4 Far Out Space Stations and Colony

1. Mars One Colony marsone

Mars One is a Dutch non-profit organization that aspires to have people living on Mars by the year 2027. The proposal, which is anticipated to cost $6.3 billion, would send four people on a one-way voyage to establish the colony. The goal is to deploy rovers starting in 2022, and then in 2024 six shipments of goods will be transported to Mars. These ships would contain two dwelling units, two life support systems and a supply unit, which would arrive by 2025.

In early 2015, the team at Mars One was able to filter the list of 200,000 applications down to 100. From there, they aim on undertaking a series of both team focused and isolation tests, in preparation of the greatest issues the first residents on Mars would encounter. The team will continue to work together until 2026, when the first team sets out. After that, they’re hoping to send six additional groups of four settlers every two years.

2. Foster + Partners’ Moon Structures fosters

One of the most practical sites to create a colony is on the moon. The difficulty is that it’s difficult and costly to carry materials to the moon, and without some form of base existing there it’s tricky to even get started.

That’s where Fosters + Partners and the European Space Agency come in. The goal is to put up an inflatable dome that would hold a 3-D printer based on designs by Enrico Dini, who used his own printer to create a home in Amsterdam. The 3-D printer would utilise lunar dust. Then the inhabitants would need to erect a 4.9-foot (1.5 meter) thick wall that would protect the dome and the astronauts from cosmic rays and meteorites. The walls would be hard, but full with bubbles filled with unconsolidated moon rock and lunar dust. The dome would be two floors high and four researchers could live and work inside. It would serve as a base for subsequent colonization.

3. Bigelow Aerospace Module bigelow

In the 1990s, NASA built an inflatable space station named the TransHab. While NASA never constructed one, the notion of an inflatable space station was far from finished. A commercial firm named Bigelow Aerospace has continued to construct these inflatable space stations, and thus far Bigelow has flown two modules into orbit. First was Genesis I, introduced July 2006, and Genesis II was launched in June 2007. With two successful tests, Bigelow obtained a contract with NASA to transport a folded up module to the International Space Station. They intend on launching the module using a spaceship named Dragon, which is owned and managed by the commercial space business SpaceX. The module measures 13 feet by 10.5 feet (4 meters by 3.2 meters) and will provide an extra area for the space station.

Inflatable space stations take far less fuel to power and are much simpler to move into orbit. In fact, an inflatable module is one of the strongest prospects to replace the International Space Station when it’s abandoned in 2020.

4. Project Persephone

projectpersephone

If you’ve ever been worried about a worldwide disaster, we’ve got excellent news. Right now, 13 academics from the universities of Greenwich, Warwick and Surrey are creating a space ark that might guarantee mankind lives on. It dubbed Project Persephone and is named after the Greek queen of the underworld.

The ark would be a cylinder approximately 12 miles (20 kilometers) long, and three miles (five kilometers) in diameter. It would be filled of earth, and humans would dwell in burrows. Persephone would also be self-sustaining, and it would build its own ecosystems instead of depending on mechanical pieces. The ecosystems would enable the spaceship to create light, air, water, food and gravity.

Part of the study includes producing better biofuels and artificial soil to make living aboard the vessel viable. The goal is that 50-100 people could board it, but it could potentially accommodate up to 500 people. Those on board will start producing children, with the objective to keep humanity continuing for numerous generations. They are considered incorporating human eggs, sperm and embryos that may develop in artificial wombs. Hopefully any calamities decide to take their time, though, since the project isn’t slated to be finished for another century.