AI SpaceFactory And Their Mars Project

Team+AI.+SpaceFactorys+subscale+habitat+structure+at+NASAs+3D-Printed+Habitat+Challenge%2C+held+at+the+Caterpillar+Edwards+Demonstration+%26+Learning+Center+in+Edwards%2C+Illinois%2C+May+1-4%2C+2019.

Image by NASA/MSFC/Emmett Given

Team AI. SpaceFactory’s subscale habitat structure at NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, held at the Caterpillar Edwards Demonstration & Learning Center in Edwards, Illinois, May 1-4, 2019.

AI SpaceFactory is a company which works in advance construction for space exploration or allowing some parts of space or planets to be habitable. They are currently working on two projects known as Tera, which is being placed on earth, as well as Marsha, which is being worked on for Mars. Both are made to inspire how we live in the future and the construction for many years to come.
AI SpaceFactory was first introduced in a competition for NASA on a base for Mars. AI SpaceFactory worked very hard and was able to create a 3D-printed home. Tera and Marsha are both very similar but are made to fit their different environments. Both are still being tested, but Tera is said to one day be available to stay at and test.

David Malott gives a tour of AI SpaceFactory at HK ICC showing off a miniature model of a future space home. (Flickr user Cesar Harada)

Tera is being built with a recyclable and reusable material that limits its damage to the environment. The material that creates this amazing home is a biopolymer basalt composite which can be made from corn and sugarcane. The material is also 50% stronger than concrete making it durable to handle bad weather conditions.

Tera’s interior is made for comfort because this is made similar to Marsha but astronauts will not be staying so it is being advertised as an AirBnB type stay. The interior and exterior are made to coexist between the inside and outside trying to bring a blend between nature and a man-made object.

Marsha is the project which won AI Space Factory the NASA competition and is the one made to change our entire way of life. This project is a lot more complicated than Tera and the information we currently have on the project is much more analytical and more detailed than Tera. The habitat was made to use materials already on Mars to limit the use of rocket fuel and taking material over there. The only thing necessary to transfer is the 3D printing machine which will not be a big issue. The home is made to withstand the many rugged conditions such as the high winds and dust storms, the UV/radiation, and much more.

Marsha is going to be built even before any of us go to Mars. The base is built in an egg-type shape not like Star Wars where they used a dome design and others have portrayed it as the dome-like shape working everything underground. The building is made with a double shell to make it stronger and much more protective from harsh weather. The double shell also allows for more creativity on the interior making it more human-like. The building provides the astronaut with natural light, thus preventing feelings of isolation.

The inside and many ports will have a docking port for the suits so that mars dust can not get inside as well as a port to go into the Mars exploration rover. The first level will have all the preparation to leave Marsha or explore as well as a wet lab. The second level is made for making food in the kitchen as well as a dry lab. The third level has a garden and all of the sleeping pods. It also contains a sanitation area to get the inhabitants clean. The final level is the smallest because of the egg shape and has the recreational area as well as a place to work out.

Team AI. SpaceFactory’s printer autonomously inserts a window into their 3D-printed subscale habitat structure at NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, held at the Caterpillar Edwards Demonstration & Learning Center in Edwards, Illinois, May 1-4, 2019. (NASA/MSFC/Emmett Given)

AI SpaceFactory is soon to launch these projects to be up in running soon. They have gotten lots of support from their community and could help change how humans’ futures are lived. Marsha hopes to allow for habitability on another planet making space exploration easier and for us to do more research. While Tera offers a safe and better way to make, buy, and live in a home so that there can be less of the homeless and the homes can be made in quick succession. AI SpaceFactory seeks to change science and many of the things in it for the future.