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ICON announces the award of a subcontract for the delivery of a 3D printed habitat, known as the mars dune alpha, to NASA’s Johnson Space Center. the team will support NASA’s Space Technology Mission (STMD) leadership as part of NASA’s “Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog” (CHAPEA). ICON’s next-generation “vulcan” building system will fabricate a 1,700 square foot structure designed by bjarke ingels group (BIG). the work will simulate a March habitat to support long-duration exploration-class space missions.
NASA has started recruiting for the long-term analog study of the Mars mission inside the 3D printed habitat. Crew applications are being accepted until mid-September 2021 for the one-year analog mission which will begin in fall 2022.
images courtesy of ICON
ICON 3D prints the ‘mars dune alpha’ habitat designed by the bjarke ingels group (BIG) for NASA’s CHAPEA – A sequence of three one-year Mars surface mission simulations at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. analog missions will provide valuable insight and insight to assess NASA’s space food system, as well as physical and behavioral health and performance outcomes for future space missions. NASA will use research from the “Mars dune alpha” simulations to inform discussions about risks and resources to support crew health and performance for future Mars missions when astronauts live and work in Mars for extended periods of time. .
life in ICON’s March alpha dunes will be like the expected experience for those living in a future Mars surface habitat. designed by big-bjarke ingels group, the layout of the innovative structure is organized in a gradient of intimacy. four private crew quarters will be located at one end of the habitat; dedicated workstations, medical stations, and food and beverage stations are located at the opposite end, with living spaces shared between the two. variable ceiling heights segmented vertically by an arched hull structure accentuate the unique experience of each area to avoid spatial monotony and crew member fatigue.
Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO of ICON comments: ‘it is the highest fidelity simulated habitat ever built by man. mars dune alpha is intended to serve a very specific purpose – to prepare humans for living on another planet. we wanted to develop the most faithful analogue possible to help humanity’s dream expand into the stars. Habitat 3D printing further illustrated to us that construction scale 3D printing is an essential part of humanity’s toolkit on earth and to go to the moon and to mars for to stay. ‘
bjarke ingels continues: ‘in collaboration with NASA and ICON, we are investigating what humanity’s home on another planet will involve from the human experience. the data obtained from this habitat research will directly inform NASA’s standards for long-duration exploration missions and, as such, potentially lay the groundwork for a new Martian vernacular. mars dune alpha will take us one step further to become a multiplanetary species. ‘
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