MTIC - First Stage Submission

2015-1-147

Although marked by many parameters, a manned mission to Mars has no template.

Innovation, improvisation and efficiency become benchmarks for success when considering the project of the Martian habitat. One is faced with many obvious limitations: payload capacity from Earth, sourcing of energy, material resource acquisition, atmospheric phenomena--even the most universal human constraints--time and money. These are also some of the reemerging variables within human history, coloring its struggles and triumphs. Humanity cycles through its challenges, with their respective resolutions; establishing an outpost on Mars is the latest such prompt whose resolution seems destined to become the inevitable.

Fortunately, research on Mars has begun, and its world picture is beginning to crystallize. It’s clearly established that human survival will necessitate technological assistance at the most extreme edge of innovation to respond the planet’s extraterrestrial nature. However, Mars does provide a margin of concession with regards to human habitation: a diurnal cycle similar to that of Earth, the existence of H 20 (and the possibility of liquid water), a forgiving gravitational constant, and geologic and chemical compositions which are favorable to human utility and ingenuity.

Despite all the possible technological solutions to the scientific demand of establishing and maintaining human habitation on Mars, there exists a base primitivism in the act of acquiring materials on site and creating a shelter “from scratch”. Although the compound knowledge of the stone age, golden age, iron age, and the current digital age are all carried into this venture by its human participants a priori, a pragmatic survey of resources and their procurement clearly limit the scope of industrial production and overall capacity. Because Mars has no factory at the moment we will need to bring the factory to Mars to facilitate technological solutions. While obvious, the consequence is the necessitation of simple, rational building techniques which are repeatable and safely implemented with rapidity. The durability of these structures to withstand windspeeds exceeding 60 mph, mostly sub-zero temperatures and a dessicating environment all need to be resolved promptly after touching down. Maintaining a safe environment after construction not only includes the consideration of the astronauts physical welfare but also their mental health as well. Survivability, above research and recreation is therefore the base common denominator in all project phases. Unlike modern man's life on Earth, the Martian's survival rate is determined by the astronaut's immediate ability to control his or her immediate environment, harsh and foreign in composition; this new planet is distilled, survival-based existence. For this, the architectural solution resides as quagmire, a "future-primitive" anomaly in the history of human habitation.

7.1.1. Architectural concept and design approach With the assumption NASA and JPL have resolved a safe Martian arrival and landing, the first step in the construction of any building is resource material acquisition. The lander module will function as a temporary mainstay, while the agents of resource acquisition are rolled-out. Martian soil composition is largely comprised of iron and silica which will serve as key raw materials to be extracted, refined and processed, and are turned over into the defining elements of this project's proposed architecture. These

2015-1-147 materials will be separated physically through remote sifting done by rover, this process should be accomplished quickly due to the native abundance of the materials, but can be expedited through simple manual sifting procedures done by the astronauts in shifts.

After the first quantity threshold is met, thin-film water is extracted by low level incubation trapping water in the form of vapor, which is then rendered liquid in pressurized chambers, for prolonged, necessitable use by the astronauts. This cycle of on-site procurement continues until the end of construction. At this phase of hunting/gathering, 1 or 2 crew members will simultaneously be engaged in the set-up of the large robot, involving its assembly, foundational grounding (via helical piles and lateral bracing) as well as its power-up and calibration. Power is provided at an approximate safe distance via through a mobile nuclear reactor unit which will need to be up and running at this phases onset. Once set-up, the large robot is equipped with a tamping tool head which doubles as a shallow excavation blade, creating a sunken plenum of compacted martian soil upon which the foundation will be laid.

The foundation process is begun when adequate levels of refined silica have been acquired. Sweeping along large arc'd toolpaths, the robot is now equipped with a high-energy sintering print head, creating a hard, durable foundational floor out of a continuous bead of silica slag. The continuous back-and-forth sweep of the arc toolpaths are calibrated for maximum cohesion, calculated beforehand through testing ran on Earth. Also during sintering, the floor is engraved with score marks which are to coordinate with the centerlines of walls printed above, in order to control and predetermine any potential stress-fracturing, as well as provide a seat for the tracks of all pocket-doors. If testing deems it necessary, there will also be a grinding / polishing sequence to be run after the sintering process, to provide a cleaner, smoother surface to this foundation floor.

