Life Cycle Assessment

Mars Habitat

Team JEMS

Joey Walkup

Ethan Cadaoas

Maddie Cinelli

Sarah Ng
 Table of Contents

Goal Definition & Scope: 2

Inventory Analysis: 2-8

Raw Materials: 8-13

Transportation/Distribution: 14

Manufacturing Processes: 14-16

Use/Re-Use/Maintenance: 16-17

Recycling: 17-21

Wastes & Emissions: 21-24

Impact Assessment: 25-26

Research/Data Interpretation: 26-27

Citations: 27-31

1
Goal Definition and Scope

Goal: The goal of this project is to be able to design a habitat

for people to live on Mars in order to increase the knowledge of

space exploration.

Audience: Based on the survey we conducted, this would be for

people who range from late twenties to late thirties.

Data Requirements: To properly design this we need to know about

the environment of Mars, durable materials, radiation

protection, and closed ecological systems.

Limitations: Everything we do is all in theory and there is no

real way to test anything.

Time and Geographic Reference: This would most likely be

something that would be implemented in years later on Mars since

it takes a lot of preparation to do this kind of travel.

Inventory Analysis

Inputs:

- Mars water needed to construct the ice dome

- Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene needed to construct the dome

2
 - ETFE is create using free-radical polymerization in a

solvent/aqueous media, using an organic peroxide

initiator

- The TFE and Ethylene are copolymerized by adding an

additional termonomer to increase flexibility

- This is done at very low pressure due to the risk of

explosive decomposition reaction

- The material is extruded to the correct thickness,

similar to the process for any other thermoplastic

- Large sheets of ETFE are welded together to create the

complete foil

- Diagram shows Ethylene and Tetrafluoroethylene being

combined through polymerization

- Aerogel needed to construct the dome

- First, a mixture of ammonium hydroxide and distilled

water are combined to dilute the ammonium

- This mixture is then combined with methanol.

3
 - Next, another mixture of methanol and tetramethyl

orthosilicate (TMOS) is mixed with the methanol and

ammonium mixture. This mixture is then whisked until

it becomes a gel-like viscosity.

- This gel is then placed into hexagon shaped molds to

dry using supercritical drying techniques,

occasionally dropping new methanol.

- After drying, take the gels out of the mold, and these

pieces would then be held together using a pre-made

frame.

- Materials needed to construct portions of the dome

(aluminum and steel)

- Steel frame to hold the aerogel pieces

- Aluminum and steel make up the airlock

4
 - Steel frame hold the ice dome

- 7 Laborers, and machinery needed to construct the dome

- Labor: Aerospace Engineers, Architectural Engineers

- Machinery:Roller Machine, welding, molds, processing

equipment made of corrosion-resistant alloys

- Time and energy (fuel) to transport all materials

- Time: Approximately 10 years

- Energy: 10000000KJ

- For every kg of material (including food and people),

we would need 225kg of fuel

- Plants and tools needed for agriculture

- Shovels, sprinklers, and hoes

- Building materials for the structures inside the dome

- Steel, aluminum, acrylic plastic

- Building materials for the main floor power source

- Steel

- Turbines

- fluid/gas that operates a power system

- Building materials for solar backup power source

- Monocrystalline solar panels

- PVC or aluminum sprinklers

5
 - Silicone wipers

Outputs:

- Greenhouse emissions from the machinery due to the

construction process

- Construction process will be done mostly by robots and

machinery. The first step would be to find a suitable

location for the habitat and then terraform the area

to make it safe and spacious. The next step would be

to build the individual cells that make up the dome.

The top layer is made of Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene,

then just below that is a layer of Martian Ice, the

below that is a layer steel mesh, then to enclose it

all is a layer of aerogel to protect the ice and

provide insulation. After assembling these cells, they

would be placed in a metal frame and then welded

together to form a dome shape.

- Emissions would be about 10.15 kg of CO2 per gallon of

diesel fuel

- Greenhouse emissions from space travel

- Each kg of fuel burned is 3 kg of CO2

6
- Any scrap material due to the construction process of the

dome

- Any left over steel, aluminum, frame pieces, or

aerogel pieces.

