five levels of competition including three construction levels and two virtual levels . The construction levels challenge the

now life on Mars doesn ’ t sound all that far-

teams to autonomously 3D-print elements

fetched anymore .

of the habitat , culminating with a one-

Through an exciting NASA initiative , we

third-scale printed habitat for the final

have pleasure in viewing several artistic

level . For the virtual levels , teams must use

renderings of how existence and construction

building information modelling software to

could look like on the red planet . NASA recently announced the top five winning projects for its 3D-Printed Habitat Competition , which seeks to create habitable structures on the surface of Mars . Making use of specialised software tools ,

design a habitat that combines allowances for both the structure and systems it must contain .

As NASA advances deep space exploration , reliable life-supporting habitats will be essential yet challenging .

NASA

SEArch +/ Apis Cor of New York won fourth place in Phase 3 : Level 1 of NASA ’ s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge . This team focuses on regolith construction to provide radiation shielding and physical protection .

the winning teams successfully created

‘ Creating a structure on the surface of Mars

digital representations of the physical and

is an extraordinary challenge considering

functional characteristics of a house on Mars .

the extensive limits on transporting

The judges interviewed and evaluated

materials and the differences in

submissions from 18 teams from all over

atmosphere and landscape ,’ states NASA .

the world . The 3D-Printed Habitat

The 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge aims to

Challenge is developed through a

further the progression of sustainable

partnership with NASA ’ s Centennial

shelters that will someday occupy the

Challenges programme and Bradley

Moon , Mars or beyond by pushing citizen

University which has partnered with

inventors to develop new technologies

sponsors Caterpillar , Bechtel and

capable of additively manufacturing a

Brick & Mortar Ventures to administer

habitat using indigenous resources with , or

the competition .

without , recyclable materials .

Having kicked off in 2014 and structured

Awesome stuff . So who ’ s with me for a

in phases , the current third phase of the

trip to the Moon … or Mars ?

competition – the On-Site Habitat

Competition – challenges competitors to fabricate sub-scale habitats and features

Candace Sofianos King | senior writer candace @ interactmedia . co . za

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