NASA Olympus
Lunar South Pole, The Moon
Client
ICON Build
Typology
Space
Size m2/ft2
195.5 / 2,104
Status
In Design
“To explain the power of architecture, "formgiving" is the Danish word for design, which literally means to give form to that which has not yet been given form. This becomes fundamentally clear when we venture beyond Earth and begin to imagine how we are going to build and live on entirely new worlds. With ICON we are pioneering new frontiers - both materially, technologically and environmentally. The answers to our challenges on Earth very well might be found on the Moon.”Bjarke Ingels - Founder & Creative Director, BIG
“The NASA Olympus habitats will be designed with the inherent redundancy required for extraterrestrial buildings, while also using groundbreaking robotic construction that uses only in-situ resources with zero waste left behind. With the technologies and efficiency parameters developed for the construction of extraterrestrial buildings, Project Olympus will also help us build sustainably on planet Earth as we strive to reduce the carbon footprint of the built environment.”Martin Voelkle - Partner, BIG
IMPACT SHIELD — Using the fish-summer equation, with a meteor size of 7 cm at a velocity of 20 km, it has been estimated that a 45.9 cm wall is required to stop the meteor from penetrating.
3D PRINTING FORMAL OPTIMIZATION — Shape optimization is needed to reduce printing overhang. Our current working assumption is a 70 degree print max wall incline.
THERMAL SHIELD — On the lunar surface, temperatures can vary widely from a day temperature of 123 C, to a night time temperature of -247 C. 0.5 m to 1 m of regolith can mitigate temperature variation and settle it around -27 C.
MATERIAL USAGE OPTIMIZATION — Pockets of loose regolith will be introduced as a way to minimize printing time and energy demands while keeping the same level of protection.
PRESSURE OPTIMIZATION — Exterior structural layer to adopt the rounded shape of a pressurized structure and negotiate between the ideal pressurized shape and the interior printable shape. Further geometry optimization to take place through digital force simulation and benchmark testing.
RADIATION SHIELD — Loose regolith on the exterior of the wall assembly will reduce the overall need for sintering. To block 100% of cosmic rays, it would require a 500 centimeter thickness of regolith.
LOOSE REGOLITH BUCKETS — In order to avoid regolith dispersion during moonquakes and landing/takeoff activities, the structure will trap regolith within the external wall.
PRESSURE — A liquid applied elastomer membrane in the interior face of the 3D printed wall might be needed to ensure the print is airtight and can withstand the pressure difference.
PRESSURE — The ideal line of action for a pressurized structure.
“Building humanity’s first home on another world will be the most ambitious construction project in human history and will push science, engineering, technology, and architecture to literal new heights. NASA’s investment in space-age technologies like this can not only help to advance humanity’s future in space, but also to solve very real, vexing problems we face on Earth. We are honored to begin our research and development on ICON’s ‘Project Olympus’ and the ‘Olympus Construction System.’”Jason Ballard - Co-founder & CEO, ICON
Partner in Charge
Bjarke Ingels
Martin Voelkle
Project Leader
Julian Ocampo Salazar
Project Manager
Michelle Stromsta
Project Team
Beat Schenk
Jakob Lange
Fabian Lorenz
Guillaume Evain
Jenna Dezinski
Rasam Aminzadeh
Siqi Zhang
Jaeho Park
Collaborators
BIG Engineering