Acta Astronautica 156 (2019) 234–249

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Acta Astronautica
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/actaastro

Systems engineering and design of a Mars Polar Research Base with a human T
crew
Anne-Marlene Rüedea,c,∗, Anton Ivanovb,c, Claudio Leonardid,c, Tatiana Volkovae
a
Department of Architecture (ENAC)/Space Engineering Center (eSpace), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Route Cantonale, 1015, Lausanne,
Switzerland
b
Space Engineering Center (eSpace), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Route Cantonale, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
c
Space Center, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, 3 Nobel str, Moscow, Russia
d
Informatics and Visualization Laboratory (LIV), Clip-Air Project, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Route Cantonale, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
e
EDCE Doctoral Program/Swiss Space Center, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Route Cantonale, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Keywords: Mars Polar Ice caps have been known ever since they were first observed by Cassini. Robotic exploration mis-
Mars sions, starting with Mariner 9, have confirmed that they are composed of water ice. During later missions,
Polar layered deposits instruments such as Mars Global Surveyor's MOLA have established a detailed topography and have estimated
Human exploration their depth at about 3 km in the thickest part, while detailed internal structure has been investigated by MARSIS
Research base
from Mars Express and SHARAD from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. This analysis proposes to establish a
In-situ resource utilization
base near North Polar Layered Deposits to investigate Mars' climate, hydrological processes and to test for
Mission architecture
possible traces of life. The objectives of the mission are to sustain a crew for nine months on the surface of Mars,
near the North Pole, and to bring the crew back to Earth safely. During the surface mission, the crew will drill
and analyze Polar Layered Deposits in ice samples. Furthermore, because the North Polar region provides an
easy access to water ice, this area has the potential of sustaining a long-term human presence. The Mars Polar
Research mission shall therefore prepare for long term missions, spanning over multiple crew generations.
Indeed, longer duration missions and larger crews should be facilitated by this first mission. This paper describes
a mission design for a Mars Polar Research base using systems engineering approach and scenario testing. The
goal of the work is to establish a strategy composed of various technologies that have been selected accordingly.
The requirements related to crew composition, human physiology and psychology adaptation, quality of com-
munication, challenges and prospects of advancing science, as well as optimum habitat design and its usability,
are derived and compiled into mass, volume, data and power consumption. A design for the base and mission
scenario is also proposed. Given the identified requirements, possible technologies for life support systems,
radiation protection, in-situ propellant production, thermal control, air pressure difference compensation and
availability of power are discussed and solutions to focus on are recommended. Furthermore, the requirements
for a long-term mission preparation are also identified and solutions to include in a first Mars mission with crew
are recommended. In conclusion, approximately 110 metric tons and 160 kW are required to enable a Mars Polar
mission with a human crew. A two-phase mission is recommended for enabling the testing of key in-situ resource
utilization technologies allowing to minimize mass, while ensuring the security of the crew. The use of optimal
payload and fairing, a Mars orbit crane system and deployable structures are recommended. Finally, in pre-
paration for a long-term presence of humans on Mars, including in-situ testing of key technologies enabling the
production of consumables facilitating autonomy from Earth is suggested. The consumables that have been
identified as not being able to be tested before a first crew is sent to Mars are food and energy production. These
developments may serve as priorities for current Mars settlement programs.

Corresponding author. Space Engineering Center (eSpace), Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Route Cantonale, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland.
∗

E-mail addresses: [email protected] (A.-M. Rüede), [email protected] (A. Ivanov), [email protected] (C. Leonardi),
[email protected] (T. Volkova).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2018.06.051
Received 28 February 2018; Received in revised form 4 May 2018; Accepted 25 June 2018
Available online 30 June 2018
0094-5765/ © 2018 IAA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A.-M. Rüede et al. Acta Astronautica 156 (2019) 234–249

Nomenclature ISRU In-situ Resource Utilization

ISS International Space Station
Isp specific impulse [s] LUS Large Upper Stage
MEPAG Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group
Acronyms MSL Mars Science Laboratory
NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration
ALARA As Low as Reasonably Achievable PLD Polar Layered Deposits
ALICE ALuminium ICE rocket propellant RAD Radiation Assessment Detector
CGR Cosmic Galactic Radiation RTG Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator
CME Coronal Mass Ejection RWGS Reverse Water-Gas Shift
ECLSS Environmental Control and Life Support System SLS Space Launch System
GTO Geostationary Transfer Orbit SPE Solar Particle Event
HDO Deuterated Water TRL Technology Readiness Level
IRVE-3 Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment
ISPP In-situ Propellant Production

1. Introduction • Understand the processes and history of climate on Mars

• Understand the origin and evolution of Mars as a geological system
In 1995, the first exoplanet has been discovered and numerous other • Prepare for human exploration
exoplanets, including in habitable zones, have been discovered since
[1,2]. However, even in our own solar system, we do not have any These goals are divided into objectives and all four goals possess
conclusive proof if life has developed on other planets or satellites. objectives that require the drilling and analysis of North Polar Layered
Since the 16th century, theories about life on Mars have been advanced, Deposits (PLD). Indeed, the Polar caps are high-priority candidates in
however, they were put in doubt with the beginning of space explora- the research for past or present traces of life on Mars. Furthermore, the
tion in the 20th century, after the first images of Mariner 7 showed that ice in the caps is estimated to be several millions of years old [10] and
there were no observable features in accordance with the theories of because the layered deposits are formed by layers of water ice and dust,
intelligent life on Mars [3]. Despite initially seeming lifeless, the latest they hold records of Mars' formation, climate and hydrological systems.
research from Mars orbiters [4] and rovers [5] suggests an abundance Finally, the Northern regions are a good candidate in preparing for the
of water related processes in the past on Mars, which is an indirect long-term presence of humans on Mars, as the ice cap is a water re-
argument that life may have existed once on Mars [6,7]. servoir, which can be utilized for producing water for the crew, food
If life or traces of life are still to be found on Mars, a likely place for and in-situ produced propellant.
them to be found is in the Polar Layered Deposits (PLD) at the Martian
North and South Poles. Therefore, in an effort to verify or exclude if life
is or was present elsewhere in the Solar System, a mission to a Mars 2.2. Outline
Polar region is required.
Furthermore, Mars Polar missions are also required in the search for The Mars Polar Research Mission is defined as a 288-day crewed
the history of Mars' formation and evolution. Understanding the history surface mission near the North Pole of Mars. The duration corresponds
of Mars could prove to be a key knowledge in the understanding of our to the time during which the Pole is exposed to constant sunlight and
own planet, as the exact mechanisms that have driven Mars to loose its the Polar caps are exposed to atmosphere [11], facilitating in-situ work.
atmosphere and its water to recede into polar caps still need to be The crew will be monitoring rovers drilling in Polar Layered Deposits
further researched [8] and similar phenomena might be happening on (PLD) and then analyze the samples. Furthermore, the crew will also
Earth. conduct experiments required to enable preparations for a long-term
This paper proposes a systems engineering solution for a nine month presence of humans on the planet.
mission with a human crew on the North Pole of Mars. It investigates Because of the complexity of the mission, the need for human ex-
technical and human requirements and proposes a strategy using in-situ perts to analyze the Polar Layered Deposits (PLD) and to adapt the
resources to minimize the mission mass. The conceptual design of a scientific mission in accordance with the results of the analysis, the
Mars Polar Research Mission, illustrated in Fig. 1, is also proposed, along crew is composed of a team of six men and women with the following
with a scenario validation of the concept. A budget estimates mass, expertises and cross training in all other mentioned fields:
volume, data and power consumption. Finally, the limits to autonomy
are identified and discussed for a first generation mission and in the
effort for a long-term human presence. Areas in which technologies are
still to be developed to enable crewed Polar Mars missions are also
identified and discussed.

2. Mission definition

2.1. Objectives

The Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) [9] of the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has established
the scientific goals for the exploration of Mars for the coming years.
These goals are the following:

• Determine if Mars ever supported life Fig. 1. Artist's view of the base.

