Subterranean Sanctuary: Life Below the Martian Surface

Mars is a harsh planet with low atmospheric pressure capable of making your blood boil, average freezing temperatures of -80 degrees Fahrenheit, and dust storms blocking communications and destroying equipment. The best way to reduce this is to build in the area most similar to earth: underground. Caves and other underground areas have long been a place of protection from the elements as well as providing a great insulator. Therefore, to begin terraforming Mars and ultimately build a future civilization we should focus our efforts on an exploiting space underground. By doing this we will take our first steps towards creating a new Earth; however to fully terraform the red planet we require many new technologies since we can only get around 7% closer to our goal with current technology. While this project is designed to be self sufficient it would certainly benefit from a space station orbiting Mars such as Aurelia‘s TESSERAE project. This would allow for quicker human interaction with the robots on the Martian surface, joint experimentation between the humans and humanoid robots, and could potentially allow for human assistance on the Martian surface.

When I first saw this project I was super excited, because designing space habitats is my dream job. I am a rising junior at the L&N STEM Academy and am 15 years old.

Long before this competition existed, I came up with this design for an underground space habitat, specifically on Mars (however it would work for any terrestrial object with minor alterations) because of the extreme weather conditions such as dust storms and a weak atmosphere, which lets in meteoroids. I designed this project as a cylinder because it is the easiest way to drill a hole by using a TBM (or tunnel boring machine) and every point on the circumference is equidistant to the center meaning that it is easy to access transportation no matter where your apartment is located. The underground concept of this habitat allows it to not only be implemented in most extreme habitats but also saves land from being used and is impermeable to most adverse conditions with earthquakes being the major threat. Fortunately I was able to counter this by using triangular support to prevent the structure from imploding. To dig this project there would need to be a structure such as rails that the TBM would place in order to guide it vertically and be able to get out of the hole once it has been completed. I then decided that a TBM with a diameter of 110 ft would allow for the most amount of space in each of the cylinders and would be small enough to quickly assemble on Mars. Unfortunately, the idea of this base is relatively implausible without either a massive spaceship capable of carrying all the supplies or, at the very least, enough to mine supplies from Mars. Alternatively, a more attainable solution would be a space station orbiting Mars, allowing for resources to be ferried onto the ‘Red Planet.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, I would be happy to answer them in the comments.

Supplies

For this project you will need:

• Tinkercad (to prototype your ideas)
• Paper to draw intricate details
• Colored Pencils
• Ruler
• Compass (drawing)
• Calculator
• A Revit student license
• A ton of cardboard
• Two wooden dowels
• Lots of glue sticks (5)
• A Transparent cylindrical container
• A hot glue gun

For the building of this primary base you will need.

• 5 drones equipped with cameras
• A communications tower
• 3 precision concrete 3d printers
• 1 building scale concrete 3d printer
• A TBM with a diameter of 110 ft (33.528 meters)
• 5 robots with unfolding solar panels
• 3 repair robots
• 4 exploration robots
• 2000 gallons of water stored with algae inside to convert CO2 harvest from the thin atmosphere into usable oxygen
• 4 transport drones for moving other robots
• 10 construction robots capable of carefully assembling pieces
• 2 humanoid robots
• 20 charging stations for robot batteries.
• Spare parts for each robot
• 1 carrier robot capable of moving multiple concrete pieces and other robots
• 15 mining robots to access the various resources and to create places for building
• 3 cleaning robots to make sure every robot is not affected by Martian dust
• 300 tons of portland cement
• Inflatable habitats for humanoid living space and for future human usage
• Lab equipment for the experimentation
• 15 tons of rebar
• Various different species of plants however it will primarily be fruit/vegetable trees as well as legumes to provide protein and to act as a staple
• Micro-greens and other plants that would take advantage of Mar’s iron rich soil

Step 1: Original Prototype

This design worked well, however it was not suitable for extended durations of time because it was not originally designed to be self-sustainable. Unfortunately, once I had designed this model, I ended up forgetting about it and was not motivated to improve this design until I saw this competition. This model is designed as a sort of miniature earth on each floor by placing housing on the outside which allows for a large forest in the center.

