Compact Nesting Mars Base

thingiverse

This is my entry to the MakerBot Mars Challenge. The Compact, Nesting Mars Base is a 1:100 scale Mars habitat. • Unique design nests for transport to fit the general dimensions of the fairing of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy,¹ requiring only one trip to establish a small base with 3-4 members (the stick in picture 1 is the height of an average human) • Includes necessary components for survival on Mars: -Sleeping/bathroom/exercise area -Kitchen/eating area -Garden area -Small nuclear generator -Water/oxygen storage and splitting of water into oxygen • The half-sphere command capsule, attached to a Mars base segment, serves as living quarters for the crew on their journey to Mars; upon arrival it becomes the communications room (Picture 1) • The real Mars base is sealed/airtight, made out of composite materials like carbon fiber, and has radiation protection and insulation built into the structure; 3D model pieces can be attached to each other with glue or other adhesive (end caps and command capsule snap on) • Its low profile structure helps decrease wind and dust damage • Can easily be added on to with parts from subsequent missions, greatly increasing its final size ¹ http://www.spacex.com/falcon-heavy Instructions All of the pieces except the command capsule can be printed without support. You will need: 3 "segmentv5" 4 "segmentv5__45" 1 "cargov1" 3 "smallendcapv3" 1 "nuclearcapv1" 1 "tankv3" 1 "comcapv4" Rocket configuration assembly: Begin with the cargo capsule (cargov1) on the bottom, open side up (in a real mission two small end caps would be inside the cargo capsule). Stack the nuclear capsule (Nuclearcapv1) Stack three 45° segments (small end down) (segmentv5__45). Snap a small end cap (smallendcapv3) onto a normal segment (segmentv5), and stack (small end down). Stack two more normal segments and another 45° segment (all small end down). Insert the oxygen/water tank (small end down) (tankv3). Cap it off with the half-sphere command capsule (flat side down) (comcapv4). An exploded view is shown in picture 3. To assemble the base as it would be on Mars, refer to picture 1. In addition, the two add-on files can be used to create virtually unlimited configurations.