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• Piloting & navigation Table 2

• Electrical & communication engineering This table lists the values representing relative mass abundance of chemical
• Mechanical engineering elements expressed as the most common oxide for the Martian soil (from Out of

• Medicine, dentistry & psychology this World: The New Field of Space Architecture [14]). For the atmosphere, the

• Geology & data processing values represent relative volume abundance of chemical elements expressed as

• Biology & botany its most common oxide (from The composition of the atmosphere at the surface of
Mars [15]) and information on the Polar Caps (from Strong Water Isotopic
Anomalies in the Martian Atmosphere: Probing Current and Ancient Reservoirs
3. Design strategy [11]).
Martian Soil Atmosphere Polar Ice
In this section, the design constraints near the North Pole of Mars
are identified, possible solutions are examined, compared and finally, a constituents % constituents % constituents %
solution which will be integrated into the design of the base is selected.
SiO2 43.8 CO2 95.32 H2O 99.7%
Fe2O3 18.2 N2 2.7 HDOa 0.25%
3.1. Habitat deployment strategy
Al2O3 7.2 Ar 1.6 CO2 only in winter
SO3 7.2 O2 0.13
Mars has a variety of in-situ resources that can be used to build a MgO 6.0 CO 0.07
habitat, decreasing the mass and volume required to be sent from Earth. CaO 5.8 H2O 0.03
Core elements, systems and tools need to be brought from Earth but the Na2O 1.34 NO 0.013
Cl 0.8 Ne traces
materials required to build the shell of the habitat and ensure the
P2O5 0.68 Kr traces
production of consumables can potentially be processed from local re- TiO2 0.6 Xe traces
sources. MnO2 0.45 O3 traces
There are different scenario outlines, which can be selected for Mars Cr2O 0.29
bound missions with a human crew. The first option is not using any K2O 0.10

locally available resources. The completed habitat must therefore be a

Deuterated Water.
brought from Earth. The base could be a hard shell or use inflatable
elements. The second option is for the crew to build additional modules
found on Mars to produce materials not naturally found on the planet.
upon arrival from in-situ resources. The third option is for the habitat to
Heavy processing can also recombine in-situ elements with other ele-
be built before the crew is sent to Mars, which allows the use of in-situ
ments brought from Earth and therefore, a wide variety of materials can
resources to the fullest extent possible.
be produced. Table 3 gives an overview of the different materials than
According to Table 1, the third strategy has been selected for this
could be produced on Mars, while describing their origin.
mission. Indeed, mass can be minimized when using in-situ resources
and the security of the crew is increased, considering that the payload
capacity to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) is currently limited to 3.3. Life support system
14,210 kg with the Delta Heavy rocket [12]. According to NASA's
Technology Roadmap [13], the utilization of in-situ resources is desir- In order to sustain a crew on any mission, vital consumbles must be
able as it could facilitate Mars crewed missions, especially when con- available at all times. These include air (oxygen and nitrogen), food and
sidering consumable resources such as resources serving life support, water. On short Earth orbiting missions, consumables are usually pre-
and it could also allow for more payload mass to be dedicated to crew pared in advance and are stored until consumption [17]. However, on
and science. However, in-situ resource utilization has never been tested longer missions, it becomes interesting to compare resources brought
on Mars. from Earth to in-situ produced resources. This is especially true for
destinations such as the planet Mars, that have in-situ resources that
3.2. Resources on Mars could partially cover the requirements in consumables for a mission
with crew and therefore reduce the mass of the mission.
Table 2 shows that Mars has a variety of resources that can be Crew size, mission duration, payload capacity and availability of in-
utilized for constructing a base for a crew, especially in the North Polar situ resources are driving factors in the establishment of a strategy for a
region, where large reservoirs of ice could ensure access to water and life support system and the determination of the fraction of consum-
therefore possibly enable long-term missions. ables that are prepared in advance, in-situ produced and recycled.
The resources found on Mars can be either used in their natural Furthermore, cost, risk, system and technology availability and readi-
state, undergo simple processing such as compression or 3D printing or ness and safety analysis also drive and limit the strategy.
can be heavily processed. The latter implies recombining elements It is necessary to bring from Earth all resources that cannot be
guaranteed in-situ, as consumables are life critical. On Mars, it is pos-
Table 1 sible to produce water, oxygen and nitrogen. Food and energy, how-
This table compares habitat deployment strategy options for 288-day Mars ever, cannot be produced in-situ during a first generation Mars mission.
crewed surface missions, according to alternative solutions investigated during Having selected a two phase mission allows for water, oxygen and
the systems engineering and design of the Mars Polar Research Mission. Each possibly nitrogen, if required, to be produced in-situ before the crew is
option is given a mark from 1 to 3 for each criteria, 3 being the most satisfying. sent from Earth. Furthermore, these elements can also be used during
Option 1 Option 2 Option 3 the first phase for deployment and pressurization of the habitat.
However, a life support system comparable to the Environmental
number of launches 1 1 3
Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) on the International Space
orbital assemblies 1 1 1
Landing 2 2 1 Station (ISS) must be included in the mission payload, as the most ef-
ease of deployment 2 2 1 ficient strategy to limit the required input of resources into a base is to
safety of the crew 1 1 3 recycle the resources. ISRU is used whenever possible to produce the
future evolution 1 2 3
initial resources required for a closed-loop system and to compensate
total mass/cost 1 2 3
for leakage, which cannot be completely avoided. All resources which
total 9 11 15 cannot be guaranteed by in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) will need to
be brought from Earth.

