First Mars Colony

thingiverse

This is my model of what the first mars colony may look like. It is designed to be as realistic as possible. The first goal for the astronauts landing on mars will be to survive. This model encompasses everything those astronauts will need to bring with them to survive. Shelter is key, and the only way to transport large shelters to mars is to make the shelters inflatable. These inflatable shelters would have and inner and outer layer. Dirt from the martian surface will be combined with a binding agent to produce a concrete like substance that will be put in between these layers to produce a more solid structure and help protect the astronauts from harmful cosmic rays. These inflatable structures are modular and are connected by a walkway. There is a greenhouse for growing edible algae (Spirulina) that will provide the colony with easy to grow food, and biofuel. The "machine room" as it is called houses devices that extract water from the soil and split some of the water into oxygen and hydrogen through electrolysis. The water that is not split is used by the astronauts. Oxygen is used for breathing, and hydrogen is combined with carbon dioxide, made from burning Spirulina, to produce Methane, which is what the reusable rocket engines will run on. this way the astronauts could potentially have a way back home. By the time the rocket enters Mars' atmosphere, 80% of the rocket will had been jettisoned. The remaining part of the rocket will use the rest of it's fuel to slow its' descent and land on the martian surface. "vacuum" that sucks up dirt and mixes it with the binding agent. Methane storage tank. bedroom. electrolysis machine Binding agent storage tanks Biofuel powered generator Water storage for drinking Hollow walkway that is cut away for viewing pleasure Binding agent storage tanks are kept near the walkway water extraction machines reusable rocket with methane powered engines Greenhouse would have clear dome around it, but for printing purposes has a ring to make it visible. Solar panels would provide energy before the Spirulina starts to grow. Tubes filled with growing Spirulina. Spirulina is a super food that is super good for you, it makes goo astronaut food. Got your traditional lounge. Nice couch to rest on after a long day at work. basic kitchen with living necessities. Instructions The file "entire_base" has the entire mars base made small enough for the whole thing to fit on the Makerbot Replicator 2 build platform. All of the files ending with a X4 are multiplied in size by 4 from the original model, and are meant to be printed out separately and glue together. Separately, all of these parts will fit on a Makerbot Replicator 2 build platform.