October 2015
How to 3D-print a habitat on Mars
..., to have a much higher density than any sintered material. This would have considerable benefits for radiation shielding in the surface environment. The permeability of basalt stone is also superior to that of a sintered process, which is often...
April 2025
Strapped for success - from racetrack to orbit
... to compression, has ballistics properties and can be used for thermal and acoustic insulation, and potential radiation shields – all of which is generating interest among potential space customers. These additional characteristics have elevated EPP...
February 2019
Simulating lunar and martian regolith in the laboratory
... manned missions. For instance, some of the ESA simulants have been used for plant growth experiments, radiation shielding tests and 3D printing capabilities. A building block weighing 1.5 tonnes has already been made via 3D printing of a simulant...
April 2020
Evolutionary lessons for an interplanetary future
... thin atmosphere, so galactic cosmic rays, solar particles, and ultraviolet radiation hit its surface at nearly full strength. All serious designs for Mars habitats include radiation shielding, but even a short amount of time spent on the surface...
February 2019
The challenge of procreation for future off-world settlers
... tunnels, possibly bored from the walls of a crater to allow sufficient radiation shielding. By living in ‘normal’ gravity with sufficient shielding and only being exposed to the external environment for specific work and research, the health and...
October 2023
The multidisciplinary world of space habitation design
... the opportunity to delve into principles of bioregenerative closed loop systems, thermal and micrometeoroid protection, radiation shielding, and in situ resource utilisation (ISRU). The multidisciplinary approach and the heterogeneity of working...