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Table 3 Table 4
This table gives an overview of the different materials that can be manufactured This table compares propellant options for the Polar regions following criteria
on Mars. The columns describe which constituents origin from Mars or from that are relevant for a Mars mission with crew. Each option is given a mark from
Earth. In the case of Mars locally found resources, it is determined if it origi- 1 to 3 for each criteria, 3 being the most satisfying [19–25].
nates from the Martian soil, atmosphere or mined Polar ice [16].
Carbon Methane Methanol Ethylene ALICE
Material Mars Earth Monoxide & Oxygen & Oxygen & Oxygen
& Oxygen
construction materials
bricks soil, H2O*,†,‡ – efficiency (Isp) 1 2 3 3 3
mortar soil, H2O*,†,‡ – equipment 1 2 2 2 3
”duricrete” imitation soil, H2O*,†,‡ – power consumption 1 2 3 3 1
ice H2O‡ – production 1 3 1 3 2
polyethylene ”pykrete” H2O‡, CO2†, H†,‡ – reliability 1 2 2 2 3
glasses & ceramics availability 3 2 2 2 1
glass (black or clear) SiO2* – versatility 2 2 1 3 2
pottery soil, H2O*,†,‡ –
plastics total 10 15 14 18 15
ethylene based plastics (1) CO2†, H†,‡ –
ethylene based plastics (2) CO2 H
metals
steel Fe2O3*, Mn*, P*, Si*, C† –
aluminum Al2O3* – aluminum powder. For the Mars Polar Research Mission, ethylene has
silicon SiO2*, C† – been selected as propellant, as it presents advantages such as requiring
biological support only small quantities of hydrogen and a fraction of the energy to pro-
food soil, CO2†, u. seeds, u.
water (1) H2O*,†,‡ –
duce compared to methane and ALICE. It can also be used to produce
water (2) CO2† H polyethylene and other derivatives, which is particularly useful for
oxygen (1) H2O†,‡ – long-term missions. Furthermore, ALICE has the disadvantage of re-
oxygen (2) CO2† – quiring large volumes of ice to be mined and the production of alu-
nitrogen N2† –
minum, which is a difficult task on Mars.
propellants
hydrogen H†,‡ –
carbon monoxide CO2† – 3.5. Radiation protection
methane (1) CO2†, H†,‡ –
methane (2) CO2 H In 2012, NASA launched its Mars Science Laboratory mission (MSL)
methanol (1) CO2†, H†,‡ –
methanol (2) CO2 H
to Mars. The rover, Curiosity, was equipped with a Radiation
ethylene (1) CO2†, H†,‡ – Assessment Detector (RAD) that recorded the incoming dose of radia-
ethylene (2) CO2 H tion during both the travel to and its stay on Mars. The RAD has
ALICE H2O‡, Al* – identified two main types of radiation, which astronauts must be pro-
tected from. The first type is Cosmic Galactic Radiation (CGR) and the
* Martian soil, † atmosphere, ‡ mined Polar ice, u unknown, (1) option 1, (2)
second is Solar Particle Events (SPE). The first is a type of constant
option 2.
radiation in the Universe, which could originate from supernova rem-
nants. The second type originates from the Sun and is a consequence of
3.4. Propellant Coronal Mass Ejections (CME). SPE radiation is more energetic than
CGR and can potentially be lethal to astronauts within a short time
Propellant accounts for the majority of the total mass of the mission. frame while GCR increases the risk of fatal cancers over time. On the
Furthermore, because rockets only have a limited payload capacity, contrary to CGR, which is constant, high levels of SPE radiation only
trips between the surface of a planet and its orbit must be multiplied, occur punctually.
spending even more propellant on the rocket's structure rather than on The measurements of the RAD indicate that an astronaut would be
the payload itself. A possible solution to limit the requirements in exposed to a Cosmic Galactic Radiation (CGR) dose equivalent to about
propellant is the availability of a crane system [18]. 131.4 mSv per trip during a nine month transit between Earth and Mars
Indeed, a crane vehicle could utilize in-situ produced propellant and to 184.32 mSV for a 288-day surface mission on Mars [26]. This
(ISPP) and therefore eliminate the need to bring propellant for Mars amounts to a total estimated radiation of 447.12 mSv in a 835-day in-
surface-to-orbit transfers. Attaching various payloads would be possible terval. This result is problematic considering that NASA guidelines
with a modular crane vehicle. With such a crane system, the mission mass stipulate that the exposure limit during an astronauts career should not
could be reduced, especially when considering the possibility of several increase the risk of cancer by more than 3%, which corresponds to an
crew generations visiting Mars. Two fueled vehicles for redundancy annual dose of 500 mSv considering an average of crew members of all
have been considered to be available in Mars orbit at the time of the genders and ages. In the case of 25 year old females, who are the most
launch of the first payloads of the Mars Polar Research Mission. The crane sensitive to radiation, a career dose of 400 mSv is the maximum ad-
system could also be used for unrelated Mars missions, facilitating the missible dose under NASA guidelines [27].
human and robotic exploration of Mars. Considering this, shielding to protect from radiation should be in-
Different Mars surface in-situ propellant production (ISPP) methods cluded in the design of a Mars Polar Research Base. Because shielding is
have been evaluated and compared in Table 4. Factors taken into ac- difficult and not required by law, NASA guidelines for radiation ex-
count are efficiency (Isp), equipment convenience (mass and volume), posure are As Low as Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) and the results of
power consumption, simplicity of production, reliability, availability, the RAD measurements indicate that these guidelines should be applied
and possible benefits on other systems for the habitat, such as radiation in this mission, especially when considering the possibility of the ha-
protection for example. bitat serving for a long-term mission during which astronauts could stay
Three options stand out for a crewed mission to the Martian North on Mars for longer periods of time [29–31,28].
Pole. These are methane oxide, ethylene oxide and ALICE. Methane and The exposure to CGR can be reduced with the right choice of
ethylene can both be produced using the Reverse Water-Gas Shift re- shielding. Therefore, different materials have been identified as pos-
action (RWGS) while ALICE is a combination of water ice and nano- sible protection against CGR. Fig. 2 compares the shielding efficiency of

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Fig. 3. This diagram describes the optimal option for power in space or on
extraterrestrial bodies depending on the power that is required and the dura-
tion. This figure uses information from Human Spaceflight: Mission Analysis and
Design [16] and Spacecraft Power Systems [34].

Fig. 2. This graph compares the radiation dose which accrues during a year
behind specific mass (g/cm2). This figure combines results of studies in candidate. Furthermore, the construction of the base must rely ex-
Radiation Effects and Shielding Requirements in Human Missions to the Moon and clusively on energy brought from Earth, excluding the possibility of
Mars [27] and Shielding Strategies for Human Space Exploration [28].
using in-situ resourced energy for the first generation mission and
therefore excluding the use of solar concentrators, which require to be
installed. Finally, nuclear reactors add complexity to the mission for a
candidate materials that could be used as crew protection in the Mars small gain in mass compared to using RTGs, which have the advantage
habitat. Some materials that are available on Mars or can be easily of being scalable to the requirements of the different phases. Therefore,
produced from in-situ resources are good candidates for radiation RTGs have been selected as the power source used for the deployment
shielding. Furthermore, some of these materials are the same as those of the first unit of the base and for the first crew generation mission.
that have also been identified as possible propellant options, such as However, RTGs are only a temporary solution and over several crew
liquid methane, water or polyethylene, which is a derivative of ethy- generations or in the case of the expansion of the base, in-situ resources
lene. might want to be considered as replacement sources of power.
As for SPE radiation, the method currently used to protect a crew Furthermore, the use of RTGs should be reevaluated according to de-
against it is for the astronauts to take shelter in airlocks until the ra- veloping technologies.
diation comes back to safe levels. This usually takes a day or two and it The main in-situ resourced options for power on Mars are geo-
is possible to warn the crew shortly before the radiation levels become thermal power, solar concentrators or the use of naturally occurring
dangerous, as an event can be observed before the radiation has methane sources [35]. Geothermal power is the most efficient in areas
reached the spacecraft or Mars. Ideally, the mission would take place close to volcanic zones, which are located near the Equator and
during a period of solar minima during which SPEs are rarer and less Southern regions and not in the North Polar regions so they cannot be
energetic [32,33]. considered as an option considering the choice of site.
Solar concentrators and methane sources can however be con-
3.6. Power sidered as possible options for powering a Mars North Polar base.
Although the solar irradiance on Mars is only 586.2 W/m2 [36] and the
According to Table 5, the power requirements of the mission are North Polar region only faces the Sun for half a Martian year, solar
estimated at about 160 kW over an overall period of minimum ten concentrators are more efficient than solar panels and can take ad-
years. However, each phase of the mission has its own power require- vantage of the low gravity on the planet for their construction. Coupled
ment and the multiple launches required imply the use of several with thermal storage, solar concentrators might be an option for pro-
smaller power sources. The first phase requires about 110 kW over a viding the habitat with in-situ resourced power. Furthermore, methane
span of about ten years, while the second phase requires only about could be collected at naturally occurring sources and burnt for energy.
50 kW over a minimum of five years for one mission. It is estimated that these sources are quite common, especially in the
According to Fig. 3, nuclear reactors, photovoltaic panels, solar Northern latitudes and near the North Polar cap. Thorium reactors
dynamic (solar concentrators) and radioisotope thermoelectric gen- could also be considered [37]. In any case, in-situ testing must be
erators (RTG) can be considered as suitable power sources. performed in order to find an appropriate in-situ resourced energy,
Because of the length of the mission and its location at the North which could be solar concentrators, methane or any technology with
Pole, which implies little but constant light and then complete darkness currently low technology readiness level (TRL) for application on extra-
during half a Martian year, photovoltaic panels are not a suitable terrestrial bodies.

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3.7. Air pressure propellant from Martian atmosphere and polar ice utilizing the Reverse
Water-Gas Shift (RWGS) process. The advantage of ethylene is that the
The atmosphere on Mars is only 600 N/m2 while the atmosphere on propellant is easy and safe to produce and can be produced entirely
Earth is 101,325 N/m2 at sea level. Because the habitat must mimic the with in-situ available resources. The required oxygen can also be ex-
conditions on Earth, it must be pressurized to a minimum of 0.8 bar, tracted from the atmosphere. Furthermore, the propellant can be used
resulting in a pressure difference of 80,000 Pa. These forces must be as radiation protection and in the production of different plastics, in-
compensated by the habitat shell. The gravity on Mars is 0.375 times cluding polyethylene. Various objects including plastic membranes
that on Earth, which implies that about three times more mass is re- could be produced in-situ, while enabling repairs on the habitat. This
quired on Mars than on Earth to compensate an equal pressure differ- technology still requires modifying a Reverse Water-Gas Shift (RWGS)
ence. Materials with high tensile strength could furthermore compen- reactor [42] using existing technologies and testing the technology on
sate for a part of the pressure difference. Earth.

