MOON BASE ALPHATeam 4

TEAM MEMBERS

• Zach Zukowski

• Nick Ortiz

• Hannah Fontenot

• Brandon Bordovsky

• Ben Evart

• Walker Hunt

• Justin Ruiz

• Steven Post

BASIC OVERVIEW

• Located in Shackleton Crater at the South Pole

• Built into the crater wall for protection

• Used for scientific and social experiments

• Powered by a combination of solar and nuclear power

• Aeroponic farms for food

• Two forms of transportation

• Easy base expansion

TRADE TREE

LOCATION• Shackleton Crater

• Built into the crater wall

• Near Malapert Mountain• Initial choice for the base• Now a communication relay

• Near South Pole-Aitken Basin

BASE CONCEPT

BASE FUNCTION• Mining

• Rare-earth Elements• Iron• Helium-3

• Research• Hypo-gravity• Social Experiments• Transportation Methods• Fusion

• Radio Telescope Location• Studying Lunar Topology • Future launch site (pit stop for longer missions)

ENERGY SOURCES• Main Source: Solar arrays

• Base location sees sunlight 81% of Earth year

• Backup Nuclear Fusion reactor • Currently in development• No meltdown risk• Relatively compact design

• Alkali fuel cells• Potassium hydroxide electrolyte used• Operates on compressed oxygen and hydrogen• Reversibility for oxygen production• 150-200 ºC operating temperature range

WATER PRODUCTION

• Production of water from hydrogen fuel cells. Stored in expandable tanks

• Microwaving Lunar soil• Use of topology to locate ice deposits• Process: Microwave heating to cause the water/ice in a lunar permafrost

layer to sublimate. The water vapor can be collected and then condensed into liquid water

• Can also extract oxygen and hydrogen for rocket fuel or other uses

• Urine recycled and processed using forward osmosis

FOOD SOURCES

• Foods packaged in containers sent from Earth• Rehydratable food : less mass for hauling food to moon

• Vacuum Packaging- Reducing volume of stored food

• Aeroponic Farming using a concept similar to NASAs inflatable low-mass aeroponic system (AIS) on a larger scale

• Form of hydroponic, but utilizing mist instead of liquids• Takes up less volume during transport and storage• Use of vertical gardening for improved optimization of available space

OXYGEN SUPPLY

• Production:• Extracted from water supply using electrolysis• Extracted from plants grown using an oxygen extractor• Reverse production of oxygen through the fuel cells• Outer Walls coated with Man-made breathing leaf technology

• Plant chloroplasts mixed into a silk protein matrix

• Storage:• Inflatable tanks sealed from outer environment in the crater outer walls

TRANSPORTATION

• Survey Team• This team will be using NASA previously named Chariot vehicle. Now called

the Moon Surface Exploration vehicle• This will provide an emergency room for astronauts if way points are in any

way damaged

• Survey Team Responsibilities• To use premade way points and to conduct pre-determined experiments at

specific way points.• To create mini moon base areas in case of emergency

TRANSPORTATION CONT.

• Exploring Team:• The exploring team will be equipped with all terrain traversing vehicles that

will be powered by Tesla Electric motors• These will be used for quick exploration and to set up way points

• Exploration Team Responsibilities• To take survey robots and prefabricated regolith to where way points will be

established• To observe and account for terrain and make predetermined paths that will

be easiest for the Survey team to take

PROTECTION FROM BIOHAZARDS

• Low Gravity• Unknown if the Moon’s 1/6 of Earth’s

gravity will be enough to healthily sustain humans

• Lack of gravity can cause motion sickness, loss of bone and muscle mass, and fluid redistribution

• Research will be done to determine the effects of the lunar gravity and whether it can be combatted

PROTECTION FROM BIOHAZARDS

• Cosmic Ray Radiation and Meteor/Micrometeoroids Impacts• Moon’s lack of atmosphere

presents the threat of astronauts being endangered from cosmic ray radiation and makes it more likely for meteor or micrometeoroid impacts

• Protection from meteors/micrometeoroids and radiation shielding will be provided by the Moon’s own regolith, by building the base’s structures into the side of a crater

PROTECTION FROM BIOHAZARDS

• Moon Dust• Moon dust is extremely abrasive, sticks

to equipment, and possibly toxic. It was known to get everywhere on the Apollo Missions, despite the astronauts’ attempts to keep it out

• Electromagnets could be used to pull or drive Moon dust off spacesuits, if the dust has magnetic properties

• Airlocks with high air recirculation rates and double shell spacesuits could also be used to prevent Moon dust from ever entering the base.

FAIL-SAFE ENVIRONMENT• A fail-safe environment ensures that if one system fails, the astronauts

will not be in danger and the base will continue functioning

• Main Base Structure• Modular structure with multiple emergency air locks• Inflatable structures• Self Healing Membrane

• Microcapsule & particulate catalyst “bleeding” technique for prorogating cracks/damage used to initiate polymerization and repair membrane.

• Autonomous software to control basic base functions• Ensures safety of the astronauts• Allows more time to be spent on studies and exploration

FAIL-SAFE ENVIRONMENT CONT.

• Emergency Locations/Transportation:• Air tight, sustaining way-points along exploration paths for potential issues of

not returning to main base in time• Escape vehicle on moon surface for rendezvous with lunar platform

• System Redundancy• Backup nuclear power source in case of solar power failure• Reversible fuel cells for oxygen production• Produce food from plants in case of shortage or contamination

BASE EXPANSION• Initial Setup

• First trip drops off mining materials• Second trip brings astronauts, base materials, and temporary structueres

• Early Expansion• Modular• Rely heavily on earth based materials• Inflatable structures paired with composite exoskeleton to prevent punctures

due to debris

• Later Expansion• 3D printing using lunar regolith• Using resources already on the moon to develop the modules

• 80 to 85 percent lunar regolith by mass

WHY MOON BASE ALPHA?

• Will finally research how much gravity is necessary for human and plant life

• Allows for the creation of a large telescope with no atmosphere

• Close to possible pockets of valuable minerals

• Important tests on fusion reactor technology

• 3D printed regolith shells make expansion easy

• Testing out new forms of transportation