Pranay Tummalapalli
Vignesh Vishwanath
Kanchan Vinayak Bhale
Aishanee Pattnaik
Aviraj Hanmant Pawar
D V S Siddhartha
Jinit Dhondiyal
Kripasree S
Mohammed Meeran Adnan
External guide
Mr. Mahesh P.
Internal guide
Mr. Rohith
Society for Space Education Research and Development (SSERD)
Abstract
A trip to Mars is a costly undertaking. But it is as exciting and as it is rewarding in the field
of space exploration. With space agencies working towards colonizing Mars, it is clear that
there is a need for long-term human sustenance due to the fact that frequent resupply
missions to Mars are next to impossible. This is definitely not a reliable option. So this
project deals with a Technology Demonstration Mission for a self-sustainable Martian
habitat. It deals with Inflatable Habitat Technology and Life Support Systems required for
the mission. The concept of an “Inflatable Habitat” is becoming an active and demanding
area of research, as far as human space missions are considered. So this project is a
conceptual design of such a mission, and is designed in par with SpaceX’s Mars Mission.
This also deals with all the necessary factors including detailed study of materials required,
structural design and analysis and design of the Environment Control and Life Support
System or ECLSS required. The ECLSS is what provides an Earth-like environment inside
the habitat, making it suitable for the humans to live. The main aim of this mission is to
achieve self-sustainability. Therefore, it would also serve a test-bed to test the possibility of
growing plants inside the habitat to provide food for the astronauts. This project also
caters to the power requirements and In-Situ Resource Management. This way, it is
possible to achieve self-sustenance. With this, there is a strong hope that this project will
open doors for future manned missions to Mars, eventually making Mars an established
colony.
Download the entire research paper here.