In-Situ Martian Construction – MDRS Crew22 Masonry Construction Simulation

Petrov, Georgi
Laguarda.Low Architects, Boston, MA
mailto:gpetrov@alum.mit.edu
Harris, James
Austin Community College, Austin, TX
mailto:james@james.harris.name

In: On To Mars 2, edited by Zubrin, RM, and Crossman, F. Collector's Guide Publishing Inc. (2004)

As part of the Mars Society’s continuing operational research this project aimed to demonstrate that masonry construction is a viable building method that will help establish a permanent human presence on Mars. It has been proposed that bricks can be manufactured from Martian regolith. Using pitched-brick vaults and self-supporting domes a wide range of spaces can be constructed using no scaffolding, thus greatly simplifying construction.

To explore this possibility Crew 22 aimed to manually construct a barrel vault with a one meter inner radius, using local stone and sand under simulation constraints. Portland cement and hydrated lime were the only imported materials. Construction lasted for 64.5 man-hours in Sim, and six man-hours out of Sim for comparison. Working in the Mars suits was difficult, but not overwhelming. The biggest constraints were decreased visibility and communication had a bigger effect than the weight of the backpack and suit. The use of irregular stone also proved to be a major obstacle. Time and mortar can be reduced by using masonry units of the same shape and size.

Keywords

Analog Mars Research and Research Stations