High-Level Project Summary
We developed a self-sufficient natural space station where we can sustain life just as on Noah’s Arc. These stations will allow the continuity of life, outside of our planetary boundaries. Everything we and our glorious animals need will be there to sustain life for as long as we can.
Link to Final Project
Link to Project "Demo"
Detailed Project Description
PROJECT: NOAH
“Project: Noah” is a design for a terrarium-based space station. Our goal as the BassBang Project Team is to create a self-sufficient natural space where we can sustain life just as on Noah’s Arc. We wish to preserve all possible life in our multiple stations. These stations shall also be used as safe preserves for endangered species. Perhaps a global event may be prevented by moving into these stations.
Some species such as whales that are simply too large for our stations could have their genetics stored in cellular vials. Cryo chambers are also a good solution if the species is too dangerous and destructive. Or perhaps the infants of the species can be shipped using cryo chambers. Humans may also be frozen and woken up but at a price of course. Cryo chambers should be provided with emergency kits, food reserves, water tanks and private health centres on each station. They will also need physiotherapy and exercise rooms to recover their strength.
The stations will be constructed in 4 building stages. The first stage will be on Earth where the basis rocket will be constructed with emergency food, water, oxygen, batteries, medkits, communication devices and flashlights. Air jets will be used to stabilise the rocket in space. Once the rocket is stable and our astronauts have reported back about the security about the base station, the second stage will begin swiftly.
The second stage comprises the building of the inner station in space. New parts such as an emergency infirmary, along with steel and aluminium sheets will be delivered in a second rocket. This time, mechanical engineers will be sent as well as our pilots. They will be building the cylindrical inner station in their spacesuits. Once they have secured the inner station, the third building stage will begin.
The third stage will be the construction of the corridors and the inner ring. Just like before, engineers will be sent with sheets of metal to build the corridors. The corridors will be used to escort people into the inner ring. The inner ring will be constructed in 2 parts. The immobile ceiling as the inner wall, and the mobile ground and walls built around the immobile ceiling. Afterwards, the ring will be spun and then stabilised to ensure that the next stage can take place in a safe environment.
The fourth and final construction stage consists of building the food tunnels and agricultural outer ring. The tunnels will work like that of a cable car. The outer ring will be completely immobile so that the inner ring will be the part that turns both rings.
Now that the construction stages are complete, it is time for the environmental stages. The first environmental stage is the import of air like hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and some carbon dioxide. These gases will be transported in air tanks separately in the same ship. The second stage will be the import of important soil for the use of simple grass and agricultural use. The agricultural soil will be transported across the station using the tunnels. This soil will be transported in multiple canisters, separated by the content of minerals. This stage may require more than one rocket, as the soil may be too heavy for a single transport rocket.
The third environmental stage will bring water tanks as well as laboratory equipment. Water tanks may also be separated by their contents. The water may be poured in the agricultural site by the use of cloth pipes. They may also require multiple rockets. The laboratory equipment will be stored in the “hangar”, which can be used as storage once human transportation has been completed.
On the fourth stage, the final agricultural and laboratory equipment, along with the seed collections will be shipped. Farmers and other researchers will be sent along with the equipment. The tunnels will be used to transport the seeds and the equipment, like the soil.
Of course the stations will have several problems to face. We thought of a few solutions to every major problem we may have with these projects. We did not bring financial matters into our conversation.
Asteroids pose the highest threat to our Moon-sized space stations. Of course we can always repair all broken sheets but for worse times, blast doors every 10 metres would be a good enough precaution. But what if you face a larger asteroid with inevitably high consequences? We thought of an outlandish solution for this. What if, by the time “Project: Noah” was launched, the University of Leicester was able to complete and finalise their “Energy Shield” project? An alliance between these two projects would inevitably create a brighter future for humanity.
What about oxygen? We certainly need plenty of that if our Moon-sized space station is going to have living beings. Obviously our large station will need a fair amount of oxygen in the beginning. Oxygen tanks will be sent in masses along with nitrogen, and both gases will be sent in liquid state to compress the gas and allow for more storage space. Of course trees and bushes will be taken to the station in other transports. These will also be used for oxygen sources. But a great other idea is: rock moss. Rock moss creates much more oxygen than trees. Even a small moss patch can absorb more carbon than 275 fully grown trees. Rocks may be transported along with soil.