Step 2: Prototyping

However, upon seeing this project I immediately became excited and started designing a new model which would incorporate the tiered level system, cylindrical design, and alternating floors. A significant decision I made was to create triangular floors, which not only maximize living space but also enhanced the overall structural integrity. After finalizing the general design, I focused on the layout. I envisioned living areas along the outer perimeter, green spaces or food production in the center, and an elevator connecting the floors. However, once I started designing it in Tinkercad, I started to see that it would be better to have the floors face in different directions and I would most likely need support for the elevator, so I added those in. However I quickly noticed an enormous problem, I would need tons of energy to operate this facility, so I looked into thermoelectric devices. Unfortunately, Mars is not close enough to the sun to make this project effective however it could still be used to prevent heat from escaping and would manage excess heat by converting it into electricity. There were 3 main forms of energy that I considered: wind, solar, and nuclear. Solar energy unfortunately is far less effective on Mars compared to earth and would require constant cleaning of the solar panels. Wind energy is a far more viable option however it would require many turbines to operate the base and they would need to be either very durable or be capable of moving below the surface when dust storms arrive. Because of this, I ultimately opted for nuclear energy due to Mars’ more abundant surface uranium —a valuable resource not as readily available on Earth and the large amount of energy produced. This helped me realize the importance of separating different facilities. With minor adjustments to each floor, the residential and plant areas could function independently. I also began prototyping the most effective use of the space for each room and this helped me decide to create a gym in the communal area as well as a laundromat.

Step 3: Prototyping (further)

I started off by designing a 3-cylinder base with one cylinder holding the water supply, another holding the nuclear reactor, and the last being the habitat. However, I quickly realized that very little space was being set aside for the people and that all the vehicles would be aboveground exposed to the harsh weather conditions. That was when I realized the best way to design this habitat was to incorporate five cylinders similar to the arrangement of the five marks on a die. The central cylinder being where the spaceship would be stored as well as a tunnel system for people to move between the four additional cylinders. Once I was done designing the layout of the food and living area I modeled an idea of the whole base. It was difficult to decide how space should be managed in each housing unit so I ultimately decided to remove rooms that could be communal and keep only the core rooms of a house in each unit. By doing so residents will now have more open space in their houses and each unit could accommodate up to 4 residents. CO2 can be converted into oxygen through the plants in the terrarium as well as algae and bamboo which are much better at converting CO2 into O2 because of their insane growth rates consuming enormous amounts of CO2.

Step 4: Sketching the Design

After I had created my rough design, I sketched out the design for the green space which will be used as a park, track, and food supply. I quickly realized that having six individual lifts is highly inefficient with the little space provided, so I decided to convert three lifts into vertical gardens in order to allow space for plants that do not grow as tall vertically, resulting in more space for trees. The sketching phase helped me to see the many physical and mental benefits that would come from a green, walkable city. Since human waste is rich in nitrogen, it is ideal to grow plants which will eventually convert it back into fresh water which they release through the process of transpiration. This water will then condense on the roof where it would be absorbed and cycled back into the water storage.

Step 5: Prototyping Social Infrastructure

I started prototyping my ideas for how to best utilize space during the rest of my leftover time from taking End of Course exams, however most of these drawings were doomed to be shredded. Fortunately, I was able to remember most of the fundamental concepts such as the types of infrastructure that should be available in a functional society which are recreational, medical, economic, habitation, electrical, and water reservoirs. The color-coded concept above required tons of planning on how to properly layer this structure in order to make it the most effective and accessible for civilians. For example, I had originally planned to place the manufacturing area at the bottom which would allow for more usable space in the middle. The middle is likely to be the most populated area due to its easy accessibility and central location. However, I soon realized that by doing this it would make it incredibly difficult to transport supplies and would trap toxic fumes at that bottom preventing them from dissipating therefore it needed to be closer to the top. Because of this, the only disadvantage to my current design is that recreational areas are more difficult to access, however essential components of the base have the most advantageous locations possible.

Step 6: Prototyping Central Building

For this building there were very few important civilian buildings that were missing so I decided to make a control center that would monitor the nuclear power plant, a few floors where the equipment to repair the spaceship would be located as well as a place for the repair drones and robots to operate. Lastly I added the unloading and loading area based on the design of the starship, built the walkway and viewing area, and added a track for civilians to use. The idea of this building is to allow citizens to move between destinations and to allow humans to work on the starships without having to worry about bulky pressurized gear inhibiting their movement.

Step 7: Math Stuff

After I had created the physical model I had to decide the physical dimensions of the model. I ultimately decided to make it have a 100 ft diameter with the TBM having a 110 diameter to allow for 5 ft clearance for the concrete 3d panels and a space for plumbing and electricity. Sketching out my design helped me notice the inefficiency of having 6 staircases so I decided to remove 3 in order to make the base more efficient. For a while I contemplated how this space could be used until I remembered why I had made each of the floors with 30 ft roofs; to grow fruit trees and other tall plants and to make each floor feel less claustrophobic and more like earth. So in order to save more space for the larger plants I decided to create vertical hydroponic gardens which contain the smaller plant like carrots, potatoes, and legumes. Each of the rooms for civilians are 497 square feet which is the size of a small apartment containing a living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and closet. Each of the floors (besides the rooms, stairs, and vertical gardens) are 2,522 square feet. Working out the dimensions was a really enjoyable step because it helped me physically visualize (with a tape measure) the size of each of the rooms and led me to make better decisions on how I use that space.

