys,2021)

SITE MODEL SCALE 1-1000, TUT BUILDING11 (photo by Nicci Buys,2021)

SITE MODEL SCALE 1-500, TUT BUILDING11 (photo by Nicci Buys,2021)

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AUTHOR PRESENTING AT FINAL EXHIBITION, TUT BUILDING 11

(photo by Nicci Buys,2021)

AUTHOR PRESENTING AT FINAL EXHIBITION, TUT BUILDING 11

(photo by Nicci Buys,2021)

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AUTHOR PREPARING FOR FINAL EXHIBITION, TUT BUILDING 11

(photo by Nicci Buys,2021)

AUTHOR AFTER FINAL EXHIBITION, TUT BUILDING 11

(photo by Nicci Buys,2021)

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Space expansion holds a new age of wonder, technological advances, resources, and challenges. Humanity needs to ensure it is ready and prepared for the challenges that may lay ahead. As Robert Goodwin has said: “All civilizations become either space fairing or extinct” (Atkinsin, 2011).

The aim of this project was to design a training facility for astronauts from the national and private-sector Space agencies as a way of bringing South Africa into the next age of Space exploration. The proposed facility was designed to assist the astronauts in adapting to a future Mars “lifestyle”, along with preparing them for any unforeseen event that may happen.

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The selected site, although isolated in its location, revealed in-depth layers of its surrounding landscape and all of the natural elements that have the potential to inspire the public to visit and experience such a unique setting in its rural context.

The project based its design on the concept of Space Architecture and used this concept to explore future Mars pods on Earth. This is where the design of the facility brings together architecture as we know and experience it. While also to design the future architecture that can be used in a future mission to Mars. Buildings are hidden from view by anchoring themselves into the landscape along a recessed access route.

Earth and Mars’ buildings are located on an axis that is both visual and physical. Visually, this axis represents the primary access point to the complex. Perpendicular to this axis, Mars’ buildings enjoy a prominent position in the visual field. A user only becomes aware of the Earth buildings as they approach the complex. The design puts hierarchy and focus on the Mars’ aspect of the programme and hides away the Earth presence of the facility.

SAAO OBSERVATION PLATEUA, SUTHERLAND (photo by author,2021)

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