Project Red Horizon: Creating a Resilient Mars Hotel

Visiting other planets has been only a dream until now, where space travel and technology has come to a point of such sophistication that that dream is now slowly turning into a reality. Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Space-X told his employees that he expects at least one million people to live on Mars by 2044.

In this project, I use engineering principles to create a hotel resilient enough to withstand the harsh conditions of martian surface. This building will make sure that the guests stay safe, as well as making sure they have a wonderful stay at the first ever martian hotel.

Using Fusion 360 software, I was able to create a comprehensive 3D model of a hotel suitable for the incredibly harsh conditions of outer space.

Materials For Design

• Fusion 360
• Pen
• Paper

Materials For Actual Base

• Martian Regolith
• Starch Powder
• Steal Beams
• Plaster
• Insulation
• Full Spectrum Bulbs
• LED bulbs
• Heating System
• Oxygen Tanks
• Large Airlock
• Small Airlock
• Lead

The conceptualization stage is one of, if not the most import part of the design process. This is the time where you figure out what you are going to do, and where everything will go. The martian hotel has five main parts: the nuclear reactor, the rocket, the ice drill, the rover, and most importantly, the hotel itself. Designing what you are going to create is always extremely important so that you have an end goal to work towards.

A hotel on Mars definitely needs some specialized materials to be able to withstand the martian surface, and be constructed efficiently. Since carrying massive amounts of concrete to the build site with rockets would be unpractical, I have opted for a material twice as strong as regular concrete that can be made using martian soil: Starcrete. This substance is created by following the process above. With it's main material being Martian regolith, the material would be relatively easy to make in large quantities. Lead would be mixed into the regolith to prevent the radiation from the martian surface from getting inside and harming the inhabitants. Underneath the concrete mixture would be steel beams to help reinforce the concrete to create an exceptionally durable hotel. Next an internal wall would be erected. the internal wall is the wall that the guests actually see, so making it out of a material that is not only functional, but also looks good is important. I chose plaster, a common material for walls in regular houses. in between the plaster and the steel would be insulation to help mitigate extreme temperature fluctuation in the martian environment. The building would be built by autonomous rovers prior to anyone arriving at the hotel. All of the materials that cannot be found on Mars would be brought in by rockets.

Some things to know when picking a location for a Martian hotel:

• Lower altitudes tend to be warmer (very important because of the frigid temperatures on Mars)
• Closer to the equator means that you can use Mars's spin rate to basically give the rocket an extra boost into space which means the rocket uses far less fuel.

Following these two requirements, I found the perfect place: The Schiaparelli impact crater located in the Sinus Sabaeus quadrangle at latitude 3° south and longitude 344°. This crater has a depth of 2 kilometers, and is only 3° off of the equator.

Since windstorms on Mars reach up to 62 MPH, aerodynamic buildings are required to withstand the incredibly strong winds. This hotel is made up of several rounded shapes so that the hotel can survive the strongest windstorms without damage.

Since the atmosphere of Mars is less than 1% as dense as the atmosphere on earth, generating sufficient energy from wind power would not be an efficient solution to solving the problem of electricity on Mars. Windmill blades would have to be several times larger to generate the same amount of power as on earth. Solar panels on the other hand would get absolutely covered in dust. Also, since Mars is tilted on it's axis about 25°, less light would hit the solar panels during certain times of the year. The most promising solution is nuclear energy, which can be created on Mars. The average nuclear power plant creates enough electricity to power 100,000 homes! In other words, it would definitely create enough energy for one hotel.

People need a way to get from earth to the hotel. By far the most effective way is a rocket. Their relatively large thrusters are able to pull out of earth's gravitational pull and safely land on Mars. Guests would sit in the nosecone of the rocket as the rest of the space would be reserved mostly for fuel for the long journey.

The rover serves an extremely important purpose for the hotel. It shuttles the passengers to and from the rocket. From the rover, the guests are safely able to enter the hotel without coming into contact with the harsh martian environment.

The ice drilling rover goes between the Medusae Fossae Formation (a large underground ice formation), and the hotel. It delivers the ice to the hotel through an airlock at the side of the hotel specifically designed to receive the ice. At the hotel, the ice is then melted down and purified into drinking water. This robot is an extremely vital part of making sure the hotel doesn't run out of water.

The inside of each room needs to be relatively simple, as bringing in unnecessary objects is exceptionally expensive. The room consists of two beds, one table, and one lamp. Currently, each pound that is launched into space with modern day rockets costs about $1,000,000! This goes to show that any unnecessary objects should be left on earth.

Everyone at the hotel needs fresh fruits and vegetables, so to solve that issue, there would be a hydroponic garden. This kind of garden uses bright full spectrum light bulbs in the ceiling to mimic the sun, as well as having a system that automatically waters the plants every few hours.

Massive highly compressed air tanks slowly release the air inside of them into the hotel so that everyone can breath. without this system, no one could breath, so having this system is important to make sure everyone at the hotel has a comfortable stay and does have to wear an oxygen mask all of the time.

In conclusion, this project taught me so much about Mars and how to create a hotel that embraces it's martian surroundings, creating a once in a lifetime experience for all of the guests who inhabit it. Even though this hotel was designed for Mars, similar concepts can be applied to people living in extreme environments on Earth, letting everyone lead happier, better lives through the power of science. Thank you for reading and have a great time on your future martian adventures.