15 September 2021
Calling All Engineers: Final Casting Call
If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be part of the Mars mission, here’s your chance to find out — without leaving Earth.
NASA is recruiting for the first of their long-duration Mars mission analog studies and you don’t need to be an astronaut to qualify. In fact, NASA is looking for professionals in any of the STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Applications for the 2022 study close on 17 September, so get that application in, fast (link below), or watch NASA’s website or our article pages for future details of the 2024 mission and beyond.
NASA is recruiting for the first of their Mars mission analog studies and you don’t need to be an astronaut.
Could you live in less than 2,000 square feet with 3 strangers for a year? Could you endure the Mars-like conditions? If you’re willing to put your career in the AEC industry on hold for twelve months, here’s what to expect on the 3D-printed version of Mars. Yes, you read that right — 3D printed. A spokesperson for ICON, a developer of additive manufacturing construction technologies (including robotics, software and building materials), explained that there’s great potential for 3D-printed future space exploration habitats. This would help eliminate the need to put massive quantities of building materials on multiple space flights, which is cost-prohibitive. (We can imagine chains of CAD/BIM shops and roving interplanetary 3D printers spreading out across the universe as Man explores and settles space.)
One Small Step
So, what can you expect if you sign up for the Fall 2022 Mars mission study? ICON was recently awarded a subcontract supporting NASA Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) as part of the agency’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) to deliver a 3D-printed habitat for the study. The structure, known as Mars Dune Alpha, will be delivered to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. ICON’s construction system will complete a 1,700-square-foot building, designed by architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), who also designed a futuristic city in this article.
If you’ve made it through the selection process and you’re committed to being in that building for a year, from time to time, you’re going to have to remind yourself that you’re still on Earth, as the structure and environs will simulate a highly realistic Mars habitat to accurately support long-duration, exploration-class space missions. There’ll be no nipping out for a six-pack of cold brews, or heading off to the game with your buddies, or cycling up the canyon trail with your four-legged friend running happily beside you. (And don’t be surprised if your spacesuit is made by a leading bra manufacturer. They obviously know how to provide comfortable support.) But, seriously, how many of your peers will be able to say, one day, that they were amongst the good men and women that helped pioneer planetary colonization?
Pre “Liftoff” To-Do List
Before you head off to Mars Dune Alpha, you’re going to have a to-do list as long as your arm. You may have friends, family or a very understanding significant other who can take care of your home: collecting the mail, watering the houseplants, feeding Fluffy and the myriad tasks that make up our lives. One thing they can’t do for you? They can’t complete the mountain of projects you need to get through at work before heading for Alphaville. You’re going to need superpowers for that and that’s where Axiom steps up to help you in your heroic endeavor.
If you’re willing to put your career in the AEC industry on hold for twelve months, here’s what to expect on the 3D-printed version of Mars.
Are you a MicroStation®, Revit® or AutoCAD® user? It doesn’t matter to us, because we’ve got you covered regardless.
If you need tools that can save you a ton of time at every turn, then call a Service Consultant at 727-442-7774 to get you started. Alternatively, you can visit Axiom on the web. MicroStation tools are here, Revit tools are here and AutoCAD is over here. We’re talking serious timesaving with this arsenal of productivity tools that will have your desk cleared in time for you to don that sexy spacesuit and hotfoot it into the annals of Earth’s history and space exploration.
