NASA has take five finalists in a competition to plan a home ground for a potential succeeding mission to Mars . predict the three-D - Printed Habitat Challenge , NASA whittled down the finalists from 18 team , awarding up to $ 21,000 in trophy money to take the designs further .
“ We are thrilled to see the achiever of this diverse group of teams that have approached this competition in their own unequaled mode , ” say Monsi Roman , computer program manager for NASA ’s Centennial Challenges , in astatement .
“ They are not just designing anatomical structure , they are designing habitats that will allow our space Explorer to last and run on other planets . We are mad to see their designs come to life as the challenger move ahead . ”
Thecontestbegan back in 2014 , with teams initially put together render of their ideas . Then in 2017 , they had to create part of the habitats to prove they could sour . And in the latest phase of the competitor , the team had to model their habitats , and autonomously 3D print some of their part .
In the future , it may be that some of these home ground design are used by Martian explorers . Key to that finish is ensuring the habitats can be constructed easy with the limited resources useable on the surface of Mars . And they must provide enough protection and living space for the astronaut .
Each home ground had to have at least 92 satisfying meters ( 1,000 square pes ) of space , braggart enough for four masses to live in for a twelvemonth , according toTechCrunch . They must also be capable to be construct before the cosmonaut actually arrive on the surface , hence the autonomous aspect .
First shoes go to a team phone Zopherus , whose aim revolve around using “ Martian concrete ” . Another was based around a upright piston chamber , while a third used a gamey - strong suit plastic to let spark in . One was design to be built on incline , and another used an inflatable vessel .
you could see videos of all the design below . The team will now struggle it out for a plunder purse tote up $ 2 million in 2019 , as they assay to build one - third scale models of their final ideas . And who knows , maybe astronauts will one Clarence Day swear on these designs to endure on the Red Planet .