Once a foundation is laid, predetermined anchor points are located and driven through the silica floor, allowing hexagonal base plates to be embedded flush with the floor plane. These baseplates are anchored by screw piles driven deep below the floor plane, at counter-opposed angles, triangulated to provide maximum stability for the robots' base.

Here begins the layered, multi-faceted endeavor of 3d-printing the curved walls, arc ceilings and bulkier, ribbed sections of the habitat's architecture. The 3d-printed walls are composite, layered passes of steel (structure and protection), silica slag (insulation and watertightness), and steel again serving as the interior wall (structure and purity of material/sterility). In between the interior threshold of glass and the steel interior wall, an inflatable pillowed membrane of neoprene seals which will provide extra-insulation and bulk in the form of air-pockets. Steel is forged in a cyclonecombustion foundry which smelts the refined iron-ore collected since landing. The “slag tap” acts as the print-head mounted on the large robot operating as the main 3d-printer of these walls, all the while fed by the smaller “assist” robot. As it is dispenses by hot iron-ore, slag being super-cooled in the sub-zero martian atmosphere, the large robot also immediately chases its outer-layer print with a second print-head which dispenses super-heated silica. As this outer, double-layer cools, the inflatable membrane is laid into the structure, glued in a lattice pattern, and grafted with inflation points, interspersed at regular intervals, based on volume of air to be inflated. At this point, the large robot must “double-back” and print the final interior wall layer held off, at a variable

2015-1-147 dimension in proportion with the habitat’s overall structural contraction. Because the habitat must be printed from the outside in, the walls dilate or contract in thickness; they are increasingly interior and serve only as dividers once located inside the “outer shell”.

This allows for increasingly-less resources needed the further inside, and frees up manpower and robot-power from the initial task of material resource acquisition.

Throughout the printing process, double-layered acrylic windows and skylights are registered in place where holes are left as gaps in the 3d printing process. The windows are engineered with a convex attitude, with some built-in flexibility, is sealed in place by extra “pinching” geometry of the interior steel wall. The portals are pressed against the exterior wall, upwards and outwards, with a trim gasket of temperature resistant neoprene around the perimeter. Similarly, doors are panels of extruded arcs, sweeping open-closed at a shared radius with their walls, which they in turn would seamlessly pocket into.

7.1.2. Architectural implementation and innovation The architectural form itself is derived from a self-nesting Fibonacci-sequence of domes, which matriculate inwardly creating zones of interiority. This model provides increased security, structural integrity, and inherent zones of “air-locking” and pressurization, all the while providing an aerodynamic exterior to shelter from Mars’ extreme wind storms. The plan and program are best described, as spherical domes continuously shrinking in volume as things are built on the arc of a spiral, pulling inward with deliberate proportion. First, the cavernous garage acts as a windstop/buffer and exterior shelter, while providing protecting for an EVA rover or transport unit, which will arrive to Mars from Earth. The first airlock provides the immediate entry and threshold into the habitat’s interior; the rover may be pulled in for repair or extra protection against meteorological phenomena. Just inside of the first airlock, a second airlock allows for a faster repressurization of the astronaut with the rest of the entire structure and prevents the haphazard loss of heat and properly oxygenated air. It will also serve as a decontamination gas-bath and an area for spacesuits to be changed in and out of.

Inside of the second airlock, the interior opens up into a zone where chambers of diminishing volume can be accessed from left to right (south to north, clockwise).

These consist of, in order: two research chambers, a common area with table and seating (doubling as the “kitchen”), with a closeable sleeping chamber beyond, and finally the self-enclosed bathroom, essentially a shower and toilet all-in-one, which can be found adjacent to waste management appliances and energy distribution systems (HVAC/MEP). Inside the open area resides a mid-size robot capable of preprogrammed tasks or manual assistance for maintenance, research and even recreation. The cavernous structure and highwall sweeping adjacent to the climbing wall provides exercise inside the space, to aid physical and mental well-being.

Skylights are located above the common area table and the sleeping chamber.

Research areas have windows as necessary. Artificial light is provided in the form of low-consumption LEDs, stuck to the walls/ceilings/floors as deemed necessary by the occupants. A greenhouse is inflated above the SW portion of the structure, where lichen, fern and other seeds/germs from Earth will be researched. Access to the greenhouse can be granted from the outside, from a hatch in the inflatable shell or from

2015-1-147 the inside, via a porthole in one of the research chambers; ideally the greenhouse will be treated as a pressurized airlock, similar to airlock II. Valles Marinaris.

