NASA considering a number of designs for its future Mars colonists, from 3D-printed habitats to structures grown from mushrooms.
To combat dangerous surface-level radiation on the Red Planet, Nasa and its partners have to get creative about where exactly future colonists will live.
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Beehives
These 3D-printed domes, from architecture studio AI Space Factory, resemble beehives.
They form part of the Marsha Project, plans for vertical Martian dwellings to be printed in situ with materials from the Red Planet.
Each ‘hive’ houses four astronauts, with designers envisioning them being able to host a nuclear family with children included.
The design won the top prize of $500,000 in the second phase of Nasa’s 3D Printed Habitat Challenge in 2018.
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Regolith homes
Using materials found on Mars will be helpful, as it will save on transportation costs.
Project Olympus, from 3D-printing company Icon, hopes to construct buildings on the Moon and eventually Mars.
They are made of regolith – the rocky dust you find on the surface of the Moon and Mars.
The company won a $60million Nasa contract to build giant space homes from lunar rock in 2020 – and may well take its plans to Mars if it succeeds.
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Mush-rooms
Nasa is also looking at utilising what’s known as myco-architecture – the use of fungi as building blocks.
With this technique, Nasa could technically “grow” habitats on Mars, as well as the Moon.
With fungi blocks, Nasa could build dome-like structures that are then layered with ice that acts as a protective layer against radiation – and also helps feed the living fungi.
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Ice house
Nasa isn’t the only one considering the use of water-based ice in future Mars habitation.
SEArch+ (Space Exploration Architecture) and fellow architecture firm Clouds AO put forward the Mars Ice House in Nasa’s 3D Printed Habitat Challenge.
These homes would have to be located in Mars’ northern hemisphere, relying on the iciness of the region.
With just a 5cm ice shell, these homes and the astronauts that live in them would be protected against radiation – without compromising life above ground, according to the companies behind the project.
How long does it take to get to Mars?
It’s not that short of a trip…
- There’s an immense distance between Earth and Mars, which means any trip to the red planet will take a very long time
- It’s also made more complicated by the fact that the distance is constantly changing as the two planets rotate around the sun
- The closest that the Earth and Mars would ever be is a distance of 33.9million miles – that’s 9,800 times the distance between London and New York
- That’s really rare though: the more useful distance is the average, which is 140million miles
- Scientists on Earth have already launched a whole bunch of spacecraft to (or near) Mars, so we have a rough idea of how long it takes with current technology
- Historically, the trip has taken anywhere from 128 to 333 days – admittedly a huge length of time for humans to be on board a cramped spacecraft.
