Europa One Person 8-day Stay Reasearch Facility

by Recky777 in Living > Education

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Europa One Person 8-day Stay Reasearch Facility

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I live in Missouri, U.S.A I am in Eighth grade and enjoy studying the solar system. I designed a research station for the ice moon Europa which orbits Jupiter. I picked Europa as my extreme environment because of the freezing average temperature of -272 degrees Fahrenheit (-113 degrees Celsius) and average wind speed of 13mph/21kmph which is almost double Earth's average. Europa also has a very thin atmosphere with a very small amount of oxygen which makes it impossible to breath. Sadly, before I could finish my software would not allow me to move things up and down or change the shape and size of things so I could not complete the roof, outside or crawlspace.

Supplies

Software:

  • Tinkercad

Building Supplies:

  • 2"thick 10'tall Titanium-Aluminum Alloy sheets
  • 3' Titanium-Aluminum Alloy bolts
  • 2' 4" Titanium-Aluminum Alloy bolts
  • 1.5" Titanium-Aluminum Alloy bolts
  • 6'' Titanium-Aluminum Alloy bolts
  • 2'thick 10'tall Polyethylene blocks
  • 1"thick 10'tall fiber glass sheets
  • Radiant floor wires
  • silver wire
  • PVC pipes
  • 612 MOXIE Oxygen makers
  • 36 slotted MOXIE conveyer belts
  • air heater
  • water heater
  • electric oven and stove
  • kitchen sink and faucet
  • bathtub and shower head
  • bathroom sink and faucet
  • toilet
  • 2 200' windmills
  • 100kilowatt-watt battery
  • 2"thick 4'tall Titanium-Aluminum Alloy beams
  • 3"thick 5"tall Titanium-Aluminum Alloy Joyces
  • high frequency satellite dish
  • septic tank
  • air buttons
  • water filter
  • heated Titanium-Aluminum Alloy tube with holes
  • 20gal water holder
  • fiberglass cabinets
  • UV lights
  • LED 70watt can lights
  • soil
  • fiberglass air pipes
  • 4'x4'x3"fiberglass doors
  • 15'x8'x2'' Titanium-Aluminum Alloy garage doors
  • fiberglass 6.5'x3' doors
  • fiberglass cabinet handles and doorknobs
  • outdoor 100watt lights
  • 2 garage door openers
  • remote close air vents
  • Titanium-Aluminum Alloy MOXIE sized sealing doors
  • breaker box

House Supplies

  • Oxygen tanks
  • edible plants
  • heated couch
  • desk chair
  • table
  • desk
  • computer and monitor
  • bed with heated blankets
  • trash cans
  • kitchen utensils
  • physical map of Europa
  • dresser
  • toiletries and essentials
  • space suits
  • 2 large mobile MOXIE heaters
  • Rover plug
  • nightstand
  • garden tools

Rover:

  • 2"thick Titanium-Aluminum Alloy sheets
  • 2'thick Polyethylene blocks
  • 1"thick fiber glass sheets
  • large, heated tires
  • silver wire
  • plug input
  • controls
  • shocks
  • heater
  • hydraulics

Physical:

  • scissors
  • glue
  • tin foil
  • cardboard
  • paper
  • duct tape

Keeping Out the Cold

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Because of the extreme temperatures on Europa lots of insulation is needed to keep warm. since NASA frequently uses aluminum-titanium alloys in spacecraft, I decided to do the same and use a 2inch layer on the outside wall because titanium is hard, plus both the metals are light weight and can withstand extreme temperatures. Polyethylene is one of the most insulative materials on Earth and because it is so light, I would use 2feet of it after the metal alloy. Another insulative material is fiberglass which is a 6.5 on the Mohs scale making it quite hard and durable 1inch would be enough for the interior walls. the crawlspace floor and the roof would be made up of the same materials as the exterior walls. the corners of the exterior walls and the roof would all be rounded to help with the wind erosion. Airlocks would be used to keep the cold air out and the warm air and oxygen.

Bedroom and Flooring

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For the bedroom I have a heated bed, nightstand, dresser and trashcan.

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In the bathroom you would need a shower and tub plus a sink and toilet.

Office and Storage

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In the office I put a physical map a chair, desk and a monitor and dish for sending signals. The storage room can take oxygen tanks, suits and other items.