3.8. Thermal control 4.2. Ice

Although, due to the thin atmospheric density on Mars, convection In this solution, the chosen propellant is ALICE aluminum powder
and conduction are less important than radiation, the Mars base will and ice solid propellant. Aluminum is available in Martian regolith and
lose heat that is required to maintain internal habitability for the crew. ice in the Polar caps. Ice, locally sourced at the Martian Pole, also has
With careful thermal insulation design it should nevertheless be pos- the advantage of being efficient at shielding from Cosmic Galactic
sible to ensure that the base produces more heat than it dissipates, Radiation (CGR). The propellant is considered a more environmentally
providing excess energy that could be redirected to ice mining or for in- friendly solid rocket fuel for terrestrial use, and so is under develop-
situ resources processing, instead of being dissipated by radiators. ment and has been tested successfully during flight in 2009 [43].
Indeed, electrically powered equipment emits heat inside the base. This Therefore, development within a decade of off-world technology is
heat is tramsitted to the soil, the atmosphere and is radiated. The feasible, as it has been developed considering the challenges posed by
thermal insulation design must accommodate for possible large varia- an environment such as Mars.
tions in the temperature of the soil, as it can warm up if in contact with
heat-emitting sources such as power units [38], and for heat exchange 4.3. Methane
with the atmosphere [39].
The last option proposes to use methane oxide propellant. It is re-
3.9. Fire protection latively straightforward to produce and the propellant can also be used
as radiation protection. Production and testing of a Sabatier reactor
Because of the risk of fire, it is necessary to evaluate the fire safety producing methane has been realized [44].
capability gaps during fire safety studies and the choice of equipment In all three cases, ice must be mined in large quantities. This con-
for end-to-end detection/suppression/cleanup. Fire can be caused by firms that access to the North Pole of Mars is a particularly interesting
short circuits, overheating of individual devices, electrostatic elec- feature for sustaining a long-term human presence.
tricity, water or alcohol penetration into emergency oxygen re-
generators, working on peroxide compounds of alkali metals and other 4.4. Selected strategy
sources. The main principle of fire protection is to control the tem-
perature in the compartment, to ensure that the oxygen concentration The strategy selected for the Mars Polar Research Base is a combi-
does not exceed 40% in volume and the concentration of the hydrogen nation between the strategies based on ethylene and on ice. The pro-
undesirable impurity should not be more than 2% of the volume posed propellant is ethylene oxide. However, polyethylene fiber re-
[40,41]. Fire protection equipment uses: inforced pykrete has been selected as radiation protection. This solution
has three main advantages.
• Automatic protection The first advantage is that polyethylene and other plastics such as
• Galvanic isolation of power circuits polypropylene can be produced from ethylene with a pressurized
• Fire extinguishers based on the use of inert gases and neutral de- heater. This implies that a wide variety of materials can be produced
foaming mixture (with low electrical conductivity) locally. For example, it would be possible to manufacture clothing,
• Depressurization of a compartment in which fire broke out bags, insulation and tires among others [16]. This proves to be useful
• Equipment for removing components of fire-extinguishing and either for maintenance, variation of products or for an extension of the
formed combustion flues (for example aerosol filters and ”vacuum base in the future. This feature is consistent with an effort at enabling a
cleaners”) long-term presence of humans on Mars.
The second advantage is that it is possible to manufacture mem-
In the near future, the unified, effective fire safety approach across branes also. Materials derived from ethylene are the same materials
small and large architecture elements will be used. from which membrane structures can be built [45]. This implies that
not only could a crew have the possibility to do full repairs and
4. System view maintenance on the membrane, which is likely to be required, but it is
theoretically possible to produce more membranes that could serve as
Considering the different options identified, multiple main strate- extensions for the base. For example, this could be useful if the base
gies are available. Three have been identified as being of particular shall accommodate larger crews and/or to build greenhouses. Indeed,
interest for a Mars North Polar Research base. The technology behind growing food on Mars requires large volumes of greenhouse, should this
all three options has been either demonstrated on Earth or has been be proven to be efficient. Therefore, being able to add spaces to the base
simulated and its design is generally acknowledged but all require in- is also a key technology for enabling a long-term presence.
situ testing: Finally, ethylene oxide is a relatively light but efficient propellant
and it does therefore not require large quantities of hydrogen compared
4.1. Ethylene to other propellants. Because a crane system will be used for travels
between Mars' orbit and its surface, being able to produce propellant
The ethylene solution proposes to produce ethylene oxide easily is an advantage, especially when multiple trips between the

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surface of Mars and its orbit are necessary during a mission. The pro- 5. Design proposal
pellant will be contained in reservoirs located under the habitat, and
can be used for refueling without compromising the integrity of the 5.1. Interplanetary transfer vehicle & crane system
radiation protection or the polyethylene membrane retaining air pres-
sure. This tank is only used when the crew is not occupying the base, as Considering that a two-phase habitat deployment strategy has been
the crane vehicle must be fully tanked at all time during the crew's selected and that one of the objectives of the missions is the preparation
presence and refills after the crew's departure. When considering mul- for human exploration, several interplanetary transfers and Mars orbit-
tiple simultaneous crew missions in a later stage, separate tanks can be to-surface and surface-to-orbit transits are required. In order to reduce
installed further away if required. In both cases, because cryogenic the mission mass, which is one of the most problematic aspects of
ethylene can be hazardous, a risk assessment must be made in order to crewed Mars missions considering the limited payload capacity in
ensure its safe storage. For example, a safety distance and controlled comparison with the required mass, a crane system is utilized for this
leakage to avoid gas confinement must be accounted for. mission. This system includes two crane vehicles and one interplanetary
As can be seen in Fig. 4, although the selected strategy is not closed transfer vehicle for interplanetary transfers. The system's key features are
loop, it takes advantage as much as possible of in-situ available re- modular capacity, reusablility and in-situ refuelability. Furthermore,
sources and Fig. 5 describes the main equipment required for ensuring the system is capable of precision landing. With the use of membranes,
the availability of water, radiation protection, air pressure, propellant, a small margin can be accommodated for [46].
plastics and air. Only food and energy need to be brought from Earth. The crane vehicle, illustrated in Fig. 6, is a light structure with a
Finally, having identified a strategy for in-situ resource utilization replaceable 17.5 m inflatable heat shield, which the Inflatable Reentry
(ISRU) and its advantages, such as mass minimization and the oppor- Vehicle Experiment (IRVE-3) has demonstrated during a suborbital
tunity to further develop the base in the future with locally resourced flight [47], a receptacle mechanism resembling the ISS docking system
materials, confirms the choice of a two phase mission scenario in which that can attach to any payload equipped with the appropriate plug and
the habitat is sent and deployed before the crew even leaves Earth. The three thrusters that can be oriented so to perform rotations and trans-
mission can therefore rely on Martian resources and the advantages lations during descent and ascent. The vehicle uses ethylene oxide as
linked to their utilization without compromising the safety of the crew. propellant and can therefore be refueled in-situ. Only one crane vehicle
will be used for the first generation mission, the second one serving as
redundancy and then during later mission.
The interplanetary transfer vehicle, illustrated in Fig. 7, is a vehicle
made of three capsules and a central axis equipped with the plug to
rendezvous with the crane vehicle. The capsules can be extended out-
wards of the structure upon landing and during interplanetary transfer
and are shielded against SPE radiation. When transporting living or-
ganisms, the interplanetary transfer vehicle can be set into rotation
around its own axis, allowing for artificial gravity in the deployed
capsules.
The crane vehicle can be used for various Mars robotic or human
missions and therefore is considered to be orbiting Mars and fully
fueled at the begin of the mission, as it could also benefit robotic
missions prior to the Mars Polar Research Mission. A proof-of-concept for
landing payloads up to 899 kg for a Mars crane concept has been

Fig. 4. This diagram describes a proposal of how to sustain a crew with life
critical consumables and with materials necessary for the establishment and
maintenance of a Mars base with a human crew. The origin of the elements used
for the production of the material is also described in this diagram, allowing to
identify what needs to be brought from Earth and what can be sourced in-situ.

