Austin-based Icon’s newest project will simulate life on Mars, pave way for NASA’s ‘next giant leap’ | News

By Editor On Aug 12, 2021

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While NASA is preparing for its “next giant leap” – astronauts on Mars – the technology developed by the Austin-based 3D printing construction company Icon is helping to pave the way.

Icon has been subcontracted with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and is working with Bjarke Ingels Group to build and design a residential unit that will help the space agency better understand how humans can live on Mars in the future.

The company is building a 3D-printed structure at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for a series of missions designed to simulate what life might be like for astronauts on Mars. Upon completion, the crews will stay in the Houston Space Center structure for year-long stays, designed to mimic living conditions on the Red Planet.

More: Icon from Austin looks to the moon in the latest construction project

Icon, which 3D printed its first house in 2018, was co-founded by Jason Ballard with the aim of rethinking building and building through the use of novel construction techniques to make houses more affordable, resilient and sustainable. The startup has built a number of projects on Earth and has worked to take its technology to new heights by aiming to build some of the first habitable structures in space.

The Mars simulation project is part of NASA’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA), which is designed to mimic life on the surface of Mars to determine what a real mission would require there.

Crews participating in the simulation will live in a 1,700-square-foot structure called Mars Dune Alpha, which is built by Icon’s largest printing system known as Vulcan. Bjarke Ingels Group is involved in the project and designed the structure.

Ballard said the project is the most realistically simulated habitat human has ever created.

“We wanted to develop an analogue that was as true to the original as possible to support mankind’s dream of expanding into the stars. The 3-D printing of habitat has further shown us that building-scale 3-D printing is an essential part of the toolbox of mankind on earth. and fly to the moon and mars to stay, “said Ballard.

After completion, the building will have four private rooms at one end and work and health stations, shared living rooms and a food growing area at the other end. Mars Dune Alpha will also have moveable furniture, customizable lighting, and temperature and sound controls – all with the aim of ensuring that the living space conforms to daily routines and circadian rhythms and maintains the wellbeing of the crew.

Bjarke Ingels, founder and creative director of the BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, said the data gathered from the project will help inform NASA standards for long-term missions and could lay the groundwork for future trips to Mars.

“Together with NASA and ICON, we are investigating what the human experience of being at home on another planet entails,” said Ingel. “Mars Dune Alpha will take us one step closer to becoming a multi-planetary species.”

The first four-person crew to live in Mars Dune Alpha for a year is expected to move in next fall. Further crews and missions are expected in 2024 and 2025.

NASA said it is looking for participants ages 30 to 55 with strong science and technology backgrounds, and applications will be accepted by September 17.

When announcing the CHAPEA project, NASA said the crew will provide data through simulated space walks and participating in activities such as growing crops, preparing meals, and performing maintenance and scientific experiments.

Grace Douglas, NASA senior scientist for advanced food technology at the agency’s Johnson Space Center, said in a statement that the crews will play a historical role and test solutions to help NASA meet the complex needs of life on the Martian surface fulfill.

“NASA has been exploring Mars – robotically – for more than fifty years. Now, for the first time ever, a human journey to the Red Planet is on the horizon, ”said Douglas. “Simulations on Earth will help us understand and meet the physical and mental challenges astronauts face – before they leave.”

The agency said the habitat should be as similar to Mars as possible and include environmental stressors like isolation, equipment failure, significant workload and limited resources.

Melodie Yashar, director of architecture and building performance at Icon, said the habitat will primarily enable research on interiors, crew health and food systems. However, the actual construction on Mars will still be associated with considerable difficulties, she said.

“Although Mars is more hospitable in its surroundings than the moon, the journey to Mars is very long (about 6-8 months in one direction) and involves innumerable risks (e.g. autonomous with robots much more difficult,” said Yashar.

Icon has been aligning its technology to space for some time. In October it announced a contract with NASA to develop a space-based construction system to create structures that will help future astronauts explore, live and work right on the lunar surface and eventually Mars.

The technology works similarly to the printers used on Earth, Icon said, and aims to use existing materials on the moon to reduce shipping costs and accommodate the harsh environment.

Icon first demonstrated lunar technology in 2018 at NASA’s 3-D Printed Habitat Challenge. The technology comes as NASA works to launch its Artemis program, which aims to land a man and a woman on the moon by 2024.

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