As suggested by a member of SB forums, I've begun work on a moonbase model. It'll take a while but I figure it'll be worth it in the end, particularly as it will transpose to any environment I like, not merely the moon. I'm making it very modular so i can mix and match, as well as save time on modelling the things I need. The picture below shows the start, the smallest basic habitat module I plan to make. The rest will be based somewhat on this, some larger and some more specialised. I've still to add a lot of detail and an airlock/corridor attachment on one side, but this is the basic shape and size.
It's got a clearance of over 2 meters from the ground to allow access to the enviromental systems and storage underneath as well as saving on flattening half the moon, and it'll be as self contained as possible in case of emergency. I'll add stuff like comms antennae, emergency airlocks, EVA grips and solar panels as I detail it, then use that basic block to construct the rest.
Most moonbase models I've seen involve underground bases. Just my 2 cents.
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Beowulf wrote:Most moonbase models I've seen involve underground bases. Just my 2 cents.
Such a base would take a lot of time to set up.
Something on the surface with anchors is a hell of alot better than subterranean bases.
Stick habitat on surface. Use bulldozers to pile regolith over habitat. Simple, no?
"preemptive killing of cops might not be such a bad idea from a personal saftey[sic] standpoint..." --Keevan Colton
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Beowulf wrote:
Stick habitat on surface. Use bulldozers to pile regolith over habitat. Simple, no?
Bulldozing a trench first wouldn't be all that hard, we could probably do it via remote control before we began sending people to build the base. At least partially sinking the base would offer more protection then piling stuff on top.
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I think you'd want to avoid any large windows. They would be very difficult to replace, while representing a very large risk from cracking. A couple good closed circuit TV cameras and a nice big flat screen TV can provide a good view of the outside
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— Field Marshal William Slim 1956
I went for the stilt look because I figure the people in the near future will be about as lazy and cheap as we are right now, meaning they're not going to spend years digging a bloody great hole to bury their base when they can just drop it down in small sections, stick a book or something under a leg to level it and then join them together. Saves grading or bulldozing a huge area of moon and once you're there you can start your mining operations in comfort should you wish to tunnel. This also explains the modules, basing it on the fact that you need something to haul this crap to the moon in the first place and that something will have an upper limit in what it can lift and deliver.
Why bury it anyway, to protect it from what? There's no great meteor activity, and should one strike that particular tiny area of the moon the base occupies I don't think a partially buried structure would save you. I think that having the base built of easy accessable, self contained modular habitats might be a safer option, then escape or containment poses no problems. As for windows I think it'll be worth the risk if we have a strong enough material to do the job safely. These ones are about 7 inches thick and I'd hate to live on a base where you couldn't see the most amazing views around. As each habitat is self contained and can be isolated i see no great problem with this, and remember the same debate went on with the Skylab when it was suggested they put a window in it. I'm also toying with the idea of some kind of shutters, either for emergency containment or just simple sunscreening.
By all means build a more permanent structure later, but for now my vote goes for something like this, and you can bet NASA will be thinking along similar lines for now. Here's a small update by the way, shows the link corridor/airlock hatch...
Well I know you want the the slanted legs for stability, but they are a bitch to level, the very ends of the legs need to have a straight up and down section for the adjustable 'feet' and some extendible leg portions.
If you want EVA, are you going to mount a seperate airlock on each module (roof, wall underside?), or will you T-piece the current connector design?
As to the windows breaking, if each room can seal that's not a problem, but it looks like that interior is one space on the window level at least.. A good solution would be pressure-activated shutters mounted on the inside of the windows so any size interior is safe in case one fails.
Judging by the height of that airlock entrance, there's only one level, which for a habitat-specific module might be fine, but the rest may need more.
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Kenny_10_Bellys wrote:I went for the stilt look because I figure the people in the near future will be about as lazy and cheap as we are right now, meaning they're not going to spend years digging a bloody great hole to bury their base when they can just drop it down in small sections, stick a book or something under a leg to level it and then join them together. Saves grading or bulldozing a huge area of moon and once you're there you can start your mining operations in comfort should you wish to tunnel. This also explains the modules, basing it on the fact that you need something to haul this crap to the moon in the first place and that something will have an upper limit in what it can lift and deliver.