Step 8: 3d Modeling

To create the shape of each of the building pieces you first need to create a circle with a diameter of 100 ft. After that you need to draw a line intersecting the center of the circle, which will split it in two equal pieces. Then create a congruent circle on one of the points on the line that intersect the circumference of the circle and make sure it intersects the center point of the main circle. Then you can use the intersections of the two circles to draw a line between each of them and then connect those two points to the other point of the initial line. This will create on equilateral triangle a you can use this same method to create another on the other side. Once you have created two equilateral triangles delete the two extra circles and remove the initial line. I apologize if this is confusing so I left some pictures to explain it.

Living Space

To create the living space I offset the edge of the walls by 0.5 ft to create a sketch of a solid wall and extruded it 10 ft. I then added in each wall (0.5 ft thick) and cut out any places I needed to add doors (each door is 3 ft wide 7 ft tall). To create each doorframe I then extruded the space I had cut out by 3 ft and moved it up seven feet. This allowed me to have seven foot tall door ways.

Lifts

To create the lifts I created equilateral triangles with sides 2 ft long and and the center of the triangle on the middle of two of sides of the triangles. One of the sides of the smaller triangle has to be parallel with the side of the larger triangle that it is correspondent to.

Center

To create the center of the base I made 5 ft wide pathways from each of the lifts to the center which is a circle with a twelve ft diameter and houses each of the elevators. I also created a pathway to the exit for the communal building. Each floor of the building is separated by 5 ft however the floor for the plants is 3 ft of concrete covered with 2 ft of soil to allow space for roots to grow.

I have pictures of my sketches above if you want to replicate this model otherwise I have the models linked in step 11.

Step 9: Designing Triangular Space

For this step I wanted to come up with a few prototypes showing how I would implement a vertical garden system, so I made a simple prototype of the space and created part of the robotic arm that would tend to the plants. The idea is that the bottom of each garden would be equipped with full spectrum lights covering the entire PAR (photosynthetically active radiation) spectrum, ranging from 400-700 nanometers. The bottom would also be equipped with three cameras with one monitoring each section of the garden. These would allow humans and an AI to monitor the health of each plants without having to move the platforms very often. The platforms would move by using a two pairs of wheels (a total of four wheels per platform) with a wheel oriented on each side of the triangular indent. I thought of this triangular indent because it is a simple way to connect two pieces together in woodworking and still allows the pieces to move vertically. I also reduced the clearance between the triangular indent and the piece it connects on to at each floor to reduce the likelihood of slippage when a human tends to the garden. The platform will also use magnets (similar to a maglev train) to act as a backup in case the wheels fail. Each platform will be equipped with a robotic arm, that uses magnets to move, in order to allow for watering and relocation of potted plants. As illustrated above, the arm will be similar to a claw machine (except it will have friction pads to reduce slippage and will be designed to prevent pots from dropping) and will have a watering spout between the claws. This will ensure that each plant receives the correct amount of water. The arm will be operated by humans with assistance from an AI to administer the correct amount of water to each plant, give recommendations about moving plants, and report the status of every plant.

Step 10: Designing Lifts and Rendering

I originally had wanted to have a staircase to traverse each level to allow residents to more easily access their rooms, however I soon realized that this took away the ability for objects to be transported to the upper floors and prevented people from sitting and enjoying the view of the trees. In order to solve this problem I designed a lift similar to the one used for the garden except with a tempered glass or transparent acrylic wall and steps to get onto it. I also designed an alternate version with a ramp which would allow people with disabilities as well as robots to access each of the floors (the ramp has a slope of 1:16) because everyone should be able to enjoy life on Mars equally. Then I created each of the rooms and doorways in each housing unit to 3d print. After I had done that, I created a model of one of the floors to show how each of the pieces would come together to form a cohesive unit. I also made sure to include the tunnel that allows residents to move between buildings.

Step 11: Physical Prototyping

I began my physical prototyping by deciding to make it out of the best prototyping material available; cardboard. After I had collected my cardboard I had to decide on how I wanted it to be scaled. I had to decide between making it a centimeter to a foot or making it a 16th of an inch to one foot. I ultimately decided to stick with the imperial system because it would allow me to use less cardboard and make each piece neater. Therefore the scale factor of all of these buildings is 1:192. Because I didn't have enough cardboard to create the entire structure I decided to make the 5th floor of the overall structure. In the largest picture above I illustrated how the buildings would be combined and how residents would move between the residential and communal building and how the water and nuclear plants would be protected by doors. The transparent plastic in the central building (the spaceship landing station) is used to show the overall building. While it is unlikely that it would be part of the initial building, it is a unique feature allowing citizens to watch as the starship lands, departs, and is worked on. The rightmost building in the large picture is the residential area which illustrates how part of the floor would operate and the placement of the support beams and elevators. It also demonstrates how citizens could commute between other buildings of the structure. The leftmost building in the large picture is the communal area which would have a spiraling ramp up the structure to allow robots, humans, and equipment to move between floors. It would have an elevator in the center to allow citizens to traverse from floors that are located farther apart. To improve my physical model I 3d printed the vertical gardens, lifts, and the central area. Because each of the rails to guide the lift and vertical gardens are to small to 3d print (at least with fdm) I decided to use toothpicks instead. The toothpicks worked far better than expected and allow each platform to move vertically (with a bit of friction). I linked the files down below if you want to create this building for your own.

