EARTH, MOON, AND MARS: THE INFLUENCE OF THE ENVIRONMENT ON STRUCTURAL DESIGN AND CHOICE OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS

One of the primary goals of Space Exploration is the search for alternative living environments for humans, with the Moon as most feasible target and primary destination, and Mars as the subsequent central focus of attention, being one of the most Earth-like planets in the solar system. Overall, sustaining life beyond Earth is complex, but such pursuit of scientific knowledge and discovery can not only expand human presence across the Solar System but also address environmental issues on our home planet. As promising as the opportunities are in this field, there are significant challenges to overcome due to the markedly different environments outside the Earth, including varying atmosphere, gravity, surface characteristics, temperature fluctuations, and exposure to radiation and micrometeoroids. Therefore, before designing any space probe, vehicle, or structure, it is vital to understand how it fits into a mission and the requirements it must fulfil. The present work aims to contribute to the context of human extra-terrestrial settlement, with a focus on the influence of the Terrestrial, Lunar, and Martian environments on structural design and choice of construction materials. Building upon state-of-the-art contributions to space science and past unmanned satellite and rover missions, it is observed that the main loads acting on the structure are the self-weight in low gravity and the concomitant internal pressurisation of the habitat, applied to sustain human life. Using these conditions as a starting point, an optimized shape is proposed for each scenario using the Multi- Body Rope Approach (MRA), which is a form-finding iterative process based on the dynamic equilibrium of falling masses interconnected by a network of rope elements in the space-time domain. While on Earth structures must withstand gravity, the internal pressure of the Lunar and Martian ones creates substantial loads, in an almost inverse analysis, which is illustrated by the MRA results. Following this, a discussion on construction materials is presented, with a focus on prioritizing the use of In-Situ Resources where possible. In conclusion, it's evident that the different conditions have a distinct impact on the shape and material composition of a structure, and understanding this influence is crucial when designing for the ever-evolving space industry.