Rhizome: Development of an Autarkic Design-to-Robotic-Production and -Operation System for Building Off-Earth Habitats (final report and movie)

In order for off-Earth top surface structures built from regolith to protect astronauts from radiation, they need to be several metres thick. Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) advanced research into constructing habitats in empty lava tubes on Mars in order to create subsurface habitats. By building below ground level not only natural protection from radiation is achieved but also thermal insulation because the temperature below ground is more stable. A swarm of autonomous mobile robots developed at TUD scans the caves, mines for in situ resource utilisation (ISRU), and with the excavated regolith that is mixed with cement constructs the habitat by means of automated and Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) supported Design-to-Robotic-Production-Assembly and -Operation (D2RPA&O) methods developed at TUD. The 3D printed rhizomatic habitat is a structurally optimised porous structure with increased thermal insulation properties due to its porosity.To regulate the indoor environment a Life Support System (LSS) is considered, which is, however, outside of the scope of the presented research. Instead, the production and operation of the habitat are explored by combining an automated kite-power system with solar panels in a microgrid with the goal to develop an autarkic D2RPA&O system for building off-Earth subsurface autarkic habitats from locally-obtained materials.

为使由表岩屑（regolith）构筑的地外地表结构能够为宇航员提供辐射防护，其厚度需达数米。代尔夫特理工大学（TU Delft）针对在火星空置熔岩管内构筑栖息地展开了前沿研究，以打造地下居住空间。通过地下构筑方式，不仅可获得天然辐射防护，还能实现隔热效果，因为地下温度更为稳定。代尔夫特理工大学研发的自主移动机器人集群可对熔岩管进行扫描，开展原位资源利用（in situ resource utilisation, ISRU）相关的采矿作业；随后将采掘得到的表岩屑与水泥混合，依托该校开发的自动化、人机交互（Human-Robot Interaction, HRI）赋能的设计-机器人化生产-装配与运维（Design-to-Robotic-Production-Assembly and -Operation, D2RPA&O）方法，完成居住舱的构筑。该3D打印的根茎状居住舱为结构优化型多孔结构，凭借其多孔特性提升了隔热性能。为调控舱内环境，研究中考虑了生命支持系统（Life Support System, LSS），但该系统不在本研究的覆盖范围内。本研究转而探索将自动化风筝发电系统与微电网内的太阳能板相结合的方案，以此开展居住舱的生产与运维研究，最终目标是开发一套自给自足的D2RPA&O系统，利用本地获取的材料构筑地外自给自足的地下居住舱。