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An Ice House Design Concept For Mars Bets Long On Liquid Water

Posted by timothy on from the mars-mars-mars dept.

The Times of India reports that NASA has awarded a $25,000 first prize to Space Exploration Architecture for their design, called "Mars Ice House," of a habitat suitable for Mars. The concept relies on the (predicted) availability of Martian water, as well as on 3-D printing; according to the text accompanying the design. The 5-cm thick shell of ice which would serve as both skin and support structure for the shelter "protects against radiation without compromising life above ground." Two other teams (Gamma and LavaHive) were awarded second and third-place prizes, respectively.

1 of 63 comments (clear)

  1. Re:I think they neglect the issue of sublimation. by donkeyb · · Score: 3, Interesting

    UV doesn't cause sublimation - it's the fact that the atmospheric pressure is so low that the water undergoes phase transition to the gaseous form pretty much immediately - it's at this point that the high levels of UV disassociate the water vapour into its constituent atoms. The water that has been found recently on Mars is able to survive as water due to the presence of perchlorates in the water which increase its tolerance to low temperatures and pressures. It stand to reason that any ice made from this perchlorate-contaminated water would also be able to survive longer, but without reading the paper (I know, I know) I'm not sure if the authors were aware of this.