- Any scrap material due to the construction process of the

inner building

- The amount would be minute and less than a couple

kilograms

- Oxygen as a result of the plants’ photosynthesis process

- Trees, potatoes, carrots, wheat, grain

- 260 pounds of oxygen per year per tree

- CO2 as a result of the inhabitants’ respiration process

- .9 kilograms of CO2 per day per person

- Electrical energy produced by the floor energy panels

- 10 watts per step per panel

- Electrical energy produced by the solar panels

- About 250 watts per panel

- Terrestrial changes due to terraforming

- Because the terrain in Mars is very rocky, we would

need to terraform, such as flatten the area, where our

7
 habitat would be build to ensure stability and space

optimization

- Organic Human Waste

- Approximately 6.6 lbs. of feces per day

- Approximately 9.8 liters of urine per day

Raw Materials

● Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene (membrane of the dome)

○ Fluorine based plastic

○ Designed to have high corrosion resistance and

strength over a wide temperature range

■ Good for ice

○ Relatively high melting temperature

○ Excellent chemical resistance

○ Electrical and high-energy radiation resistance

properties

○ Self-cleaning (due to its nonstick surface)

○ Recyclable

○ Prone to punctures by sharp edges

○ Manufacturing process

8
 ■

■ Using an organic peroxide initiator makes ETFE a

free-radical polymerization mechanism. Then in a

special vessel at low temperature, TFE and

ethylene are copolymerized as an additional

mechanism.

○ Cost: 75-150$ per square feet

○ Processing

■ Injection molding: Mold temperature of 65-150°C

is recommended

■ Compression molding

■ Blow molding

■ Rotational molding

■ Extrusion: Relative to diameter, the barrel

should be long, to provide residence time for

heating the resin to approximately 345°C

■ Wire coating

■ Temperature: 290 to 340°C

9
 ■ Recommended drying

● Translucent Hydrophobic Aerogel

○ Absorbs heat from the inside of the dome and prevents

it from melting the ice layer

○ Trimethoxysilylpropyl methacrylate based aerogel

○ Polyorganosiloxane

○ High Load bearing capacity

○ Prone to shattering

○ Production Process

■ First, a mixture of ammonium hydroxide and

distilled water are combined to dilute the

ammonium

■ This mixture is then combined with methanol.

■ Next, another mixture of methanol and tetramethyl

orthosilicate (TMOS) is mixed with the methanol

and ammonium mixture. This mixture is then

whisked until it becomes a gel-like viscosity.

■ This gel is then placed into hexagon shaped molds

to dry using supercritical drying techniques,

occasionally dropping new methanol.

10
 ■ After drying, take the gels out of the mold, and

these pieces would then be held together using a

pre-made frame.

● Mars Ice

○ Underground ice found on Mars would be harvested

○ It is very rich in hydrogen and therefore could be

used for radiation protection

○ Translucent, allows in non harmful light into the

habitat

○ Extraction Process:

■ We would harvest buried glacial ice deposits

because they are relatively close to the surface

■ A rover would be equipped with a drill, and would

drill down to reach the ice

11
 ■ The ice would be melted using a heat probe and

the liquid water would be extracted using a

suction tube

■ If the rover has to travel relatively far to

reach the glacier, it would lay down a system of

tubing as it traveled so it could pump water

directly back to the habitat

■ The dirt would be filtered out of the water

■ The water would be pumped into the ETFE membrane

and frozen

■ The rover would be solar powered so it would have

no emissions

■ We will have 3 rovers to harvest water

Image courtesy of NASA

12
● Airlock System

○ Aluminum/Steel (could also be used to support the

inside of the domes)

○ Nitrogen Tanks

○ Oxygen Tanks

○ 2 airlocks on the structure

○ Construction Process:

■ Airlock manufactured by Boeing

■ Airlock melded to the outside of one of the domes

13
Transportation

The habitat will be transported on a spaceship. Both domes are

deflated when they are being transported. Being small and

lightweight makes transportation easy. The habitat will be sent

to Mars with robots to set it up before the astronauts arrive.

Once it’s on Mars the robots will inflate it and harvest the

water to surround it with a layer of ice.

