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Europa

Europa is 1 of 4 moons that were discovered around Jupiter in 1610 by Galileo Galilei. Its diameter is approximately 1904 miles. The temperature around the equator is around -260 °F and at the poles around -370 °F. Its ice shell has intersecting dark ridges and cracks called linneae.

The moon’s ocean remains liquid from the heat from its core. Europa is also tidally locked meaning that it orbits Jupiter as fast as it rotates (around 3.5 Earth days is equivalent to 1 day).

Europa’s outer ice shell is about 10 to15 miles deep and its subsurface ocean is around 40 to 100 miles deep. It is thought to have an iron core, a rocky mantle and an ocean of salty water, much lke Earth.

Formal

Upon closer inspection of Europa’s terrain we can see highly fractalized areas, called chaos terrains. These areas show blocks of ice appearing to have broken off, drifted and refrozen to the surface. Over time, the ice directly above the subsurface lakes collapses, splintering into floating geometric fragments that rotate, raft and resettle into all kinds of chaotic configurations.

This fueled the idea of having the structure of the biodome mimic the topography. The type of geometry was created using a grasshopper recipe similar to the Beijing National Stadium.

Figure Grounds Research

Inspired by the International Space Station, its current space agencies were used to select cities from their nations to be brought to Europa as historical souvenirs. Each city would help bring something familiar to a whole new world. Below each city would be it own individual geothermal drill to provide a renewable and sustainable power source.

Manhattan, New York

The city planning in Manhattan is very linear and orthogonal because if its huge population growth in the 1790s - 1810s.

Florence, Italy

This city was the birthplace of the Renaissance and has many ties to art and architecture.

Montreal, Canada

The city of Montreal has a style similar to that of French city planning. This dense industrial metropolitan city has a rich culture with French roots.

Tokyo, Japan

The Imperial Palace in Tokyo can be repurposed to common area to influence a more communal based city scape.

St. Petersburg, Russia

The natural boundaries are what makes this city unique. The river separates to create four to five little towns.

100 miles

The morphology of the outer shell was designed to mimic the terrain of the moon’s outer shell. The dome’s hatch structure provides safety by absorbing impacts from space debris.

Tetragonal Ice

Impermeable Sediment Layer

The chamber for the generator feature multiple levels of platforms to inspect the generator and provide ease of access for repairs.

Each dome features a city representing its nation’s space agency. The cities were chosen based on distinctive features.

The generator for the geothermal drill can also be used as the back-up energy source for the city above in the event of a decrease in energy supply and production

The geothermal drill features multiple chambers throughout its core. These areas serve as platforms for maintenance as well as reservoirs.

At the point of the drill a powerful laser is used to pass through the moon’s core layers. It also features phalanges to focuss the intensity of the beam.