Valles Marinaris has been selected as the site of the first extra-terrestrial construction and habitation because it offers the closest temperature, UV light, and barometric pressure to that found on earth. Although it must be noted that these conditions still vary greatly from w would be considered habitable, and are not conducive to survival.

Furthermore, the vast canyon of Valles Marinaris offers a largely predictable east to west wind direction because dust and wind will be two of the primary obstacles to overcome in martian habitation. We also feel that the dust from the prevailing winds can be collected as a partially pre-sifted print medium component. This more predictable wind may also be able to be harnessed for power generation in later phases of exploration. Our plan is to land in the vast plain of Garni and set up the reactors in the first sheltered area on the way to the valley that lies between Garni and Corprates Labes, where the habitation will be printed. It should be noted that the design is versatile and can be set up to deal with any prevailing wind direction.

Valles Marinaris

A

lthough marked by many parameters, a manned mission to Mars has no template.

Innovation, improvisation and efficiency become benchmarks for success when considering the project of the Martian habitat. One is faced with many obvious limitations: payload capacity from Earth, sourcing of energy, material resource acquisition, atmospheric phenomena even the most universal human constraintstime and money. These are also some of the reemerging variables within human history, coloring its struggles and triumphs. Humanity cycles through its challenges, with their respective resolutions; establishing an outpost on Mars is the latest such prompt whose resolution seems destined to become the inevitable. Fortunately, research on Mars has begun, and its world picture is beginning to crystallize. It’s clearly established that human survival will necessitate technological assistance at the most extreme edge of innovation to respond the planet’s extraterrestrial nature. However, Mars does provide a margin of concession with regards to human habitation: a diurnal cycle similar to that of Earth, the existence of H 2 0 (and the possibility of liquid water), a forgiving gravitational constant, and geologic and chemical compositions which are favorable to human utility and ingenuity. Despite all the possible technological solutions to the scientific demand of establishing and maintaining human habitation on Mars, there exists a base primitivism in the act of acquiring materials on site and creating a shelter “from scratch”.

Although the compound knowledge of the stone age,

golden age, iron age, and the current digital age are all carried into this venture by its human participants a priori , a pragmatic survey of resources and their procurement clearly limit the scope of industrial production and overall capacity. Because Mars has no factory at the moment we will need to bring the factory to Mars to facilitate technologcal solutions. While obvious, the consequence is the necessitation of simple, rational building tecniques which are repeatable and safely implemented with rapidity. The durability of these structures to withstand windspeeds exceeding 60 mph, mostly subzero temperatures and a dessicating environment all need to be resolved promptly after touching down. Maintaining a safe environment after construction not only includes the consideration of the astronauts physical welfare but also their mental health as well. Survivability, above research and recreation is therefore the base common denominator in all project phases. Unlike modern man’s life on Earth, the Martian’s survival rate is determined by the astronaut’s immediate ability to control his or her immediate environment, harsh and foreign in composition; this new planet is distilled, survivalbased existence. For this, the architectural solution resides as quagmire, a “futureprimitive” anomaly in the history of human habitation.

Above: Landing area: Garni Destination: Corprates Labes

Valles Marinaris

V

alles Marinaris has been selected as the site of the first extra-terrestrial construction and habitation because it offers the closest temperature, UV light, and barometric pressure to that found on earth. Although it must be noted that these conditions still vary greatly from w would be considered habitable, and are not conducive to survival. Furthermore, the vast canyon of Valles Marinaris offers a largely predictable east to west wind direction because dust and wind will be two of the primary obstacles to overcome in martian habitation. We also feel that the dust from the prevailing winds can be collected as a partially pre-sifted print medium component. This more

predictable wind may also be able to be harnessed for power generation in later phases of exploration.

Our plan is to land in the vast plain of Garni and set up the reactors in the first sheltered area on the way to the valley that lies between Garni and Corprates Labes, where the habitation will be printed. It should be noted that the design is versatile and can be set up to deal with any prevailing wind direction.

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Overall strategy:

Wall detail axons?

