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from the intellects-vast-and-cool-and-unsympathetic,-regarded-this-earth-with-envious-eyes dept.
NASA has announced three winners who will share the $100,000 prize in its competition to make virtual Martian habitats.
The 11 participating groups were tasked with making a full-scale habitat using modeling software, building on an earlier stage of the competition that required partial virtual modeling.
The teams were graded on their layout, programming, use of interior space, and their habitat's ability to be scaled to full size for construction, according to a NASA statement announcing the winners. The groups also received points for their aesthetic representation and realism.
The three winning teams were
SEArch+/Apis Cor - New York - $33,954.11
Zopherus – Rogers, Arkansas - $33,422.01
Mars Incubator – New Haven, Connecticut - $32,623.88
This is the third stage in NASA's 3D Printed Habitat Challenge.
The final stage of the competition will be open to the public in Peoria, Illinois and will be held May 1-4 of this year. It will consist of a head-to-head reduced scale print of the structures. The prize in the last stage of the competition is $800,000.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Sunday April 07 2019, @04:34PM (4 children)
I don't think collapse is that likely (though of course, if it did happen it would be catastrophic). The reason is that the habitat will need to be pressurized to above the pressure of Martian atmosphere, and, of course, tightly sealed. This will mean that the air within the habitat is, itself, support.
OTOH (and as another poster said), why dig? What's the benefit of digging over scooping some dirt on top of the habitat. I can sure guess which would be easier. (The dirt is a good idea, though, because Martian atmosphere is a poor radiation shield.)
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 07 2019, @06:18PM
I was replying to the OP - who suggested going underground - with reasons digging did not seem practical or safe. I am not advocating digging or building subterranean facilities.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 07 2019, @06:45PM (2 children)
The dirt will get blasted by the wind. Digging isn't too hard. A couple of sticks of dynamite or a remote controlled excavator would do the job.
If not going solar or if you're willing to run long power lines you can also build the habitat in a canyon instead and gain the same natural defenses against the winds.
I think people here don't realize the kind of temperature ranges, wind speeds and what the wind is carrying on Mars... You're basically being sand blasted well below freezing or well above water boiling tempratures throughout the year and have to keep an air tight seal and a stable living temperature while taking it all. Digging-in a few feet under the ground is WAY easier than figuring out how to build something that can survive those conditions for more than a few weeks.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 07 2019, @09:46PM (1 child)
Dynamite doesn't need oxygen for it's chemical reaction, does it?
Anything robust enough to dig into the Martian bedrock will be very heavy, expensive and difficult to launch, and problematic to land safely on Mars.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 08 2019, @04:15AM
Strawman. Plenty of choices for explosives that don't.
Or just blow the bedrock and use whatever the Japanese are planning to use for the moon...