Habitat on Mars

Hello! We are a group of 3 high school manufacturing students who have come together to build a possible habitat for survival on Mars. We have built a CAD model of one housing unit of our proposed habitat using Autodesk Fusion 360, and the pictures of different parts of the model are attached throughout this instructable. 

Read our instructable to find out more about our solution to living on Mars! The idea of living on Mars is exciting and alluring to most, but what does it take to actually be able to survive and live comfortably? Our habitat includes everything to ensure YOU will have a wonderful time living in our Mars habitat. 

Supplies

• Glass (1.125 feet thick) 
• Solar panels 
• Mars soil and rock - called Mars regolith 
• Trees and other plants for food 
• Power generators 
• Windmills 
• Concrete 
• Other general equipment required to build structures 

Step 1: Underground Chambers

As Mars does not have an atmosphere similar to Earth, radiation is a large reason why life there has largely been impossible. By building two underground chambers, inhabitants will not only be protected from radiation but will also have extra room to live their life. These bunkers are approximately 7 feet underground, enough for the Mars regolith to offer sufficient protection from the great amounts of radiation. These chambers provide extra protection against radiation and can be used when natural light is not wanted or needed. These bunkers are made out of concrete so as to ensure a solid structure that will not crumble under the pressure of so much rock above them. One chamber is designed for sleeping, while the other can be for general relaxation, leisure or work. Each chamber is approximately 20 feet by 20 feet, with a height of approximately 8 feet, offering ample space for people to live. In each of these underground chambers is a staircase that descends down into it from the dome right above it to offer easy access to these underground chambers from the other living quarters of a housing unit. Each step on the stair is 1.35 feet wide, 0.9 feet long, and 0.675 feet high, and there are two flights of stairs, as shown in the images. 

Step 2: Domes / Hallways

Living completely underground has the possibility of feeling suffocating and isolating for the inhabitants. Additionally, without additional supplements, the lack of sunlight could lead to a lack of essential vitamins such as Vitamin D, and long periods of time without sunlight could lead to depression as well. Because of this, we decided to include 4 external domes that can be accessed via stairs leading up from the bunkers, and hallways connecting these 4 domes to each other. These domes, which have a radius of 9 feet, are made out of glass that is 1.125 feet thick so as to protect from radiation while still allowing natural light from the sun to come in. There will also be curtains installed in the dome for people to open or close so that people can control the amount of sunlight that is getting into their domes, and for privacy reasons. Each connecting hallway is also made of glass that is 1.125 thick, offering inhabitants protection from radiation wherever they are in their housing unit. Each hallway is approximately 9 feet long. Although these domes provide less radiation protection than the underground chambers, the radiation levels are still safe; inhabitants can enjoy part of their day in the domes. However, the hallways only connect the domes of each housing unit together. If inhabitants were to want to visit another housing unit, they would need to put on space suits and walk through the outside. 

Step 3: Power Sources

In the area in the center of the four domes, there is a large solar panel that will supply much of the needed power for our inhabitants. Although solar panels on Mars provide around half as much power as they do on Earth, NASA rovers currently on Mars have successfully relied on solar panels for their electricity, so this large solar panel will be able to supply a relatively large amount of electricity for the inhabitants. Since this electricity may not be enough, as there may be periods when the sunlight does not strike the solar panels, or the sunlight may not be strong enough when it does hit to supply ample elctricity, there must be other sources of electricity as well. One of the main reasons why the sunlight would not strike the solar panels is due to dust storms covering them up. Because of this, windmills are also present near the housing unit to harness the dust storms’ power in order to generate electricity. When the dust storms are preventing the solar panels from working, they are allowing the windmills to generate electricity, so there will always be a source of energy and a place that is generating electricity for the inhabitants. Finally, in the case that for some reason, none of these options are working at the moment, there is an emergency backup power generator for every household also in the area in the center of the four domes. Having multiple sources of power ensures that if one source were to fail, there are other sources that can act as a back-up, allowing the inhabitants to always have the necessary power. 

Step 4: Water Sources

Water is essential to an organism’s survival; besides having to drink sufficient water each day to survive, people will also need water to clean themselves and their surroundings, and to grow the plants necessary to their survival as well. To provide water for the inhabitants, there is a water drill to extract water from deep beneath the surface of Mars. The scientific article “A deep groundwater origin for recurring slope lineae on Mars” by Abotalib Z. Abotalib & Essam Heggy, predicts that there is water around 500m below the surface of Mars. Thus, there will be a water drill that will go around 500m into Mars’ surface to extract water. Additionally, there will be an advanced water purification system in place in order to clean the water enough to be reused over and over again. 

Step 5: Plants

Of course, inhabitants will need both oxygen and food to eat. Because of this, one dome is dedicated entirely to trees and crops. These crops include plants like kale, carrots, lettuce, sweet potatoes, onions, and anything else that the inhabitants may want to grow and eat. In addition to providing food for the inhabitants, while they are growing, they will also be able to provide oxygen for the inhabitants. In this plant dome there are 9 trees. 7-8 trees are required to provide oxygen for one person, and since there are 9 trees in addition to a lot of plants, the habitat will definitely have enough oxygen for a small family. The 9 trees are going to be in the center of the dome, and the other crops and plants are going to be surrounding these trees. Aquaponic farming will be used in order to allow for water and nutrients to be used in place of dirt, and to allow for multiple layers to be used to save space and allow for more to be grown in the same amount of space. 

Step 6: Conclusion

Overall, much research is still being done to investigate the best solution to living on Mars. Although this project provides a possible solution, this solution is likely a very expensive one to implement. However, this is just a start to developing habitats on Mars, and in the future, there will likely be more cost-effective solutions that will finally be able to send the first humans to live on Mars.