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Australian ingenuity, Martian domesticity. Hbadell comes out of this world with his latest design – a 3D printed shell that would give a roof to a future colony of people living on Mars.
The Australian design company is one of the ten preselected groups in a NASA launched competition to design a viable habitat for the Red Planet that combines shelter with critical survival systems and that considered practicalities of construction on a planet that takes a year to travel and faces serious logistical challenges.
Hbadell and the London-based Eckersley O & # 39; Callaghan engineering firm proposed to bond the ground found on the surface of Mars, known as regolith – a substance resembling volcanic ash – with layered heat that will create a shell-shaped roof. To protect the inhabitants of the meteorites as well as the solar and cosmic radiations which on Earth are repelled by a magnetic field.
"The first step is the construction of the hull," said Xavier de Kestelier, head of design technology and innovation at Hbadell, based in London. "For this, we use small robots that would fetch the regolith, then collect it, deposit it and melt it together."
Hbadell Studio
"Once you think of these places, it's about knowing how you get things out there, how you work effectively with the local materials you have. Do not bring big excavators. "
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NASA's competition, which began in 2014 and pits Hbadell against nine other finalists, requires competitors to consider a sustainable habitat of 1,000 square feet (93 square meters). Space for four astronauts for one year and include plans for systems such as life support systems, mechanical and electrical systems, space and mobile combinations, and plumbing.
The current stage of the competition is the third and final, and requires detailed interior living designs using Building Information Modeling (BIM) and production. a 3D model printed at the scale of one-third of each proposed habitat. Mr. De Kestelier stated that the interior – which should be carried with astronauts and badembled by them – would constitute inflatable modular pods that would contain life and work requirements for the habitat.
"The added benefit of the modules is that they are continuously scalable," he said. "As soon as one is busy, another can be added, which creates a potential for continued expansion and creation of a true community, rather than a series of singular structures. "
But while the distant project targets Mars, competitors can be brought back to Earth by the realities of design contests, which have winners and losers.
Hbadell Studio
The multi-stage competition will end in January of next year and this last phase will have an endowment of 2 million US dollars (2.7 million dollars). The design of the Hbadell / EOC missed a mid-point awards round that shared US $ 100,000 between five other teams, but it is still in the running for the grand prize, which will be awarded soon after the conclusion. . still involved and have the potential to win the competition, "said a spokesman for Hbadell.
Other Competitors:
- ALPHA Team – Marina Del Rey, California
- Colorado School of Mines and ICON – Golden , Colorado
- Kahn-Yates – Jackson, Mississippi
- March Incubator – New Haven, Connecticut
- AI. SpaceFactory – New York
- Northwestern University – Evanston, Illinois
- SEArch + / Apis Cor – New York
- Zopherus Team – Rogers, Arkansas
- Arc X – San Antonio
Hbadell Studio
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