Washington, US (BBN) - At first glance, this new proposed NASA habitat might remind some viewers of the potato farm that Matt Damon’s character lived on in The Martian, but the key to this incredible design has nothing to do with potatoes, it is all about the abundance of ice and underground water that the planet has to offer.
The Mars ice house is an inflatable domed structure that would be surrounded by a water ice shell, providing a sustainable home when future explorers arrive, reports Stock News USA.
A NASA Langley Research Center team came up with this unique idea, with an eye towards protecting humans from the various elements on the surface of Mars, including high energy radiation.
The team came up with a number of unique ideas that were outside of the box, eventually settling on the ice house, which offers a helpful engineering solution to a number of exploration issues.
The shell will not only keep astronauts safe from the elements of the planet, but it also provides them with a water storage tank that could potentially be converted into useful rocket fuel.
From there, the ice house structure would then be refilled, so that the next crew is able to use it.
While other concepts provided underground habitats, caves and heavily shielded habitats for the astronauts to live in, the other proposals did not offer the same level of protection from radiation.
With the use of translucent materials, light is still able to pass from the outside and provide a more homey feel.
A layer of carbon dioxide gas will also be used as a means of insulating the living space and the ice layer, allowing the habitat to withstand harsh radiation, as well as dust storms.
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