NASA’S ‘Ice Home’ for Mars explorers

A concept design for astronauts expected to stay for months, exposed to extreme temperatures and high-energy radiation

THE ENVIRONMENT of Mars might not be as fierce as depicted in the The Martian but will still be harsh enough to call for specially designed shelters. Especially when, as NASA expects, astronauts might need to stay for months there rather than days as they did on Moon missions.

Researchers at NASA’S Langley Research Center has come up with the concept design for a new home on Mars, seeking to withstand extreme temperatures and highenergy radiation against which the atmosphere does not provide enough protection.

And they suggest the best building material may lie in an unexpected material: ice.

NASA’S website describes the “Mars Ice Home” as a large inflatable torus, a shape similar to an inner tube, that is surrounded by a shell of water ice. It is lightweight and can be transported and deployed with simple robotics, then filled with water before the crew arrives. It incorporates materials extracted from Mars, and because water in the Ice Home could potentially be converted to rocket fuel for the Mars Ascent Vehicle, the structure itself doubles as a storage tank that can be refilled for the next crew.

The concept seeks to address galactic cosmic rays, one of the biggest risks of long stays on Mars. This high-energy radiation can pass right through the skin, damaging cells or DNA along the way that can mean an increased risk for cancer later in life or, at its worst, acute radiation sickness. The ideal shield against galactic cosmic rays is water, a hydrogen-rich material, and NASA notes that many areas of Mars have abundant water ice just below the surface.

The design maximises the thickness of ice above the crew quarters to reduce radiation exposure while also still allowing light to pass through ice and surrounding materials. “All of the materials we’ve selected are translucent, so some outside daylight can pass through and make it feel like you’re in a home and not a cave,” NASA quoted Kevin Kempton, a member of the research team.

Starting with a proposed concept called “Mars Ice Dome,” a group of NASA experts, designers and architects worked on a project competitively selected through the Space Technology Mission Directorate’s (STMD) Center Innovation Fund. The team at Langley had assistance from a collaborative team from Space Exploration Architecture and the Clouds Architecture Office.

“After a day dedicated to identifying needs, goals and constraints we rapidly assessed many crazy, out of the box ideas and finally converged on the current Ice Home design, which provides a sound engineering solution,” the website quotes Langley senior systems engineer Kevin Vipavetz, facilitator for the design session.

“The materials that make up the Ice Home will have to withstand many years of use in the harsh Martian environment, including ultraviolet radiation, charged-particle

Source: www.nasa.gov NASA describes the ‘Mars Ice Home’ as a large inflatable torus... surrounded by a shell of water ice.