Fig. 5. This diagram gives a summary of the main equipment needed to ensure
life support on Mars, in accordance with Fig. 5.
Fig. 6. Artist's view of a crane vehicle descending a crew capsule.

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Fig. 7. Artist's view of an interplanetary transfer vehicle.

Fig. 9. Schematic section.

demonstrated by Sky Crane, which has deposited rover Curiosity on the
surface of Mars in 2012 [48].

5.2. Mars Polar Research Base

The base must be sent to Mars utilizing launch systems with high
Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and the rocket with the highest
payload that is currently under development, which is the Space Launch
System (SLS). This rocket's initial configuration is estimated to be able
to deliver a payload of about 22 tons to Mars and up to 43 tons with
evolved performance modifications [49]. Considering the estimated
mass of the habitat of 110 tons, which has been calculated on Fig. 5, an
Earth orbit or a Mars in-situ assembly is required. Furthermore, because
most rockets have a fairing of about 5 m and the crew is sent during the
second phase only, a deployable solution has been selected. Indeed,
space has been considered to be a resource that can be found in-situ. As
a consequence, the structure of the base is divided into three main
elements: the central core, the capsules and the dome, which are de-
scribed in Figs. 8 and 9. Plans of the base are described in Figs. 10 and
11.
The central core is a 12.5 m high deployable core, that fits into a 5 m
in diameter circular fairing. The core includes three arms that can be
extended outside of its initial perimeter, opening space inside its core
for circulation and extending the first sealed membrane. The space
added by the deployment of the arms allows to use the health center, Fig. 10. Ground floor plan.
the laboratory and the kitchen, as illustrated in Fig. 12, on the ground
floor. The crew quarters can then be used on the first floor. The third
floor, which has only partial height, is used for storage. The space de- The capsules are disposed around the minimal living space and serve
fined by the first membrane is the minimal living space. The central core as human/rover airlocks and as IRSU equipment storage.
structure includes life support systems, bathrooms, the staircase and the The dome is composed of water ice and polyethylene fibers pykrete,
circulation space. projected onto a second polyethylene sealed membrane and is about
3 m thick. The space defined between the first membrane and the
second is the additional living space. It is divided into three compart-
ments, which include the living room, a greenhouse and a laboratory
extension, which can be used for storing ice samples. These can be
accessed through doors in the membrane, which are airtight and must
remain locked when not in use. The airlocks, opening towards the
minimal living space and the exterior of the base, should also have the
capacity to open into the additional living space, to ensure that the crew
can reenter the minimal living space in case of a problem, without di-
rectly affecting the minimal living space. The storage tanks for water and
ethylene are located under the ground floor level of the base and are
protected at all times by the dome structure.
Besides providing the base with additional space, the dome also serves
as a safety feature. Indeed, the dome protects the base against micro-
Fig. 8. Schematic plan. meteoroids and CGR. The polyethylene fibers included in the water ice

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ensuring all mission and life critical features. In the case of failure of the
interior membrane also, the mission must be aborted and the crew must
take refuge in the airlocks, put their suits on and regain the crew capsule,
which must be in the proximity of the habitat at all time and allow the
crew to regain the orbiter, which stores life support equipment and
enough food and water for a safe trip back to Earth.
The habitat can be duplicated and connected at the airlock level, in
case of multiple crews visiting in the same time frame. Since poly-
ethylene can be produced on Mars with in-situ sourced materials, more
additional spaces can be built and covered with water ice and poly-
ethylene fibers pykrete. The more habitats are built and connected, the
higher the security of the crews will become.

6. Scenario

A two-phase habitat deployment strategy has been selected. In this

section, the different steps will be described.

Fig. 13. Chronology (top to bottom) of the mission phases for the main sce-
nario.
Fig. 11. First floor plan.

6.1. Phase 1: habitat

In the first phase, two SLS rockets with the Large Upper Stage (LUS)
modification proposed by Boeing in 2013 [50] allowing a payload ca-
pacity estimated at 32.6 tons per rocket, are sent to Mars. This also
corresponds to the payload capacity to Mars in NASA's 105 tons con-
figuration proposed in its evolved performances [49]. One rocket con-
tains the central core while the other contains the capsules. When in
Mars orbit, the rocket containing the capsules first rendezvouses with
the crane vehicle, which then descends the payload onto the surface of
Mars. The capsules are kept folded behind the shield during the descent
and before landing, the crane vehicle turns itself around and the capsules
deploy horizontally and are deposited in their final position on the
planet's surface. Since the ISRU equipment is contained in one of the
capsules and the rovers in the two other, which are also the airlocks, the
rovers start drilling for ice and bring it back to the ISRU equipment. In-
situ resources will be transformed into ethylene and oxygen, which will
be used for the crane vehicle to ascend back to orbit.
Once back in orbit, the crane rendezvouses with the second payload
Fig. 12. Artist's view of the kitchen. and also descends it onto the surface of Mars. The central core is de-
posited in its final position surrounded by the capsules. The crane's en-
gines are angled outwards and the crane must rotate on its axis into a
position ensuring the blast not to be directed towards the capsules or to
have the capacity to absorb shocks and also to work in traction, helping damage the central core. Again, propellant will be produced from in-situ
the polyethylene membrane to retain constant 0.8 bar inside the habitat. resources for the crane vehicle, allowing it to return into orbit.
In case of a catastrophic event, a micro-meteoroid impact being the most Once the central core and the capsules are placed in-situ, the de-
likely, only one section of the dome should be damaged and lost. ployment of the base can begin. The first step is that of deploying the
Considering that the capsules, which are located under the intersection of core arms and inflating the first membrane containing the minimal living
the dome compartments, and the central core contain the ISRU equipment space with in-situ produced air (oxygen and nitrogen). The second step
and that polyethylene can be produced locally, reparations to the is that of partially inflating the second membrane containing the ad-
membranes and dome structure are conceivable. ditional space. In the third step, water with polyethylene fibers is pro-
Furthermore, all mission critical equipment must be protected at pelled onto the dome membrane, which is gradually inflated up until
two levels of failure while all life critical equipment must be protected 0.8 bar. The membrane structure is covered by a soft polyethylene
at three levels of failure. Therefore, in the case of total failure of the structure on which the ice can form the dome. Ice is added until the
dome and exterior membrane, the minimal living space is capable of dome is about 3 m thick and up to 6 m at its base.

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6.2. Phase 2: crew When arrived in Mars orbit, the interplanetary transfer vehicle ren-
dezvouses with the crane vehicle and the capsule containing the crew is
In the second phase, two other LUS or 105 tons modified SLS rockets descended onto the surface of Mars, landing on a site in walking dis-
are launched with the crew aboard. An in-situ assembly is performed in tance of the base. The crew is then required to reach the habitat either
Earth orbit in order to reduce the quantity of propellant required to with the assistance of the rovers or, should this not be possible, by foot.
send the payload to Mars, as both rocket structures can stay in Earth The rest of the interplanetary transfer vehicle remains in orbit during the
orbit. One rocket contains the central core while the other contains the duration of the mission.
capsules, forming the interplanetary transfer vehicle. During the trip to Upon arrival of the crew in the base, the crew members can take
Mars, this vehicle is set in a rotational motion around its axis, creating possession of their personal quarters and are free to arrange and re-
artificial gravity in the deployed capsules (see Figs. 12–17). arrange the additional spaces as convenient for them. In parallel, the

Fig. 14. Conceptual schema of phase 1 - habitat deployment.

Fig. 15. Conceptual schema of phase 2 - crew arrival.

Fig. 16. Conceptual schema of phase 3 -

return to Earth.

