March 2, 2007

Side-Lit Greenhouse

A possible passively heated & cooled Greenhouse arrangement is shown. It is designed to use minimal electrical energy for heating and cooling.

Side-Lit Greenhouse design - Click on Image to Enlarge

Sunlight is concentrated by steerable mirrors at the left side, and focused through side windows. An overhead scaffold holds radiation shielding material (regolith, ice, or any other material). Air ducts and passageways allow warm air convection to other habitat modules to the right, such as workshops, a kitchen, etc. Not shown are curtains which can be closed at night to retain heat when needed, or opened to allow wind cooling, with chimneys for additional convective cooling if needed.

Design by Bruce Mackenzie. Special thanks to Jan Olsen, a Mars Foundation intern from Norway.

Do you have an interesting concept, or enjoy designing structures such as this? If you would like to get involved, please contact us.

I'm very interested in your program! Im 13 and I want to get some kind of job in space technology when I'm older. Here are some questions I have:

-what are you going to do if an astroid or meteor hits the settlement?

-what kind of energy are you going to use?

-how are you going to get water? (I heard there is water on mars)

-what are you going to do about waste? (garbage, human waste)

please email me if you have the time.