Food

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As there is no food on Europa you either bring food or grow it. If you grow it, you will have to be vegetarian for eight days. The garden of two beds would be separated by a walkway for easy access there would be four UV lights that would have to be turned off at different times depending on the plant. To water the plants, you would use a watering pail and fill it with water from a sink. Prepping the plants would be done with the kitchen supplies. Cooking the plants would occur in the kitchen on the stove or in the oven.

Oxygen and Heat

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Because of the limited oxygen and the thin atmosphere, it is impossible to breath and plants would not create enough oxygen, I decided to use 612 MOXIE machines that extract one oxygen atom from one carbon dioxide molecule, and put them on circular conveyer belts so that when one is spent the tube that allows the oxygen spread through the house detaches and the door closes (the black rectangles) and the conveyer spins the next MOXIE up and the door opens and the tube reattaches. The picture of the door shows a green button that you press which then only allows the air to flow into the room in which the button was pressed. Using this method a person could breathe for eight days safely.

Since it will still be cold there will be radiant floors that can be controlled from the battery room. The air heater located right next to the MOXIE room where the air will go to from the MOXIE room after the being heated it will the go to the rest of the building. There will also be two large heaters in the two hallways.

Harnessing the Wind

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In the pictures all yellow, highlighted and circled tubes represent wires.

The average wind speeds on Europa being almost double Earth's average wind speeds, on Europa windmills could create much more power. The Windmills would charge the 100kilowatt-battery which would then give power to the house.

Water

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To access water on a frozen moon is not too difficult so using an aluminum titanium heated pipe drilled with 1'' holes at about 5' deep it would then melt the ice and carry it to the filter (the brown cylinder) that would filter out the water then boil it to kill all the bacteria it would then move the water to the water heater (the gray cylinder) or the water container (the blue cylinder). The white pipes are the clean water and they run to the bathroom, kitchen, etc., and the black pipes carry the dirty water to the black septic tank.

Foundation and Floor

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The exterior walls would go beneath the ice by 6' 3'' then the crawlspace floor which is 2' 3'' thick would be bolted into the walls with titanium 2'4'' bolts making the crawlspace 4' tall, then the aluminum titanium 4' beams would be bolted into the ice through the crawlspace floor with the 3' titanium bolts every 5 square feet, the first 1'' layer of fiberglass flooring would be laid on top of the beams then the radiant floors then the second 1' layer of fiberglass on top. after all the layers are down the titanium beams would be bolted up into the floor with the 1.5'' titanium bolts. The software quit on me before I could make the beams.

Roof

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Using the same three layers as on the walls the roof would curve up from the wall (to prevent wind erosion) then become flat at around 8' feet from the edge. I was not able to finish the roof, so I have this example

Rover

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The rover's body a cylinder with walls the same as the walls of the building, the rear would have a rectangular door stretching from top to bottom opens with hydraulics. In the front a clear fiberglass dome would be placed with two lights on top. Over top on the edge of the front of the rover a hydraulic arm and drill would be placed. The four tractor sized tires would each have circular heaters on the inside of the rubber.

Physical Model-inside and Roof

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Use two one dozen egg cartons and cut out a piece of cardboard the length and width of both cartons then glue it on top

of the two cartons, then cut out another piece one third the length and width of both cartons and glue it underneath.

Physical Model-walls

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Cut out two pieces of cardboard the length of the cartons, and two pieces of cardboard the width of the cartons, each piece should be three inches tall. Once each piece is cut using duct tape secure each piece to the carton where it was measured and attach it to perpendicular walls.

Physical Model-balance Beam

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Cut out a piece of cardboard that when held against the walls from the inside on the support board underneath the cartons is equal in height, then fold it into a cylinder and tape it to the lower support board.

Physical Model-battery Room

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Next cut out a piece of cardboard that when folded into a cube it is around the size of the battery room make sure it is slightly shorter than the main building, then tape it so that it remains a cube.

Physical Model-aluminum Foil

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Cover the main building with two sheets of foil one lengthwise and the other widthwise. Then cover the battery room with one piece of foil but make sure a half inch flap sticking off of one edge, then glue the battery room (with the flap side facing the building) to the building.

Physical Model-doors

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Cut out a door and a garage door and glue them on opposite sides of the front of the building.