Come Join us for the following space habitat challenge design games!
Where will the space habitat challenge design games be?
We will be in the Adams Presentation Space for the briefing and game outcome presentations during the first and the last hour. Each team can choose to stay or go work in the GeoDesign Lab or VR Lab at the College of Architecture during the second hour. Participation over zoom can be arranged upon request.
When are the Space Habitat Challenge Design Games?
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09/11/2021 (1-4 p.m.): Game One – Human System
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10/16/2021 (1-4 p.m.): Game Two – Food (Nutrient) System
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11/13/2021 (1-4 p.m.): Game Three – Energy (Material/Waste) System
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02/19/2022 (1-4 p.m.): Game Four –Water (Wastewater) System
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03/12/2022 (1-4 p.m.): Game Five – Atmospheric (Thermal) System
What is the Space Habitat Challenge?
The space habitat is intended to be the next generation International Space Station as a city for a million space inhabitants and tourists. The space habitat will have the capacity to orbit around the Earth and ultimately travel to and land on the Moon or Mars without violating any principles of the Outer Space Treaty (https://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/spacelaw/treaties/introouterspacetreaty.html)
We are developing a modular landscape approach to provide self-sufficiency within the space habitat through prototyping ecosystem service providers (ESPs) as building blocks of a closed-loop life support system. Although four types of microbial fuel cells will be explored as default ESPs, other prototypes that provide both natural and cultural ecosystem services are also encouraged. The technical exploration of space habitats on their ability to provide ecosystem services, such as water, food, and energy, will also be balanced with humanistic investigation of space habitats as a loci of place attachment that facilitates post-relocation adaptation.
What is each design game going to be about?
To minimize source input and waste output associated with a space habitat, each game will focus on developing one of the following systems in ways that they self-organize and synergize with others into complex adaptive systems: 1) human system, 2) food (nutrient) system, 3) energy (material/waste) system, 4) water (wastewater) system, 5) atmospheric (thermal) system, and 6) system integration. Each game will begin with horizontal teams composed of representatives from the following focus groups: design (human factor), ecological, engineering, microbial, and system integration (automation) and end with vertical teams organized based on the five focus groups with members that serve as representatives on horizontal teams. At the end of each game, each horizontal and vertical team will make a presentation to share game outcomes. After each game, each horizontal and vertical team will meet at least once to advance their game outcomes into open-ended concepts that can be integrated with other systems resulted from future games.
During the human system game, we will be generating consensus-based space governance scenarios as possible adaptation pathways for the increasingly more severe terrestrial and space extreme weather events. Each team member will first take turns to compose a contextual scenario for framing the siting and design rational for their proposed space habitat. For each scenario-specific adaptation pathway, we will co-create a space habitat design framework to guide the implementation of these adaptation pathways through phasing plans that target 2030, 2050, and 2100 as short-term, mid-term, and long-term milestones. Each phasing plan will identify, prioritize, and size suitable locations and prototypes for a target carrying capacity. Then, they will rotate to propose suitable sites for space habitats. During the system integration game, we will use the prototypes resulted from previous games as game cards. Within the space habitat, each team member will suggest one suitable location for one priority prototype among the ones created by previous games until everyone on the team agrees with the locations and prototypes proposed.
Default scenario to be finetuned with game outcomes (alternative scenarios are welcome):
Phase one will focus on prototyping closed-loop life support systems to facilitate the environmental adaptation of a growing population to the increasingly more space-like adverse living conditions on Earth. By 2030, these life support systems will be implemented as space habitat proving grounds with launch and manufacturing facilities for transit space habitats and vocational training capacities for the space industry. These terrestrial Space Job Corps campuses will stimulate the growth of new towns with space job centers as potential relocation destinations for 13 million U.S. coastal residents estimated to be permanently displaced around 2030 by recurrent high-tide flooding due to rapid sea level rise and tidal amplification associated with the solar and lunar cycles. By 2050, the Space Job Corps town-gown prototypes will be implemented on the Moon by the Space Job Corps graduates, NASA, and space companies. Suitable sites will be investigated for hosting moon bases as relocation destinations for another 26 million U.S. coastal residents estimated to be permanently displaced by 2050. By 2100, these prototypes will be implemented on the Mars for another 52 million U.S. coastal residents at risk of permanent displacement by 2100.
Agenda for 09/11/2021 (1-4 p.m.):
Game One – Human System
- 1:00 – 1:30 p.m.: Introduction to Space Habitat Challenge Design Games
- 1:30 – 2:00 p.m.: Precedents and Gaps within the Space Human System
- 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.: Space Human System Design Games to Address the Gaps and Build upon Precedents
- 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.: Team Presentations of Design Game Outcomes
Agenda for 10/16/2021 (1-4 p.m.):
Game Two – Food (Nutrient) System
- 1:00 – 1:30 p.m.: Overview of Space Human System Game Outcomes
- 1:30 – 2:00 p.m.: Precedents and Gaps within the Space Food (Nutrient) System
- 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.: Space Food System Design Games to Address the Gaps and Build upon Precedents
- 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.: Team Presentations of Design Game Outcomes
Agenda for 11/13/2021 (1-4 p.m.):
Game Three – Energy (Material/Waste) System
- 1:30 – 2:00 p.m.: Precedents and Gaps within the Space Energy (Material/Waste) System
- 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.: Space Energy (Material/Waste) System Design Games to Address the Gaps and Build upon Precedents
- 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.: Team Presentations of Design Game Outcomes
Agenda for 02/19/2022 (1-4 p.m.):
Game Four – Water (Wastewater) System
- 1:00 – 1:30 p.m.: Overview of Space Human, Food, and Energy System Game Outcomes
- 1:30 – 2:00 p.m.: Precedents and Gaps within the Space Water (Wastewater) System
- 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.: Space Water (Wastewater) System Design Games to Address the Gaps and Build upon Precedents
- 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.: Team Presentations of Design Game Outcomes
Agenda for 03/21/2022 (1-4 p.m.):
Game Five – Atmospheric (Thermal) System
- 1:00 – 1:30 p.m.: Overview of Space Human, Food, Energy, and Water System Game Outcomes
- 1:30 – 2:00 p.m.: Precedents and Gaps within the Space Atmospheric (Thermal) System
- 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.: Space Atmospheric (Thermal) System Design Games to Address the Gaps and Build upon Precedents
- 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.: Team Presentations of Design Game Outcomes
Agenda
Game Six – System Integration
- 1:00 – 1:30 p.m.: Overview of Space Human, Food, Energy, Water, and Thermal System Outcomes
- 1:30 – 2:00 p.m.: Precedents and Gaps within the Space System Integration
- 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.: Space System Integration Design Games to Address the Gaps and Build upon Precedents
- 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.: Team Presentations of Design Game Outcomes