Expandable Mars Base for #MakerBotMars

thingiverse

This is an expandable mars base idea. It can be built to any length and can be connected via the hatch adapters, and they can be placed between any of the arch segments. Due to my limited SketchUp skills I can not model the skins for this, though they would not really be printable. The inside of the skeleton would hold an inflatable bladder that would create the livable environment. The idea behind the bladder is that it would be compact because it could be folded. The bladder could be expandable by having rigid rings that could be attached to each other in order to allow the skeleton to be expanded. An outer layer would provide the insulation, radiation protection and dust storm protection. Perhaps a strong canvas material could provide ample protection from winds and dust. The skeleton would also be held down by straps that are connected to anchors to prevent movement in wind. The idea I had in mind was that this could actually be printed on a large printer actually on mars. That way the building material could be densely packed so that the main constraint for shipping would be weight as apposed to space. As with other designs power would come from either wind or solar. In the case of solar a CO2 compressor could be employed to create liquefied CO2 for use in a solar panel cleaning system for removing dust after a storm. Unfortunately I do not have a complete radiation solution nor an idea of the actual power demands, but then again this is just a concept idea. Model Information I have tried to layout the parts in a way that they should fit, though I can not be sure. Unfortunately I do not have a printer to test with, so if there is anyone that has some plastic to waste, maybe they could try printing a segment and report there results back here. I am quite certain some cleaning will be required and possible some model tweaks.