Team 6 – Moon to Mars Exploration Systems and Habitation: Senior Design Operational Readiness Report

Life on extraterrestrial planets like the Earth’s Moon and Mars have unique qualities that most humans are not used to. Lower gravity has negative effects on humans’ biological systems. NASA studies show that “without Earth’s gravity affecting the human body, weight-bearing bones lose on average 1% to 1.5% of mineral density per month during spaceflight” [1]. Additionally, lessened gravity affects the human heart and circulatory system. NASA comments, “the loss of blood volume, combined with atrophy of the heart and blood vessels that can occur in space, reduces the ability to regulate a drop in blood pressure that happens while standing on Earth” [2]. Blood flow plays a key role in muscle growth. Essentially, humans lose muscle mass and bone density in a lower gravity environment.

To counteract the reduction of bone density and muscle mass in a lower gravity environment, astronauts must endure resistance training, cardiovascular and bone strengthening exercises. Although these precautions do help to mitigate the loss of muscle and bone density and aid adequate cardiovascular health, astronauts continue to face issues upon returning to Earth. Some of these issues include difficulty walking or standing, lightheadedness, fainting, balance, coordination, and visual impairments like blurred vision.

However, lower gravity changes the paradigm of mobility, especially in a habitat. Habitational systems are put on the Moon and Mars which include life support, environmental control, radiation protection, exercise and health maintenance, and other factors needed to keep the crew safe, healthy, and productive on long deep space missions. Instead of walking or using a staircase to increase elevation; astronauts can move in different ways such as climbing, swinging, pole transportation, jumping, and other modes around the habitat. These mobility modes allow for a more natural way to diminish the loss of muscle and bone density and maintain cardiovascular health.

The objective of this project is to design elements in a habitat on the Earth’s Moon or Mars that consist of these mobility modes for a crew to use while navigating their daily routines within the habitat. This can be used to reduce the loss of muscle and bone density, maintain cardiovascular health, allow for a quicker way to traverse about the habitat, and introduce fun activities into everyday routines.