- Robots sent by spacecraft

- Ice harvested by glaciers

- 225kg of fuel per 1kg of cargo

- $1.87 per kg of fuel

Manufacturing Processes

Manufacturing of Inflatable Dome:The materials of the dome would

be made into patches and panels, that are then mended together

with heat to create the full structure. To process the ethylene

tetrafluoroethylene, we would most likely do injection molding

with the mold at a temperature of 65-150°C, and the device being

made of corrosion-resistant alloys. After the panels and patches

are created they would be dried. The heat in which the panels

would be mended in from 225–300°C.

14
Assembly of Dome: The membrane of the dome is inflated using a

pressurized air pump, then filled with water harvested from

Mars. The water is frozen into ice naturally because Mars is

very cold. This will all be performed on Mars by robots before

the astronauts arrive. The ice harvesting method is explained in

the Mars Ice section.

Construction of the Airlock System: There will be two airlocks

on the structure; one airlock attached to the outside of one

dome to allow inhabitants in and out of the dome, and another

airlock between the two domes allowing inhabitants to pass from

one dome to another.

- Airlock manufactured by Boeing (Quest Joint Airlock)

- Melded to the dome

- Cost to manufacture: $164 million

- How they work:

15
 - One tank of oxygen and one tank of nitrogen is

attacked externally on the airlock. These two are

attached end to end through a bulkhead and hatch.

- The cabin would be pressurized by these two tanks,

providing a replenishable source of gas to the

atmosphere control.

- Boeing’s model has an “equipment lock”, meant for

storing space suits, but this would only be needed on

the airlock leading to the outside. The other airlock

only requires a “crew lock”

Use/Re-Use/Maintenance

● Repairable -

○ Dome membrane: Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene tears can

be repaired with patches and panels without replacing

the entire film.

○ Airlock System: In the event one of the airlock

systems is compromised, engineers would be required to

repair it as quickly as possible. In the event both

airlocks are inoperable, engineers would need to

16
 operate on the outside lock before fixing the

connecting airlock. The method that they would use to

fix it would depend on what part of the airlock is

broken. Some parts can be replaced with spare parts

that would be sent with them, and others could be

repaired with tools. The engineer will have a

designated space suit that will allow them to work on

a broken airlock.

● Non-Repairable -

○ Mars Ice: Can be replaced with other ice found on

Mars, however the ice itself is not repairable.

■ In the event the ice is cracked, we would have to

disassemble the dome cell with the broken ice and

replace the ice layer by freezing new Martian

water that we harvested from the ground.

Recycling

● Dome:

○ Explanation: The dome is recyclable due to both

materials being recyclable. Ethylene

17
 tetrafluoroethylene(ETFE) can also be reused for new

projects. When the ETFE used for the dome is needed to

be recycled, it will be transported back to Earth to

be melted down and reused for either another dome, or

any other project using ETFE. It should cost about 2.9

billion dollars to transport the material back to

Earth to be recycled.

○ Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivsU3cE9EHY&t=54s

● Mars Ice:

○ Option 1:

■ When the astronauts return to earth, all of the

ice that was used in the dome can be reused as

rocket fuel, because it is very rich in hydrogen.

It will cost 20 billion dollars.

○ Option 2:

■ The water can also be filtered and recycled for

drinking or utility purposes. This process will

cost about $1,100 an acre-foot to produce.

● Human Waste:

18
○ Humans excrete approximately 6.6 lbs. of feces per

day. Human waste will be put into an oxygen deprived

fermentation tank to break down. Lactic Acid bacteria

will be used because the process of lactic acid

fermentation kills pathogens. After fermentation the

sludge will be sterilized further with UV light and

then pumped into the soil of the crop soil as

fertilizer.

■ The tanks would be made of aluminum or steel. The

plumbing system would filter and pump the human

waste through clay pipes (clay would come from

the natural resources on mars). The tank would

then be vacuumed and the waste would sit in the

tank to ferment. After the fermentation process,

built in UV lamps would sterilize the waste

before being pumped out to the soil for

agriculture.

○ Humans expel approximately 9.8 liters of urine per

day. This urine is flushed and runs to a sewage

treatment plant, where it is then treated with other

19
 grey water and sewage. Treated sewage can then be

recycled for drinking water or create energy.

