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Line 10: + − ==Teams== − + − − − − '''MARS TRACTOR''' − − The tractor subteam is designing and constructing an autonomous roving vehicle that goes hand in hand with the Bricks Team machine. When astronauts reach the surface of Mars, their time would be best spent on tasks that require a human touch. To save them time on manual labor, the vehicle, dubbed Mars Tractor, will gather soil, deposit said soil into the Bricks machine, and manipulate produced bricks to construct simple structures like walls and roads! − − − '''MARTIAN MISSION SIMULATION''' − Are you passionate about humans being an interplanetary species? Do you like thinking about scenarios and ways things could happen, and even apply that to space? Have no CS experience at all but want to help us build the simulation? We have a place just for you at the Simulations Team! We will be offering basic Python programming courses as well as sessions with Adam Raudonis, an AI engineer at Tesla, and a former SSI member, to talk to us about Python in simulations and help us understand what has gone in the project so far! Want to contribute in non-CS ways? We need people like you to help us brainstorm scenarios, document procedures, write papers, and perform research experiments to help us gather more data that will make our simulation better! In the Marsim subteam, there is a place for everyone whatever they want to do! The Mars team is the latest addition to the SSI community. Join us in starting this adventure! We are always open to new ideas for exciting projects that help us move toward our mission. Some ideas to pursue as the team move forward include automated landing pad construction, Martian wind energy, and electrocatalysis for fixation of the Martian atmosphere into useful chemical feedstocks and materials. + − '''FUTURE PROJECTS''' − The Mars team is the latest addition to the SSI community. Join us in starting this adventure! We are always open to new ideas for exciting projects that help us move toward our mission. Some ideas to pursue as the team move forward include automated landing pad construction, Martian wind energy, and electrocatalysis for fixation of the Martian atmosphere into useful chemical feedstocks and materials.+ + + − +
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{{nowrap|The current Mars co-leads are {{Leadership|Mars=true}}}}
{{nowrap|The current Mars co-leads are {{Leadership|Mars=true}}}}
ISRU is focused on identifying sources of needed elements and materials from one’s immediate surroundings. For example, while the Martian surface is barren and desolate, its carbon dioxide atmosphere provides a source of carbon and oxygen while subsurface water ice provides a source of oxygen and hydrogen. Using electrocatalysis powered by solar panels, these two sources allow for the formation of breathable O2, methane for fueling rocket engines, and carbon monoxide for syngas. Meanwhile, Martian soil can be used as an aggregate base for concrete as well as a source for sulfur and basaltic minerals, whose significance is described in the featured projects below, Mars Bricks and Tractor.
ISRU is focused on identifying sources of needed elements and materials from one’s immediate surroundings. For example, while the Martian surface is barren and desolate, its carbon dioxide atmosphere provides a source of carbon and oxygen while subsurface water ice provides a source of oxygen and hydrogen. Using electrocatalysis powered by solar panels, these two sources allow for the formation of breathable O2, methane for fueling rocket engines, and carbon monoxide for syngas. Meanwhile, Martian soil can be used as an aggregate base for concrete as well as a source for sulfur and basaltic minerals, whose significance is described in the featured projects below, Mars Bricks and Tractor.
==Teams==
'''MARS BRICKS'''
'''MARS BRICKS'''
The bricks subteam experiments with methods of turning Martian and lunar soil into building materials for habitats and other structures. The team works with biopolymer-bound soil composite (BSC), which is made of soil, protein binder, and water. BSC has similar compressive strength as Portland cement concrete, the world’s most common construction materia! While concrete production accounts for about 8% of global CO2 emissions, BSC provides a possible carbon-neutral alternative and is also easy to produce from Martian resources. The team is currently designing a prototype device to autonomously produce BSCbricks.
The bricks subteam experiments with methods of turning Martian and lunar soil into building materials for habitats and other structures. The team works with biopolymer-bound soil composite (BSC), which is made of soil, protein binder, and water. BSC has similar compressive strength as Portland cement concrete, the world’s most common construction material! While concrete production accounts for about 8% of global CO2 emissions, BSC provides a possible carbon-neutral alternative and is also easy to produce from Martian resources. The team created a payload to autonomously create these martian bricks in 0g, 1g, and 2g. After winning a NASA contract, our payload was sent to the International Space Station to test it's formation in 0g. You can learn more [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YAVmKYJ_OveaZ8SErLf6SCCOloECbddL/view?usp=sharing here.]
The team's most recent newsletter as of May 31st, 2023, can be found [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1skGbPGsTtTYo_auUtEarNrJxH0tcDeoltGQybplwCXk/edit?pli=1 here.]
'''MARS POLAR ROVER'''
-- in the works--
The team's most recent newsletter as of May 31st, 2023, can be found [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VvZwXrIFKdYS2W_nLkxKdV_XsbOiWKyIfT9YEr1-bAs/edit here.]
==HOW TO JOIN:==
==HOW TO JOIN:==
Join SSI, hop on the slack, and join #mars, #mars-sims, #mars-bricks, and #mars-tractor.
Join SSI, hop on the slack, and join #mars, #mars-bricks, and #mars-polar-rover.
{{Nowrap|Feel free to ping {{Leadership|Mars=True}} if you have any questions or just want to chat!}}
{{Nowrap|Feel free to ping {{Leadership|Mars=True}} if you have any questions or just want to chat!}}