Creating the ideal printing medium: Iron - tinsel strength Earth - compressive strength/environmental barrier Slag (glass) - insulation/cohesion

Type I

the construction is delegated to 3 specialized machines 1) v construction arm on tank tracks, breaks ground, scrapes, grades, prints primary, outter structure with a robust compound of refined earth, slag from the refining frocess 2) interior finish construction, maintenance, research assistant 3) staionary robot (truely) helps stage processes, perfoms regular upkeep and sanitation. fulfilling sfety/comfort needs in addition to being a utility machine Construction means and Materials: the building is a 2 part (cellular) Shell construction.

The outer layer is a mix of sifted (refined) earth, semi multen slag from the refinery, and iron. The ratio can be altered to achieve varrying degrees of fedelity, and to satisfy different performance standards.

KITCHEN / COMMON

SLEEPING QUARTERS

RESEARCH 2

COMMON ROBOT 2

Floor Plan showing variations in wall assembly, spatial heiarchy, access, safety etc.

Type II

RESEARCH 1 / AIRLOCK 2

GARAGE ROBOT 1

This is a rough pass. It is intended to be quick but robust (sacrificing fedelity for performance and speed)

AIRLOCK 1

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Nuclear Power Source Above Nuclear generated electricity was selected as a primary power source for the colony because of it efficiency and high energy yeild. The martial atmosphere is too thin to drive a turbine and the weather is too sporadic to proveide a reliable energy source. Similarily, the solar intensity on the surface of Mars is roughly one third that os earth making these means of generation inadequit. Not only will the reactor provide the energy needed to undertak the demaning energy use of refining raw earth into iron and glass, it will provide more than enough energy for the colony, allowing for the implementation of a three stage, energy contingency strategy that consists of a series of battery banks

that charge and store energy continuously. The system is a closed loop, steam driven turbine configuration. This not only generates electricity, but exhaust heat exiting the turbine is utilized in heating the colony and sustaing agricultural activities on the frozen surface of Mars.

Soil Handeling and Refining Martian soil is not only rich in iron but, in some places, water as well. Fine grain soils are colledced by a specially desinged fin and louvre system on the exterior of the dwelling. The soil is gathered and refined in this four stage, vertical smelter. The raw material enters te hopper at the top of the tower and is sifted through a series of screes ntil a desired consistency is achieved. Depending on need the material then either continues into a plasma fired cyclone furnice where it is refined into iron and slag for use in the outer, structural portion of the printed dwellings, or the fine sand is collected , and stored for future use as a printing media. This process of contilually refining raw martian soils is expected

to release trace amounts of water. The water is captured via a condensing unit at the top of the tower and diverted into storage.

Reactor Core, Hosing and Platform The constructs are desinged semetrically about a center point for efficience in transportation and even weight distribution.

Each portion of the facility was desinged to be carried into orbit innitially by NASA’s Ares V. The components are fully encapsulated in a rigid shell that sits atop an expandable, shock absorbant pad

to both protect them during the journer and descent, and provide a prefabricated foundation and protective skin immediately upon landing on the surface.

Refinery System, Elevators and Solos

Turbine Generator and Primary Battery Bank Steam generated in a heatexchanging unit contained within the reactor core, drives a turbine generator that provedes the majority of the energy needed in refining the martian soils into iron, and its biproduct, slag.

The turbine generator runs continuously and excess electricity is stored in a large battery bank contained within tehe unit’s protective shell. This battery bank is one of three in a system designed to systain day to day living functions of the crew for extended periods of time should there be a failure of te primary power supply.

Heated air leaving the turbine is circulated through a labrynth of below-grade ductwork before the steam condenses and is returned

to the heat exchanger. This maintains a stable ground temperature beneith the colony and contributes to a stable indoor environment.

Heat from the exhaust steam is also used to warm the soils and air in the greenhouse.

Turbine Generator, Transformer Bank, Battery Bank

Ground Water Reclaimation and Treatment The water treatment unit is equipped to handle two entirely seperate streams of treatment. Waste water is collected form daily use in the colony and the solid material is removed. The water is then circulated through a series of transluscent pipes which sterilize the water by exposing it the UV radiation of the Martian environment.

The water is filtered through a series of carbon filters and returned for safe use.

Water extracted form excevation and refining is treated by a three stage reverse-osmosis systen then stored for use in construction or further purification for use by the crew.

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Reverse Osmossis Filtration System. Solid Waste Removal System, Activated Carbon Filter System

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