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Cylindrical Habitats - Horizontal or
Gary C. Fisher The Mars Foundation
Rutgers University Symposium On Lunar Settlements
Piscataway, NJ June 5, 2007
Vertic
al ?
Background and parameters of this work
The Mars Foundation’s Mars Homestead Project is an ongoing effort to define the first self-sufficient settlement for Mars.
This effort produced an initial design, “The Hillside Base” using habitat structures, mostly cylinders, constructed on site from in situ materials over the course of 6 to 8 years by 12 people.
The Hillside Base
Graphic by Georgi Petrov for the Mars Foundation
The Plains Base
Graphic by Adam Burch for the Mars Foundation
The Plains Base
Graphic by Adam Burch for the Mars Foundation
Three Generations of Habitats (Benaroya
2006)
1) Prefabricated and preoutfitted hard shell modules.
2) Assembly of components fabricated on Earth with some assembly required; and
3) Large scale building structures comprised substantially of indigenous materials.
The criteria of interest then are:1) Ease of assembly both from the
standpoint of low labor input, but also requiring minimal tooling, especially imported tooling.
2) Ease of transport of the finished structure.
3) Ease of deployment – site preparation, positioning, attachment
4) Thermal characteristics5) Radiation shielding – ease of applying a
regolith cover6) Useful life7) Useable interior space8) Pressure retention9) Site independence – build and deploy
these almost anywhere on the Moon.
Why Cylindrical Habitat Structures ?
For the purposes of creating in situ habitable spaces for a Lunar settlement, cylinder-shaped structures present the best near-term option over alternatives, such as: - spherical or dome structures- excavated structures- lined lava tubes- inflated structures (noncylindrical)- regolith covered masonry vaulted arches.
Cylindrical Habitat Structure Options:- Length- Diameter- Hemispherical or flat end caps- Rigid or inflatable- True cylinder, ellipsoid or flattened- Single or multi-wall
The primary consideration, however, is whether to stand the cylinder up vertically on an end, or lay it down horizontally on its side.
Proposed:That the simplest, safest, and easiest to deploy cylindrical habitat would be one that has a flat end on which it is stood up like a beer (or tuna) can, one story high, with the top end cap being hemispherical.
These would be connected via smaller diameter cylindrical connector modules that can also be used as air locks.
The modules would have domed solar tubes, that can double as emergency exits, to pipe sunlight down through the regolith cover into the structure to provide some of the interior illumination.
Proposed:
Proposed:
Floor area is 6.05 m^2 (65.12 ft^2)
Lunar 2.5 m / Mars
Proposed:
NASA Diameter is 3.65m
So why not horizontal habitats?
<- ISS Destiny Module
BIOPLEX at JSC ->
So why not horizontal habitats?
1. They roll!
2. Footings are more complicated.
3. They are hard to connect.
4. Hard to cover with regolith.
5. Limited full headroom.
So why not horizontal habitats?
They roll!
So why not horizontal habitats?There are a number of alternative approaches:
Attach legs (most likely attached to U-shaped cradles) to the cylinder that rest on pre-constructed footings and allow for some height adjustment.
So why not horizontal habitats? Put the cylinder inside a box frame which is then
positioned on a pre-constructed footing.
So why not horizontal habitats?Consider this manageable size horizontal habitat.
Floor area is 18.77 m^2 (202.04 ft^2)
So why not horizontal habitats?Linear deployment has safety issues.
So why not horizontal habitats?Connectors help solve the escape route problem.
So why not horizontal habitats?Connectors help solve the safety issues, but how do you
cover this with regolith?
So why not horizontal habitats?Connectors in series allow for closer packing.
So why not horizontal habitats?
What is a manageable size?How much headroom depends upon where you put the floor.
Vertical Habitat Arrangements
4 Connections 6 Connections 3 Connections
Vertical Habitat Arrangements
2 Doors 6 Connections
New Conclusion: Put your cylinders in boxes!
Graphic by Adam Burch for the Mars Foundation