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3DPrintMarsColony PDF
3DPrintMarsColony PDF
The next giant leap for the human exploration of space might be a colony on Mars. NASA is
planning to make this a reality in the 2030’s. The Mars One Foundation is planning to start
unmanned trips to Mars to build a colony in the year 2020, with the first humans arriving in 2026.
They have already received more than 200,000 applications for the first one way trip to Mars.
Building and supplying a colony on Mars will be difficult. If you run out of something, or
something breaks, you can’t dash out to the local hardware store for replacement parts and tools. It
takes about 9 months for a spacecraft to fly from Earth to Mars. For this reason 3D printers are
expected to be an essential part of any Mars Colony. In this project we will use a 3D printer to build a
model of a Mars Colony. Each student will produce one structure.
Start by doing some research. What do scientists and engineers think a Mars Colony will look
like? Try search terms like “NASA,” “Mars One,” “Mars Colony,” “Mars Base,” etc. After some
research decide what you will make for our model Mars Colony. It could be a habitat, powerstation,
vehicle, greenhouse, factory, etc.
Make a sketch of your structure. Include at least 2 views (top, side, front, back, etc) and label the
drawing. Write a description of the structure what is it? How is it designed to survive the conditions
on Mars?