1. MOON BASE ALPHA Team 4

2. TEAM MEMBERS Zach Zukowski Nick Ortiz Hannah Fontenot Brandon Bordovsky Ben Evart Walker Hunt Justin Ruiz Steven Post

3. BASIC OVERVIEW Located in Shackleton Crater at the South Pole Built into the crater wall for protection Used for scientific and social experiments Powered by a combination of solar and nuclear power Aeroponic farms for food Two forms of transportation Easy base expansion

4. TRADE TREE

5. LOCATION Shackleton Crater Built into the crater wall Near Malapert Mountain Initial choice for the base Now a communication relay Near South Pole-Aitken Basin

6. BASE CONCEPT

7. BASE FUNCTION Mining Rare-earth Elements Iron Helium-3 Research Hypo-gravity Social Experiments Transportation Methods Fusion Radio Telescope Location Studying Lunar Topology Future launch site (pit stop for longer missions)

8. ENERGY SOURCES Main Source: Solar arrays Base location sees sunlight 81% of Earth year Backup Nuclear Fusion reactor Currently in development No meltdown risk Relatively compact design Alkali fuel cells Potassium hydroxide electrolyte used Operates on compressed oxygen and hydrogen Reversibility for oxygen production 150-200 ºC operating temperature range

9. WATER PRODUCTION Production of water from hydrogen fuel cells. Stored in expandable tanks Microwaving Lunar soil Use of topology to locate ice deposits Process: Microwave heating to cause the water/ice in a lunar permafrost layer to sublimate. The water vapor can be collected and then condensed into liquid water Can also extract oxygen and hydrogen for rocket fuel or other uses Urine recycled and processed using forward osmosis

10. FOOD SOURCES Foods packaged in containers sent from Earth Rehydratable food : less mass for hauling food to moon Vacuum Packaging- Reducing volume of stored food Aeroponic Farming using a concept similar to NASAs inflatable low-mass aeroponic system (AIS) on a larger scale Form of hydroponic, but utilizing mist instead of liquids Takes up less volume during transport and storage Use of vertical gardening for improved optimization of available space

11. OXYGEN SUPPLY Production: Extracted from water supply using electrolysis Extracted from plants grown using an oxygen extractor Reverse production of oxygen through the fuel cells Outer Walls coated with Man-made breathing leaf technology Plant chloroplasts mixed into a silk protein matrix Storage: Inflatable tanks sealed from outer environment in the crater outer walls

12. TRANSPORTATION Survey Team This team will be using NASA previously named Chariot vehicle. Now called the Moon Surface Exploration vehicle This will provide an emergency room for astronauts if way points are in any way damaged Survey Team Responsibilities To use premade way points and to conduct pre-determined experiments at specific way points. To create mini moon base areas in case of emergency

13. TRANSPORTATION CONT. Exploring Team: The exploring team will be equipped with all terrain traversing vehicles that will be powered by Tesla Electric motors These will be used for quick exploration and to set up way points Exploration Team Responsibilities To take survey robots and prefabricated regolith to where way points will be established To observe and account for terrain and make predetermined paths that will be easiest for the Survey team to take

14. PROTECTION FROM BIOHAZARDS Low Gravity Unknown if the Moon’s 1/6 of Earth’s gravity will be enough to healthily sustain humans Lack of gravity can cause motion sickness, loss of bone and muscle mass, and fluid redistribution Research will be done to determine the effects of the lunar gravity and whether it can be combatted

15. PROTECTION FROM BIOHAZARDS Cosmic Ray Radiation and Meteor/Micrometeoroids Impacts Moon’s lack of atmosphere presents the threat of astronauts being endangered from cosmic ray radiation and makes it more likely for meteor or micrometeoroid impacts Protection from meteors/micrometeoroids and radiation shielding will be provided by the Moon’s own regolith, by building the base’s structures into the side of a crater

16. PROTECTION FROM BIOHAZARDS Moon Dust Moon dust is extremely abrasive, sticks to equipment, and possibly toxic. It was known to get everywhere on the Apollo Missions, despite the astronauts’ attempts to keep it out Electromagnets could be used to pull or drive Moon dust off spacesuits, if the dust has magnetic properties Airlocks with high air recirculation rates and double shell spacesuits could also be used to prevent Moon dust from ever entering the base.

17. FAIL-SAFE ENVIRONMENT A fail-safe environment ensures that if one system fails, the astronauts will not be in danger and the base will continue functioning Main Base Structure Modular structure with multiple emergency air locks Inflatable structures Self Healing Membrane Microcapsule & particulate catalyst “bleeding” technique for prorogating cracks/damage used to initiate polymerization and repair membrane. Autonomous software to control basic base functions Ensures safety of the astronauts Allows more time to be spent on studies and exploration

18. FAIL-SAFE ENVIRONMENT CONT. Emergency Locations/Transportation: Air tight, sustaining way-points along exploration paths for potential issues of not returning to main base in time Escape vehicle on moon surface for rendezvous with lunar platform System Redundancy Backup nuclear power source in case of solar power failure Reversible fuel cells for oxygen production Produce food from plants in case of shortage or contamination

19. BASE EXPANSION Initial Setup First trip drops off mining materials Second trip brings astronauts, base materials, and temporary structueres Early Expansion Modular Rely heavily on earth based materials Inflatable structures paired with composite exoskeleton to prevent punctures due to debris Later Expansion 3D printing using lunar regolith Using resources already on the moon to develop the modules 80 to 85 percent lunar regolith by mass

20. WHY MOON BASE ALPHA? Will finally research how much gravity is necessary for human and plant life Allows for the creation of a large telescope with no atmosphere Close to possible pockets of valuable minerals Important tests on fusion reactor technology 3D printed regolith shells make expansion easy Testing out new forms of transportation