● Water:

○ Water will be collected from the air and recycled via

an atmospheric water generator, or AWG. The AWG

extracts water from humid ambient air through

condensation. The water is cooled to its dew point,

when it is then pressurized to make it potable. Most

of this water will be used for agriculture, but it can

also be filtered and used for drinking or utility

purposes.

○ Grey water and urine will also be cleaned and

recycled. Urine and condensate from the air are put

through a treatment process where it goes through

crystallization, then nitrification, and finally

electrodialysis.

○ This is then mixed into the grey water and put through

nanofiltration and reverse osmosis.

20
Wastes & Emissions

● Dome:

○ Ethylene tetrafluoroethylene manufacturing requires

reduced materials and 30% less energy than glass.

21
○ https://www.buitink-technology.com/pdf/Environmental_f

act_sheet_Fluon_ETFE_film.pdf

○ The aerogel is mostly made of air, so there is very

little waste and thus very little impact on the

environment.

22
○ https://www.aidic.it/cet/17/57/041.pdf

23
 ○

● Mars Ice:

○ This is a natural material found on Mars and therefore

does not produce any waste to the planet is left

there. There will be no emission involved in the ice

harvesting. It will be done by solar powered robots.

● Inorganic Human Waste:

○ Any inorganic human waste would be kept to a minimum

because we don’t plan on bringing too much inorganic

waste. The habitat will be left behind after, along

with the solar panel array. These should be the only

things left behind.

24
Impact Assessment

This will have a very small impact on Earth’s atmosphere.

The manufacturing of materials might lead to the release of a

small amount of CO2 into the atmosphere, but most power can be

generated by solar panels or other renewable energy sources.

ETFE is environmentally friendly to produce. “Amy Wilson is

"explainer-in-chief" for Architen Landrell, one of the world's

leaders in tensile architecture and fabric systems. She tells us

that manufacturing ETFE causes little damage to the ozone layer.

"The raw material associated with ETFE is a class II substance

admitted under the Montreal treaty," Wilson writes. "Unlike its

class I counterparts it causes minimal damage to the ozone

layer, as is the case for all materials used in the

manufacturing process."”

(https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-etfe-new-bubble-buildings-177

662). ETFE is also recyclable. It won’t have any impact on the

Martian atmosphere and minimal impact on the Martian

environment. There won’t be any air pollution because everything

will be powered by solar and clean energy. The mission will take

place in a relatively small location because travel is

difficult, so impact on the landscape will be small. The only

25
impact on the landscape in the area where the mission will take

place is in the areas where the ice will be harvested. However

this hole will be small and not have an impact on the overall

planet. There are no inhabitants on Mars, so there will be no

species impacted by humans being there. The dome frame itself

will most likely be left behind and not returned to earth after

the initial mission, in order to reduce the fuel requirements on

the return trip that has been stated above. The ETFE will be

brought back to Earth and recycled. During future missions, the

frame of the dome can be recovered and it’s materials can be

reused. The dome itself won’t be harmful to the environment.

Since the dome is made mostly of ice there isn’t any harm to the

environment.

Research/Data Interpretation

Overall this habitat has minimal environmental impacts on

both Earth and Mars, while also completing our goals. The

materials used are either recyclable or naturally found on Mars,

while also having a long lifespan. Production of these materials

will have minimal impact on Earth’s environment. There will be a

small physical impact on the Martian landscape. Efforts will be

26
taken to keep all waste products inside of the habitat to

minimize the area that is affected. The ice in the habitat will

be reused as rocket fuel for the trip back. The ETFE will be

brought back to Earth and recycled. There are no flora or fauna

that inhabit Mars, and thus there are no species that could

possibly be affected by the habitat or mission.

Citations

● https://www.nasa.gov/fea cgvmc/first-habitat-on-m

ture/langley/a-new-home- ars-made-of-translucent-

on-mars-nasa-langley-s-i ice-to-protect-astronaut

cy-concept-for-living-on s-from-harsh-martian-env

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e.org/architecture-news/ itstream/handle/2346/676

27
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xt=%22The%20production%2

28
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29
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30
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erator%20(AWG,desiccants water.&text=%E2%80%9CThe

%2C%20or%20pressurizing% %20Orange%20County%20Wat

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31