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crane vehicle starts refueling after landing with propellant that has been
produced before the landing of the crew as it is required that the crew
must be able to evacuate and abandon the habitat at all time.

6.3. Phase 3: return to Earth

At the end of the 288-day surface mission, the crew returns to the
orbiter using the crane vehicle. The crew must take with them a selection
of ice samples that they have deemed as being of particular interest. The
interplanetary transfer vehicle then leaves Mars' orbit and returns to Earth Fig. 17. Chronology (top to bottom) of the mission phases for the trade-off
orbit. The crew capsule then lands on Earth with the crew. This is the scenario.
end of the first generation mission.

6.4. Next generations Indeed, during the first phase, the interplanetary transfer vehicle is
descended by the crane system in one descent only. Fig. 18 illustrates
The base has been designed to be able to welcome several genera- how the central core and the capsules are landed by the crane vehicle. The
tions of crews. Given a large enough power storage system or a power capsules are deployed shortly before touchdown. During the second
source independent of light, crews could even consider staying all phase, no Earth orbit assembly is required and the crew capsule is des-
seasons in the base, in order to have a permanent human presence on cended as in the main scenario.
Mars. The base has also been designed to serve as a starting point for an
extended habitat system, considering that having access to Martian 7. Budgets
water reservoirs coupled with a life support system based on water
enables larger crews to visit Mars. Indeed, in addition to the water for The payload mass, volume, power consumption and data of the
the crane system propellant, due to of the closed-loop life support Mars Polar Research Base has been estimated in Table 5. 10% subsystem
system, water has to be resupplied only if the crew size is increased and margin and 30% system margin have been included, which correspond
for regular maintenance, as leaks are inevitable. to typical margins during pre-phase A [53], and maximum possible
The base can be connected to multiples of the base at the airlocks. mass, volume, power consumption and data has been used for each
Furthermore, because of the possibility of producing polyethylene subsystem. Equipment accommodating crews for Mars missions up to
membranes in-situ, more additional space can be built at any time. 700 days [16] have been included in both phase 1 and phase 2. For each
Various objects that are non-essential to a first generation mission but subsystem, the required redundancies have been included in the budget
can become an advantage when considering later missions or larger and integrated in the mission scenario design, as the orbiter can be used
crews can be produced in polyethylene (with 3D printing technology as a third level of redundancy.
for example) or brought from Earth. However, in order to be able to The crane system however, has not been included in the budget but it
sustain crews of larger size or over longer periods of time, autonomy has been estimated that the mass of one vehicle is approximatively 10
from Earth must be increased. Fig. 4 describing all consumables that tons without fuel or payload, margins included. Although a concept
can be produced in-situ or must be brought from Earth shows that food using high TRL where possible is proposed, some key technologies
and energy are the limits to the base's autonomy. However, this can be present low TRL and as a consequence, the budget estimations may vary
improved over generations of crews visiting the habitat. in accordance with future findings.
Indeed, in order to grow food, a greenhouse is required. Considering The total mass has been estimated at 110 tons, volume at 315 m3,
current research, it is estimated that it might be possible to grow food power consumption at 160 kW and finally, the data has been estimated
from Martian soil, if it is enriched with nitrogen [51]. Nitrogen can be at 175,000 bits/day [52].
extracted from Martian atmosphere by a nitrogen extractor, which is In the case where the payload capacity of rockets is maintained
required for ensuring the nitrogen content in the habitat's air also. This closely over 30 tons but the crane system descent payload capacity is
would allow to bring only the seeds from Earth. Experiments should increased to 60 tons, then both assemblies can be done in Earth orbit,
therefore be conducted either as secondary objectives or as main ob- simplifying the mission and reducing the propellant required for the
jective during later crew generations. As for power, the possibility of interplanetary transfer.
harvesting energy using in-situ solar concentrators coupled with
thermal storage, naturally occurring methane or another option using 8. Discussion
in-situ resources material should be tested and possibly built over
generations of crews, in order to allow the crew to grow in size. On a systems engineering level, two main areas in which technol-
ogies are to be developed have been identified. These are payload ca-
6.5. Trade-off scenarios pacity and in-situ resource utilization. Payload capacity is especially
important for the first crew generation as it is a mission and habitat
Considering the low TRL that rockets capable of delivering over 30 design driving factor. When considering a long-term presence of hu-
tons of payload to Mars currently have, a trade-off scenario in- mans on Mars, building materials and consumables become especially
vestigating the advantages of larger payload capacities is proposed. important however. Indeed, the more technologies in the areas of in-
Indeed, considering that using SLS rockets with a 32.6 tons payload situ resource utilization are developed and used, the lower the speci-
capacity to Mars, a Mars in-situ and an Earth orbit assembly are both fications become on payload capacity. The benefits become especially
required. Furthermore, Fig. 5 indicates that both the total payload for important over several crew generations.
phase 1 and the total payload for phase 2 stand within a 60 ton margin.
Therefore, if a rocket with a payload capacity of 60 tons to Mars was 8.1. Payload capacity
built, then the scenario could be simplified as described on Fig. 17. A
descent capacity of 60 tons is therefore also admitted for the crane Currently, the payload capacity is limited to 16,800 kg with the
system. Falcon Heavy rocket [54]. Considering that in Fig. 5, the total mass has

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Table 5
This table details an estimated budget for a Mars Polar Research Base in terms of mass, volume, data and power consumption without including the crane system. The
estimation has been made combining estimates from different sources and include 10% subsystem margin, 30% system margin and required redundancies. The mass
and volume are based on information from Human Spaceflight: Mission Analysis and Design [16], while data and power consumption originate from Mars or Bust's
Martian Habitat Design [52].
Phase 1 Phase 2

3
Equipment mass [kg] volume [m ] power [kW] Equipment mass [kg] volume [m3] power [kW]

ISRU Equipment 620 5.0 10.0 Structure 3400 3.5 –

Airlocks 4950 – – Galley and Food System 745 4.0 6.25
Rovers 3300 4.4 22.0 Furniture 975 2.5 –
Communications 595 1.0 5.0 Stowage 660 – 0.05
Energy 6080 6.2 – Exercise Facility 160 0.2 0.15
30% Margin 4665 4.5 11.1 Recreational Activities 170 0.05 1.1

Total rocket 1A 20,210 21.6 48.1 Housekeeping 330 5.15 1.4

Structure 3400 3.5 – Waste Collection System 290 8.45 0.05

Furniture 975 2.5 – Water System 980 7.17 4.875
Usability 5 0.05 0.2 Water 360 0.7 –
Galley and Food System 745 4.0 6.25 Food 10,597 38.9 –
Recreational Activities 170 0.05 1.1 Clothing 830 3.85 4.4
Personal Hygiene 360 8.9 2.2 Energy 1775 1.8 –
Water Closet (WC) 215 6.25 0.04 30% Margin 6380 22.9 5.5

Clothing 830 3.85 4.4 Total rocket 2A 27,650 99.2 23.78

Crew Health Care 1650 7.15 0.05 Crew 635 3.0 –

Exercise Facility 160 0.2 0.15 Crew Capsule 6600 10.0 –
Stowage 660 – 0.05 Personal Hygiene 360 8.9 2.2
Operational Supplies 245 3.2 0.85 Crew Health Care 1650 7.15 0.05
Housekeeping 330 5.15 1.4 EVA 540 5.5 2.5
Maintenance 1980 8.25 2.2 Communications 595 1.0 5.0
Laboratory 550 5.0 23.1 Air System 5850 8.3 3.9
EVA 540 5.5 2.5 Computers 390 0.35 0.05
Computers 390 0.35 0.05 Thermal Control 4255 12.6 0.7
Water System 5 0.03 1.1 Operational Supplies 245 3.2 0.85
Food 5855 21.5 – Maintenance 1980 8.25 2.2
Air System 5850 8.3 3.9 Usability 5 0.05 0.2
Waste System 610 4.5 1.8 30% Margin 6930 20.5 5.3