There is also a very important danger. The expected 2025 Solar Storm is a terribly great threat to all space programs. Though our program will certainly take longer than 3 years to perfect, fund, start off and put to action; we thought of a few solutions in case a new solar storm or even just a solar flare takes place around our station. There are many teams working on projects that will predict exactly when the Solar Storm will take place. Using this data, we can evacuate the stations just in time before the storms.
Another risk involving asteroids is an asteroid storm. In case of these greatly damaging events, human life and preservation of specimens are of the utmost importance. To prevent as much loss as we can, just like in Star Wars spacecrafts, blast doors in between every section (approximately 10-15 metres) will be enough to protect people from the vacuum of space. Another solution is, again, the Leicester University energy shield.
A problem that may be overlooked is communication. There are 2 ways to solve this problem. If communication devices are damaged, there should be more than one usable and spares kept in storage rooms. The second solution is to use infrared technology. NASA’s first infrared communication project, Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD), is a great solution to our communication problems. The newest project on infrared communication is TeraByte InfraRed Delivery (TBIRD). Using radio to convert to infrared is a well put way to relay information. But there may be a greater solution. An amplifier to use over greater distances. Integrated LCRD Low-Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) is the name of NASA’s future project. Using this to contact the earth is an excellent way to speed up communications and have less possible problems in the future.
The other problems are simple enough to have single solutions. Water can be preserved in tanks and use filters to make drinking water from the rivers in the stations. Food can be preserved by canning, refrigerating, freezing etc. The preparation of food, however, is simpler. The agricultural site will have more food prepared than needed, so that the rest may be preserved. The rest may come from livestock such as calves, sheep, goats, chickens and rabbits. Of course these animals will have their pens in the stations.
But one of the most important problems is energy and electricity. These can be generated by hydraulic systems in the stations’ rivers. Livestock may even be used for their body heat. Another solution for this is the use of animal droppings. If not all of it is used as fertilisers, the rest can be used as fuel sources for generators. Of course spare large batteries will be stored safely to be used in cases of emergencies.
Health will be of little concern as we will have pharmacies on each station to ensure illnesses have little effect on life. Speaking of illnesses, what will we do in case of a sort of epidemic? The solution is simple. Before anyone is allowed to board the transports, health checks and vaccinations will be made a month early to ensure no virus outbreaks within stations. If all else fails, people may be quarantined on stations.
Space Agency Data
The ISS was also a great inspiration to create a far greater space station.
NASA’s first infrared communication project, Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD), is a great solution to our communication problems. The newest project on infrared communication is TeraByte InfraRed Delivery (TBIRD). Using radio to convert to infrared is a well put way to relay information. But there may be a greater solution. An amplifier to use over greater distances. Integrated LCRD Low-Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) is the name of NASA’s future project.
Hackathon Journey
We thought it was an interesting and different topic.
We learned about this event by NASA thanks to the promotion of our school. A teammate of ours said that we could do our own challenge. We solved setbacks and difficulties by brainstorming.
At first, when we started, we didn't have any ideas. That was until one of our teammates’ sibling had an idea, it was non-gravity. But then we soon thought of a wider brighter idea. We can design a space station with artificial gravity. The Elysium film gave us a few ideas. Artificial living spaces. What if we just had stations like this placed across the galaxy? We could start our own systems.
References
We used some of NASA's older and future projects to come up with bigger ideas.
https://youtu.be/TiUvXmRDwEQ
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/the-future-of-laser-communications
We used the Wix app to create our website. And we inspired for the space station by the Elysium film.
https://images.app.goo.gl/6PxYyUBQ4iskCvnU9
https://images.app.goo.gl/xQvG5NNJPwgHeA8r5
https://images.app.goo.gl/gVWgWSVTArfxu7D17
https://images.app.goo.gl/Fszox2V5YHgyqNF99
https://images.app.goo.gl/Nmj7m1VRwx8KpTj27
And we watched a video to have an idea, here is the link:
https://youtu.be/im-JM0f_J7s
Tags
#spacestation #design #selfsufficiency #sustainablelife