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posted by cmn32480 on Wednesday August 08 2018, @02:18PM   Printer-friendly
from the if-you-build-it-they-will-come dept.

Submitted via IRC for takyon

Although a recent NASA-supported study found Mars cannot be made inhabitable with our current technology, this hasn't stopped the space agency from continuing its plans to one day colonize the red planet. One such initiative launched in 2015 is the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge. The $2.5 million competition, now in its third phase, seeks to find the most adequate housing for future Martian residents. The challenge also hopes to uncover advanced construction technologies that may be used in sustainable housing solutions for Earth as well.

Now, NASA and its competition partner Bradley University of Peoria, Illinois, have selected the five winning teams out of 18 submissions from around the world. The winners will share the $100,000 prize and will have to create 3D-printed one-third-scale versions of their designs to confirm their models' feasibility.

[...] "We are thrilled to see the success of this diverse group of teams that have approached this competition in their own unique styles," said in a statement Monsi Roman, program manager for NASA's Centennial Challenges. "They are not just designing structures, they are designing habitats that will allow our space explorers to live and work on other planets. We are excited to see their designs come to life as the competition moves forward."

Source: https://interestingengineering.com/nasa-reveals-the-impressive-winning-designs-of-its-3d-printed-mars-habitat-contest


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 08 2018, @07:32PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 08 2018, @07:32PM (#718946)

    no cave-men on mars : (
    but surely just one tunnel digging machine is the same logistical nightmare to transport to mars as one habitat?
    however, one digging machine could make many many kilometers of shielded spaghetti tunnels ... and in the process mine some ore?

    ofc, nobody wants to leave their high-tech future design earth mansion just to go live in a cave on mars ... thus design!

  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday August 08 2018, @07:40PM

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday August 08 2018, @07:40PM (#718949) Journal

    many many kilometers of shielded spaghetti tunnels

    Just find some lava tubes [wikipedia.org], there should be many on Olympus mons [wikipedia.org]

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 08 2018, @09:00PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 08 2018, @09:00PM (#718997)

    So a 3D printed boring machine?

    How do you 3D print hardened steal cutting heads?

    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 08 2018, @10:05PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 08 2018, @10:05PM (#719062)
      That's the problem. The colony cannot be self-sustaining without some sort of transmutation of elements. Or you have to send the machines from Earth. A starter kit might weigh 100,000 tons [youtube.com], but that's ok because it's all pure fiction. Those machines need to be fitted with a fusion reactor and modified for martian gravity. How does anyone expect colonists to mine ore without all that hardware? With a pickaxe, wearing a spacesuit?