High-Level Project Summary
Unity swarm group of robots capable of unloading 3D material to create a structure. Multipurpose tools used for different sections in the habitat. This solves my challenge as it can accommodate the scientist's needs for different sectors in the habitat itself and help him survive a comfortable mission with all the space he needs. the tools and combined areas help the scientist conduct experiments with all the resources availableThis is important as the habitat is the most vital part of the mission and the swarm provides the ability to expand the habitat or even repair it. Also the outfitting is important to conserve weight, launch costs and keeping the mission in mind.
Link to Final Project
Link to Project "Demo"
Detailed Project Description
Unity swarm:
A network of small, compact, and light 3D printing robots each carrying a load of printing material such as Martian regolith (sand and rocks) and polymer materials made from the CO2 in the Martian atmosphere. The network would be split into groups working on each sector of the habitat. It can split the interior of the habitat adding rooms and specializing different zones in the habitat for each purpose. The machine itself will be made up of two aluminum wheels which relate to the mars rover (to withstand the harsh martian environment) accompanied by a gyro stabilizer and rotary mechanism to drive in all directions without the need to turn the full body around, a compartment to store the 3D material which is constantly heated with the capability to open the top of the compartment for refueling, and a rectangular nozzle to provide a thick wall to withstand the harsh environment and protect the scientist from any radiation or solar flares. The swarm can create spaces for each area in the habitat like the garden, the work/medical section, the sleeping quarters and the common area of the habitat. It's efficient and is useful when it comes to fixing damages or the need to relocate your base as you can place in the command for the swarm to build the exact same habitat or even a different design in a different location on mars. The material would not need a long time to cool as the surface temperature is -81 degrees allowing each layer to be built rapidly. The main unit is responsible for generating the printing material and acts as a refueling/charging station for the swarm. The unit will use excavator(RASSOR) bots that can dig up sand and stone from the martian surface and unload the regolith into the machine and will be converted into 3D printing material. The power needed to supply all the bots along with the unit itself will be from an array of solar panels which will power the unit and after the job is completed the power will be rerouted into the habitats systems. The main point of this project is to provide the ability is to not only provide survivability for this one mission but for the many more to come and the need to expand the habitats to accomodate a bigger colony and that can only be possible by the use of these kinds of robots that can shape designs for new habitats and new homes.
Things a scientist would need to survive on the 1 year long mission:
We can conserve space by combining many of the needs together in assisting one another.
The waste collection system can recycle the feces produced by the astronauts and used as a fertilizer for the garden allowing growth of plants and removing the need to carry fertilizer on the journey decreasing the payload. Both the medical and science work spaces and surfaces can be turned into one site for both concepts and removing the need for having two separate stations. The glove box can be accompanied with both of these stations as well as the hygiene station. The garden can also be used to create an ecosystem inside the habitat reducing the load on the oxygen tanks.
All these combined together can reduce weight, launch costs, and add more room for things such as sleeping quarters providing a comfortable life.
Space Agency Data
Most of the information and insipiration for this project came from the : Deep Space Habitability Design Guidlines Based on the NASA NextSTEP Phase 2 Ground Test Program. The reason this inspired my project is that i understood how much room is needed for everything. The data is found on page 9 which describs the needs to survive and that got me to think of ways to improve the habitat and the stations within.
I also used the NASA 3D files, which inspired me into creating the robot and help me add small aspects to it.
Hackathon Journey
The Myspace app experience was great. I learned so much about Mars, like what is needed to survive and how to create a livable habitat. What inspired me to choose this challenge is that the next step in out civilisation is to begin expanding to other planets making us the first extraterrestrial species and with that comes it's problems which i'm interested in solving. My approaching towards the development of this project is that i wanted a new way of creating homes not only on Earth but also other planets and how easy life can be when we can build our own homes based off our imaginations. Many setbacks were how the 3D design wasn't coming out as well but thanks to tutorials and some dedication I overcame this.
I would like to thank all my teachers for giving me the skills and learning capabilities for being able to reach here at this point. I would like to thank my father for always pushing me further in life and pushing me to my success.
References
Most of the resources i used where from NASA's open data
The tools i used to design my project was Fusion 360
I have double checked and none of the data is copyrighted all is original.
Tags
#MARS #Technology #Space