Step 12: Choosing a Location

When I started to search for a suitable location I primarily focused on the places where rovers landed safely and where the ground was relatively flat. One important detail I noticed was that elevations closer to sea level tend to have the most success with rovers and other equipment landing safely. This information helped me narrow down the locations and I noticed that there are three extremely important potential resources that could be tapped into on Mars: geothermic energy (it is unlikely that it still exists anywhere near the surface of the planet), as well as the many valuable resources located near volcanoes, and the Northern Polar Cap containing about 1.6 million cubic kilometers of ice mixed in with a bunch of CO2.

I used this STL for my model of Mars: Lithophane / 3d model of Mars by raTMole - Thingiverse

I also used this topographic map of mars: https://www.google.com/mars/

Step 13: Construction and the Future

The video below does a better job illustrating the initial steps of the process, however I have summed up the way I plan to accomplish this difficult task of establishing a colony on Mars below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tr6rJrv8hs

All but two of the starships containing robots would initially land at the site marked potential location. This is illustrated in the physical model as the red location. The other two would split with one landing at robot base 1 and robot base 2. They would then unload most of the robots along with the cargo. The robots would then begin to establish a base for themselves while the TBMs begin digging the holes to build my design in. Then the robots would begin transferring plants to the terrarium they had built and the ai powered robots would begin testing ways to make concrete to be 3d printed using Martian soil combined with plant-based glue. Shortly afterwards the mining robots would be split into 3 groups; one that continues work on the major base, one that goes to robot base 2 (Illustrated as the orange marker right next to Olympus Mons) to begin harvesting ores and resources, and the other navigating to robot base 1 (illustrated in black next to the Northern Ice Cap) in order to collect water and to release CO2 into the air to increase the atmosphere. After creating a 3d printed concrete, the concrete 3d printers would begin creating panels for the TBM to lay inside each of the holes. Then, after the TBM is removed the 3d printers would create a giant canopy-like structure over the base in order to protect the more precise concrete 3d printers, that would create the internal structure, to be safe from dust storms. This canopy would also be where the inflatable habitats for humans would be located. The construction robots would begin setting up the steel door to store the starship and would begin assembling the pieces created by the precision concrete 3d printer. Shortly thereafter the robots from base 1 would return with the water they managed to gather and would store it in the hole designated for water storage. Soon the humans would land, taking time to recover from their 3-month long flight. After they had recovered, they would begin to research, grow food, and help the robots with the creation of the base. Once the atmosphere is thickened enough, cities aboveground will be a viable option because most meteors should burn up in the atmosphere and dust storms will become a thing of the past.

Thank you for reading about my project. There are a few smaller details I didn't include for simplicity, so if you have any questions, comments, or concerns I would love to try and answer them in the comments. I would love to be able to improve this design further and am excited by the opportunity this has given me to combine my two favorite fields of study; architecture and aerospace engineering. If you have any questions or possible opportunities I can participate in, you can email me at [e-mail]. Thanks again for reading.

Step 14: Conclusion and Insights

1. What if extreme environment habitats embraced their unique surroundings to enhance human well-being? Despite being potentially harsh each environment has its own unique benefits. If we manage to exploit the the resources that are abundant and use them to their fullest extent we can create places for humanity to thrive. For example, the desert has extreme winds and few cities so we could use wind power to help create cities.
2. What did you learn through this process that you could apply to addressing a problem of the built environment in your own community? My community is currently facing a housing crisis and many students at my local college are unable to find housing. In order to combat this many developers have begun building apartments and cutting down trees. We also have traffic congestion issues because two major interstates merge there. In order to solve this problem we could use underground housing for some residents which would allow there to be more communal buildings. We could also make our city more traversable by adding a subway or having more sidewalks.

Thank you for reading about my project. There are a few smaller details I didn't include for simplicity, so if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns I would love to try and answer them in the comments. I will improve this design further and am excited by the opportunity this has given me to combine my two favorite fields of study; architecture and aerospace engineering. If you have any questions or possible opportunities I can participate in, you can email me at [e-mail]. Thanks again for reading.