Abstract
The design of a permanent human habitat on a planetary body other than the Earth is an idea introduced many decades ago, which became even more significant after the landing of the first humans on the Moon with the Apollo missions. Today's rampant technological advances combined with ambitious missions, such as the Insight mission on Mars and the Artemis program for the Moon, render the vision of space colonization more realistic than ever, as it constantly gains momentum. There is a considerable number of publications across several disciplines pertaining to the exploration of Lunar and Martian environments, to those planets' soil properties, and to the design of the first habitable modules. The scope of this paper is to present a meticulous selection of the most significant publications within the scientific areas related to: (a) geotechnical engineering aspects, including the mechanical properties and chemical composition of Lunar and Martian regolith samples and simulants, along with elements of anchoring and rigid pads as potential forms of foundation; (b) ground motions generated by different types of Moonquakes and meteoroid impacts; (c) the different concepts and types of extraterrestrial (ET) structures (generic, inflatable, deployable, 3D-printed), as well as overall views of proposed ET habitats. Apart from the details given in the main text of this paper, a targeted effort was made to summarize and compile most of this information in representative tables and present it in chronological order, so as to showcase the evolution of human thinking as regards ET structures.
Highlights
The concept of creating extraterrestrial habitats predates what is known as the “space age”, which started in 1957 with the first Apollo Lunar landing
The present paper aims to serve as a stepping stone for expanding civil engineering towards the design and construction of extraterrestrial structures, considering and reviewing the most significant pertinent literature
A detailed compilation and comparison of all known experiments yielding Lunar/Martian material mechanical properties does not exist to date. We feel that such a compilation is well worth producing and that it will serve as a reference for future studies of material properties and –and more notably- for the study of any geotechnical issues pertaining to ET construction
Summary
The concept of creating extraterrestrial habitats predates what is known as the “space age”, which started in 1957 with the first Apollo Lunar landing. The first step towards the “urban development” on other planetary bodies is for both scientists and engineers to fully comprehend the extraterrestrial environmental conditions. To this end, Jablonski and Showalter (2016), Benaroya (2018) and Schrunk et al, (2008) review the current data about the Lunar environmental conditions (e.g. low gravity, temperature fluctuation, radiation, lack of atmosphere and pressure, meteoroid impacts, Lunar dust, and other geophysical features) and highlight the most significant requirements for Lunar systems and structures that can be important especially in the earlier stages of Lunar explorations. The Lunar gravitational acceleration at ground surface level is approximately
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