Why bury it anyway, to protect it from what? There's no great meteor activity, and should one strike that particular tiny area of the moon the base occupies I don't think a partially buried structure would save you. I think that having the base built of easy accessable, self contained modular habitats might be a safer option, then escape or containment poses no problems. As for windows I think it'll be worth the risk if we have a strong enough material to do the job safely. These ones are about 7 inches thick and I'd hate to live on a base where you couldn't see the most amazing views around. As each habitat is self contained and can be isolated i see no great problem with this, and remember the same debate went on with the Skylab when it was suggested they put a window in it. I'm also toying with the idea of some kind of shutters, either for emergency containment or just simple sunscreening.
It shouldn't take a very long time to dig a trench, lay the module in it, and cover it over. Why you would want to do so is because the moon is on the other side of the Van Allen Belts. There isn't any raditation protection naturally. So you either have to lug up a lot of lead or something similar, or bring a bulldozer to dig a trench, so that you have the regolith protecting you. Now, you might want to have a small section where you can get the nice views, but you'd probably want to have the vast majority of the base underground to get cheap rad protection.
"preemptive killing of cops might not be such a bad idea from a personal saftey[sic] standpoint..." --Keevan Colton
"There's a word for bias you can't see: Yours." -- William Saletan
I think we can assume that with walls about a metre thick it has some radiation protection built in. A model of an underground base would be a bit boring to make and look at, it's be a flat bit of moon with a door. As I said in the opening blurb I think this base can be used as a habitat on any world where you care to dump it, not simply the moon. It might end up on a forest world, a desert or an airless moon, so I am trying to design for all these contingencies, the moon being the worst.
It's got slanted legs because it's made to be stackable, each fits well on top of others if you want to build a stack of em some place. This one has a link corridor connection on one side, others can have more but all have at least one and at least one emergency hatch in the floor should they have to suit up and bail out another way. Emergency shutters are something I think they would have to have, but I thought about modelling some sort of outer blast shield thing as another option, but I dont think it would look right on these.
As for internal structure it's a bit early yet, but there will be walls and some simple furniture for long shots later on. Right now this is an empty shell because I have to use it as the basis for many other shells, among them a dedicated airlock module for EVAs and probably a larger one with a garage entrance for larger loads and vehicles. There will be a few specialised pods, this is merely the first and smallest. This is going to take a while to make...
I think it'd be cool if there were a few white domes...perhaps with spires and lights and stuff, with a few larger buildings with lights and spines on. I wish i could model without putting in the time to find out how..it'd be so cool.
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It's missing a power source. Something also portable and powerful enough to maintain a completely closed ecosystem. That structure can't just be set with no additional support. A reasonably plausible compact power source could prove to be a challenge, though.
As I said in the inital blurb at the top of the page each unit will be able to survive for at least a short period under it's own steam. They'll have comms gear and a solar array at least, and once I've built the rest of the moonbase there'll be a powerplant and a dedicated comms building, but for the moment this is the only part of the base i've built. This shell will be the basis of a few other buildings, it's not the only part of the base and it's not completely modeled or designed yet.
Kenny_10_Bellys wrote:As I said in the inital blurb at the top of the page each unit will be able to survive for at least a short period under it's own steam. They'll have comms gear and a solar array at least, and once I've built the rest of the moonbase there'll be a powerplant and a dedicated comms building, but for the moment this is the only part of the base i've built. This shell will be the basis of a few other buildings, it's not the only part of the base and it's not completely modeled or designed yet.
I should learn how to read first
But solar panels suck. It would limitate the positioning of the habitat to permanently radiated places, and it doesn't produce that much power, anyway. If you want to use the module in Earth-like places (with clouds) you'll always need another power source. A combustion generator of some kind, since a portable fusion reactor is somewhat distant in the future..
