NASA May Build 'Ice Houses' For Its Astronauts On Mars

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Remember Mark Watney the lone survivor on Mars in the movie "The Martian"? His surviving skills were a great work of fiction but now a group of NASA experts are looking to create something which might fade the work of imagination and open doors for a new era in space science.

As per NASA reports the proposed concept is to be called "Mars Ice Dome". A group of scientists along with some eminent designers and architects from industry and universities have joined hands at Langley's Engineering Design Studio.

"After a day dedicated to identifying needs, goals and constraints we rapidly assessed many crazy, out of the box ideas and finally converged on the current Ice Home design, which provides a sound engineering solution," says Langley senior systems engineer Kevin Vipavetz, facilitator for the design session, terming this as one of the many potential concepts for sustainable habitation on the Red Planet. This project is being selected by the Space Technology Mission Directorate's Innovation Fund to encourage creativity.

The design of the "Mars Ice Dome" resembles igloos. It is actually a large inflatable torus covered by a shell of water ice, abundantly found right below the surface of Mars. The main advantages of this breakthrough habitat is that it is lightweight, mobile and deployable via simple robotics.

The Mars Ascent Vehicle can get rocket fuel from the water, so the structure has the ability to store it for the usage of the next crew by doubling its size. Water ice also acts as a protective shield from the harmful galactic rays that loom the red planet at large. The abundance of carbon dioxide on Mars makes it the ideal choice for the material of insulation while building the ice domes.

Phys reports reveal that the materials selected to build the dome are all translucent, for the people living in it can get enough outside daylight. In addition, a large amount of flexible workspace for using robotic equipment without the need to wear a pressure suit inside these domes is also being considered.

Scientists not breathing in any harmful dust inside the domes may also be a significant factor. Reportedly the "Mars Ice Domes" will be ready by 2035 facilitating NASA to send its first manned voyage to Mars.