30% Margin 7657 29.5 15.40 Total rocket 2B 30,035 88.8 22.95

Total rocket 1B 31,180 127.75 66.74 Total phase 2 57,685 188.0 46.73

Total phase 1 51,390 149.35 114.84 Total 109,075 315.75 161.57

been estimated at about 110,000 kg, seven launches would be required. design criteria. The scenario has confirmed that, in this mission, the use
The price of a single launch stands at USD 90 million [54] and Earth of a crane system is required and we recommend the design, production
orbit and Mars in-situ assemblies would be necessary, adding com- and preparation of a crane system made of two crane vehicles, as this
plexity to the mission and reducing the security for the crew. Further- system would not only facilitate Mars surface robotic or crewed Mars
more, the central core's mass itself is estimated at 31,180 kg, which surface missions but is a key technology in the establishment of the
implies that vehicles with a launch capacity inferior to this mass require Mars Polar Research Base and when considering multi-generation
more complex orbital assemblies and reduce the ability of taking ad- crewed Mars surface missions. Considering the mission critical nature
vantage of deployable architectures. Therefore, both the payload ca- of the crane system, a separate study on the technology readiness level,
pacity to Mars per launch should be increased and the use of in-situ feasibility of the crane system and it's design on a systems engineering
resources should be maximized in order to minimize mass. Considering level should be realized. A technology roadmap for this particular
the mass estimations of this mission, we recommended to produce the technology should also be proposed. Furthermore, validation missions
LUS modification or 105 ton configuration evolved performance of for are required before sending the Mars Polar Research Base to Mars. This
the SLS, which both have an estimated payload capacity of at least 33 also translates itself in the opportunity to test several technologies that
tons. If possible, a rocket with a capacity of 60 tons payload could be are key in both the design of the crane system and the Mars Polar
produced, as 60 tons have been estimated to be required on one inter- Research Base in-situ, such as the in-situ propellant production for ex-
planetary transfer vehicle sending a crew to Mars. Furthermore, this ample, during a preliminary phase. It should be noted that establishing
technology would eliminate the need for the Mars in-situ and Earth a crane system in Mars' orbit is more complex than increasing the pay-
orbit assemblies required with the modified SLS rocket. load capacity to Mars.
It has been assumed that a crane system can be used for this mission Finally, because of the fairing, which is usually limited to under 6 m
and other crewed or robotic missions. This assumption has been made on most rockets, the volume which can be brought to Mars is limited
as several descents and ascents are required between Mars orbit and both in total size and shape. But since space can be considered as an in-
surface in this mission. Furthermore, the habitat has been designed with situ found resource, deployable structures can be used to ensure suffi-
facilitating Mars surface missions for future generations of crews as a cient space in the habitat. Deployable cores with extending arms can fit

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brought from Earth and is therefore a key technology for enabling the
Mars Polar Research Base or any other crewed Mars mission to evolve.
The first generation crew has to rely on dehydrated food brought from
Earth and cannot rely on Mars grown food as it takes too much time to
grow and the crew cannot rely on an untested life-critical technology.
Therefore, technologies allowing food to grow on Mars should be tested
rapidly. We recommend for an early crew generation to include the
testing of in-situ food production technologies. Using a greenhouse to
grow plants could potentially limit the requirement on resupply of
consumables over several missions and also presents the advantage of
having significant benefits for the crew's psychological well-being [55].
Considering this, a greenhouse has been included in the additional
space in the design of the in the Mars Polar Research Base for the first
generation crew. Several technologies are currently being developed for
growing food in-situ and should be tested in-situ [56]. Possibly, locally
Fig. 18. Artist's view of the central core and the deployed capsules being de-
found resources could even be used in the process of growing food, such
posited on Mars by the crane vehicle in the trade-off scenario. as Martian regolith as soil or treated nitrogen extracted from Mars' at-
mosphere [51]. Seeds and other nutrients can be brought from Earth. In
order to allow for in-situ testing and possibly reducing the quantity of
into the fairing without wasting any space on empty volumes such as
material required to be brought from Earth to feed the crew, a green-
circulation space allowing access to instruments. This way, the use of
house should be included in the design of the habitat.
the available fairing space becomes optimal. Furthermore, considering
Energy is required for Mars habitat. However, because Mars is too
the difference in pressure between the habitat and Mars' atmosphere,
far from the Sun to be able to harvest solar energy using solar panels,
inflatable structures are a great candidate for deploying additional
alternative methods for collecting energy are necessary. Just as food, in-
spaces. Several plastics such as polyethylene and polypropylene are
situ collected energy cannot be utilized by a first generation crew, as
currently being evaluated as possible materials for membranes for
energy is required to build the habitat. It is, however, also a key tech-
planetary exploration missions [45]. In this mission, a deployable core
nology in enabling a long-term presence. Solar concentrators, locally
coupled with two layers of inflatable membranes made of polyethylene
available methane sourcing or other technologies could be im-
membranes is proposed. The use of membranes facilitates the deploy-
plemented over several crew generations. Initial testing of candidate
ment of the core and this material has the advantage of being able to be
technologies could be done by the first generation crew as an auxiliary
produced in-situ from materials found on Mars. Having the capacity to
objective.
add space to a habitat could prove especially useful on long-term or
In addition to food and energy, autonomy from Earth concerning
larger missions and could be used for greenhouses, if growing food on
water and air made of oxygen and nitrogen should be developed as
Mars proves to be feasible. Therefore, we recommend including de-
much as possible from the first crew generation on. A two-phase mis-
ployable cores in the design of Mars missions with a human crew and
sion with the habitat constructed before the arrival of the crew allows
developing in-situ producible membranes.
to test technologies ensuring water and air and to confirm their success
before even sending the crew to Mars.
8.2. Autonomy from Earth Although a water cycle for six crew members can be maintained
with less than 900 kg, leakage and limited efficiency will, over time,
Since consumables must be resupplied regularly in order for humans imply that water must be added in-situ or more water brought from
to survive on Mars and that they account for a large part of the payload, Earth. Because this mission is located near the North Pole and that
they are a limiting factor to the presence of humans on Mars, especially water is therefore accessible, we propose that in the first phase of the
when considering long-term missions. mission, during the deployment of the habitat, the rovers will mine for
As can be seen in Fig. 4, food and energy are the consumables re- water and the in-situ collected water will be processed into drinkable
quired for the crew to survive and the mission to be implemented that water before the crew travels to Mars. Therefore, autonomy from Earth
necessarily need to be brought from Earth. Therefore, the development in water could be tested and implemented by the first generation crew.
of technologies allowing for Mars grown food and harvested energy Habitats in different locations might have to rely on different water
would not only facilitate future crewed missions but also allow for sources. However, testing the possibility of supplying the base with
larger crews and longer missions. The consumables fraction of the water from the North Polar cap, if successful, could reinforce the hy-
payload increases with the length and size of a mission. Therefore, to pothesis that the area near the Martian North Pole is a viable and safe
facilitate missions or enable a larger variety of Mars missions with crew, option for a larger base with more crew members or even a Mars
the autonomy from Earth must be increased, the alternative being colony.
regular resupplying by rockets and the risks associated with the transits. Air suffers from the same problems as water; leakage. Air must be
The difficulty with in-situ resource utilization and consumables lie replaced at a constant rate and therefore oxygen and nitrogen must be
in the fact that they are life critical technologies, and therefore need to collected from the Martian environment. The Mars Polar Life Research
be tested on Mars before a crew can rely on them. However, since in- Base proposes to test in-situ the production of oxygen via water elec-
situ resource utilization technologies can be used for the construction of trolysis. It uses the mined ice to produce hydrogen that will be used in
the habitat, therefore decreasing the mission mass, a two phase mission the production of ethylene and the oxygen can then be injected into the
in which the habitat is constructed on Mars before the crew is even sent habitat. For the nitrogen, it can be noted that this element is present in
to the planet is preferable to a single phase mission. Indeed, since only the Martian atmosphere and therefore, there is a possibility of being
partial testing can be done on Earth, this implies that the establishment absolutely independent of Earth concerning air by the first crew gen-
of the base depends on hypothesis. Therefore, the mission scenario has eration, considering that a nitrogen extractor can supply the habitat
to accommodate for a testing possibility during which the lives of the with nitrogen instead of bringing it in tanks. The extraction and treat-
crew do not depend upon the results. ment of nitrogen can furthermore also be used in experiments for
Food accounts for the largest part in consumables that need to be growing food in-situ.

