NASA Picks Designs for Mars habitat

Sometime in the future, humans will take their first trip to Mars in order to colonize the neighboring planet.

But what would these astronauts do for shelter when they get there?

For the past several years, NASA held a contest called the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge.

For the contest, teams of engineers and designers came up with possible structures that could be made on the Red Planet.

The U.S. space agency offered over a million dollars in total prizes for the winning proposals.

The 60 contestants first submitted proposals that included illustrations and detailed explanations.

In the final round in May, the remaining contestants had 30 hours to build subscale models of their designs with 3D printers.

This was to test how realistic the structures would be to construct on Mars.

The final winner of the challenge was Marsha, a habitat proposed by the team A.I. Spacefactory.

The habitats are brown pods about three or four stories high.

They have windows, multiple floors, and even a skylight.

In addition, the Marsha habitats provide many facilities for the astronauts.

There are private sleeping quarters, a kitchen, a lab, and a recreation center.

A large part of the habitats is constructed with materials that could easily be found on Mars.

A.I. Spacefactory mostly relied on basalt, a volcanic rock that is available throughout the Red Planet.

Also, the material is an effective shield against the radiation found on Mars.

After the competition, A.I. Spacefactory said it would build life-sized versions of the Marsha habitats near New York City.

There, people will get a chance to stay overnight and experience the Martian habitats themselves.

 

• colonize |kɑːlənaɪz    식민지로 만들다 /  대량 서식하다

• shelter ˈʃeltə(r)  (인간 생활의 세 가지 기본 요소 중) 주거지 /  (비바람·위험·공격으로부터의) 피신[대피] /  (비·바람·위험 등... 막아 주다[피할/쉴 곳을 제공하다], 보호하다

• habitat  ˈhæbɪtæt  서식지  habitation  ˌhæbɪˈteɪʃn 거주, 주거 /  (사람들이 사는) 거주지, 부락

• subscale  부척도 * subscale test 축수형 시험 

• storey  ˈstɔːri    (건물의) 층 (→multi-storey)

• pod  pɑːd  (콩이 들어 있는) 꼬투리 /  (비행기 동체 밑의, 연료·장비·무기 등을 싣는) 유선형 공간

• skylight  ˈskaɪlaɪt  천장에 낸 채광창

• sleeping quarters  잠자리

• come up with   …을 생산하다, 제시[제안]하다. (=produce; supply.)

• rely on  기대다, 의존하다

• basalt  bəˈsɔːlt  현무암

• radiation  ˌreɪdiˈeɪʃn   방사선 /  (열·에너지 등의) 복사

• Martian  ˈmɑːrʃn  화성의, 화성에서 온 /  화성인