What if Earth becomes uninhabitable? More and more people, scientists included, are considering it. L’atmosphere is warming, extreme climatic events are accumulating, species go out, so that the idea of going colonize another planet, failing to save ours, is looming on the horizon. But on Mars, although it contains traces of liquid water, there is no breathable atmosphere for terrestrial living things. But that doesn’t stop scientists from dreaming. For this purpose, a competition was organized by the‘UNITEDa community platform allowing designers to participate in design competitions in the field of architecture, urban design, graphic design and photography. The challenge: to design modular housing to be installed on the Red Planet.
The main condition that the concept must fulfill: the resistance under special conditions. Indeed, on Mars, everything is different. Absolutely everything. The gravity felt equals 38% of the gravity terrestrial, this because of its much lower mass, which is equivalent to a tenth of that of the Earth. Moreover, no protective atmosphere like on our planet, but only a thin atmosphere, 200 times less massive than ours and almost devoid of oxygen. Thus, it is impossible to breathe on its surface, and in the event that a human ventured despite everything on the planet without protection, the cosmic rays would take care of finishing it. The temperature is also not very friendly, with an average of -63°C, and heat peaks at… -15°C! In short, something to interest architects and designers.
Mycomars: futuristic-looking mushroom dwellings
And the big winner of the contest is named: Mycomars ! The project is defined as a self-contained living unit that not only protects the inhabitants from the extreme Martian environment, but also takes into account human comfort”. For this, Anna Bolts, the creator of the project, is based on the mycelium, also called mushroom spawn. It corresponds to the filaments used by mushrooms to lay down in the ground, also called hyphae. The idea would be to grow these filaments so that they autonomously form livable structures for humans. ” When mycelia and cyanobacteria are moistened with Martian water and heated, fungal growth is initiated. So this means that the mycelium will consume cyanobacteria and turn into a material very adapted to the Martian habitat. According to studies and tests, its resistance is superior to the reinforced concrete, it is light, it absorbs radiation and requires less energy to produce on Mars. », describes the Mycomars project.
In total, the walls would reach 900 mm in thickness, enough to insulate cosmic rays. The construction autonomous would take about a year from docking. As for the shapes of the dwellings, the sphere was chosen! In question, the difference of pressure between the inside and the outside: the pressure forces will be intense at the level of the walls, so that “theFlat walls and corners are weak points due to low pressure, which is the reason for the rounded shapes. » As for the construction site, Erebus Montes was chosen: located below the surface, the pressure is slightly higher in this mountain group, while having a sufficiently flat ground to allow the installation of these strange houses. A total of 40 people could stay in these futuristic dwellings, arranged in numerous units, each with their own function.
Genesis v.2: optimizing natural craters
The public’s choice fell on another project: Genesis v.2. Designed by Burak Celik, Naz Kaplan & Zeynep Ege Odabasi, it uses the mars craters to build his colony base there. The adjustable housings adapt to each crater and fit perfectly into it. For each unit, the roof external consists of a protective layer against storms of sand, and other extreme weather conditions, and solar panels. Another internal layer of protection is then responsible for stopping the cosmic rays. The interior layout contains water harvesters, food producers, so the detail is not given. Several rooms are present in each unit, giving an overall look of a futuristic house.
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