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9. Conclusions Earth is necessary for enabling larger crews or longer missions, which is
consistent with the objective of a long-term presence on Mars.
Analysis of the mission requirements and the Martian context have Considering this, we recommend to include the possibility of using
established that a two phase mission should be selected because of the these technologies in the base's design and to include their testing as
limited payload capacity to Mars. In fact, in a two phase mission during soon as the first crew generation. The technologies allowing for water,
which the habitat is built during the first phase, in-situ resources can be oxygen and nitrogen to be produced in-situ can be tested in the first
taken advantage of. This reduces the mass budget of the mission and phase, before the departure of the first generation crew. The technol-
enables life and mission critical technologies to be tested and confirmed ogies with lower TRL, which are those allowing for food and energy to
before the crew is sent to Mars. be produced in-situ, should be tested during the first mission including
In order to minimize the mass and take full advantage of the re- a human crew. Therefore it has been recommended to include a ni-
sources found at the Mars North Pole, an IRSU strategy allowing for trogen extractor, a fully equipped greenhouse capable of testing dif-
equipment to serve for multiple purposes has been proposed. This ferent methods of food growth and various prototypes, such as solar
strategy is based on mined ice water in combination with some ele- dynamic, methane sourcing technologies and other candidates, al-
ments from the atmosphere and others brought from Earth. The ice lowing to test in-situ energy production in the habitat's design.
water is used as cover for the dome, to protect against CGR and micro- Finally, this mission design has concluded that the Martian North
meteoroids. Furthermore, the water ice can be transformed into ethy- Pole could be a viable candidate for supporting temporary crews and a
lene using electrolysis and a Fischer-Tropsch catalyst. Ethylene can be long-term presence on Mars, as ISRU strategies using water ice could
used as an in-situ produced propellant (ISPP) with oxygen from the theoretically be implemented. This mission design has also concluded
atmosphere and with a pressurized heater, polyethylene can be fabri- that it is realistic to consider that a first crewed base on Mars at the
cated, which can be used for making membranes and plastic objects, North Pole should already include all the design features for preparing a
allowing the crew to make repairs and to evolve the base. long-term presence on Mars, as it presents to be an optimal strategy
Using these strategies, the mass, volume, power and data budgets minimizing the mass budget over several crew generations.
have been estimated for the crewed Mars Polar Research Mission and are Technologies enabling autonomy from Earth regarding consumables
described in Table 6. From the strategy, the scenario and the budget should be tested as soon as the first crew generation, as the results will
estimation, several problems have been identified. Indeed, the low enable the Mars Polar Research Mission to evolve and other possible
technology readiness level (TRL) of several technologies such as the crewed missions to Mars to be able to rely on in-situ tested life-support
payload capacity to Mars and in-situ resource utilization for consum- systems.
ables are factors limiting the possibilities for any Mars mission with a Overall, the recommendations resulting from the design of the Mars
human crew, including close to the North Polar region. The repercus- Polar Research Mission are consistent with NASA's Technology
sions are strong constraints on the mission architecture and on the Roadmaps, which have established a calendar for developing the
habitat design. This is especially true in the case of a base that has the technologies necessary for a Mars crewed mission to be ready in the late
possibility of evolving and welcoming a long-term human presence on 2020s or 2030s. Indeed, increasing the payload capacity (TA 1.1) [57],
Mars. proposing solutions for evolving habitats (TA 7.4.2) [13], developing
Considering that the payload capacity has been identified as a key technologies allowing for in-situ entry, descent, and landing systems
technology to be developed, several recommendations have been made (TA 9) [58] have been included in the roadmap. In-situ resource utili-
as a result of this analysis. The first is to develop rockets with payload zation has also been identified (TA 7.1) [13], especially when con-
capacities of about 33 tons, which is equivalent to Boeing's proposition sidering consumables required for life support. This article has identi-
of a LUS modification or NASA's 105 tons evolved performance SLS fied specific technologies in each of these areas and recommends the
modification. Alternatively, rockets with a capacity of about 60 tons further analysis and possible development of the proposed technolo-
could be developed, as it has been estimated that this is the minimum gies.
payload considering high TRL that is required on one interplanetary
transfer vehicle for the crew. It is also consistent with the mass of the
habitat, which is about 50 tons. The second is to design and build a Declarations of interest
crane system using in-situ produced propellant (ISPP), which can ensure
the trips between Mars' orbit and surface for crewed and robotic ex- None.
ploration mission. Indeed, a crane system has the potential to enable
Mars missions with crew, especially when considering long-term pre- Funding
sence of humans, and facilitating robotic missions. The third re-
commendation is to consider volume as an in-situ available resource This research did not receive any specific grant from funding
and therefore to include deployable structures considering the limited agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
available fairing. In the studied scenario, a combination between a
deployable core and in-situ produced membranes from locally available
materials has been shown to be an efficient strategy. Acknowledgments
Limited autonomy from Earth regarding consumables has been
identified as a key technology presenting low TRL. Autonomy from We would like to take this opportunity to thank Muriel Richard from
the Space Engineering Center (eSpace) at the Ecole Polytechnique
Table 6 Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) for her support. We would also like to
This table is a summary of Table 5 and shows the total es- thank Dr. Olga Bannova who has encouraged and fostered this project
timation for mass, volume, energy and data for a Mars Polar and its publication, Dr. Barbara Imhof, Waltraut Hoheneder and Dr.
Research Mission. Susmita Mohanty from Liquifer Systems Group, who have supported us
Metric Total and provided us with valuable resources. Furthermore, we would also
like to thank Peter Zurbrügg and Alain Nussbaumer, who are teaching
mass [kg] 110,00 the class ”Living on Mars” at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de
volume [m3] 315
Lausanne (EPFL), Suren Erkman from the faculty for Geosciences and
power consumption [kW] 160
data [bits/day] 175,000 Environment at the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and Théodore
Besson from Earth Space Technical Ecosystems Enterprises (ESTEE).

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Anne-Marlene Rüede is a student at the Swiss Polytechnic Claudio Leonardi is the head of the Clip-Air project at the
Federal Institute in Lausanne (EPFL). She is majoring in Swiss Polytechnic Federal Institute in Lausanne (EPFL)
Architecture and Space Technologies with the objective of since 2009, and is in charge of the architecture, the struc-
becoming a space and extreme environments architect. ture and the management of the project. He also manages
coordination and development in the fields covered by the
Clip-Air project: transportation, modular logistics, me-
chanics, structure, architecture. Claudio Leonardi has al-
ready been involved in a number of major projects, in-
cluding Solar Impulse. He has also collaborated with Yves
Rossy aka Jetman.

Dr Anton B. Ivanov has been recently (2017) appointed as Tatiana Volkova is an aerospace engineer & space architect
the Director of the Space Center at the Skolkovo Institute of and graduated from Bauman Moscow Technical University
Science and Technology in Moscow, Russia. This work was and Ecole Polytechnique Paris. Tatiana's personal goal is to
initiated when Dr. Ivanov was Scientist with the EPFL Space drive the growth of innovation in the field of architecture in
Center. He is currently the project manager for the CubETH extreme conditions and is passionate about habitat design
CubeSat project, study leader for the CHEOPS satellite and overall efficiency. She is currently conducting her PhD re-
was responsible for the Minor in Space Technologies EPFL. search at the Swiss Polytechnic Federal Institute in
After receiving his PhD in Planetary Science from Caltech in Lausanne (EPFL) in the field of architecture in the extreme
2000, Dr Ivanov joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to environments.
contribute to Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, Mars
Express and Mars Science Laboratory projects. From 2007
until 2017, Dr. Ivanov was a scientist with the EPFL Space
Center and the Swiss Space Center.

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