Projects, Projects and More Projects

We have quite a few different projects which we have undertaken since we created ISECCo in 1988. We have tried to arrange them in a logical order. Eventually we will fill out a lot more links explaining what we plan (or expect to happen). For now this is primarily an outline.

If any of you would like to take a portion of this page and fill it in we would very much appreciate the help!

Overview of Projects

These are all the projects ISECCo has ever thought about. They range from the mundane to complete fantasy.

Note: These are poorly organized, and few are even written. We'll be working on this over the next year (decade?!) to improve it, so check back often! A few of the places have duplicate links; I hope this isn't too confusing.

This group of projects is well within our abilities. Many are already finished; the rest are scheduled for completion before we tackle any of our 'far out' projects.

CELSS Research

Nauvik (note: this link is the same as that found on our main page), our primary project: a Closed Ecological Life Support System--CELSS (Commonly called a Biosphere).

• Conceptualization: a book outlining our preliminary ideas [95K].
• Preliminary garden experiments
• The garden circle
• The Basement Biosphere
• Nauvik preliminary excavation
• Greenhouse
• Mars Base 0: An Alaskan Platform for a Martian CELSS (Conference paper)
• Mars Base 0 (same link as that found on our main page).
• Mars Base 0 diary (NEW:  7/2/2002)
• Extraneous experiments:
• Analysis of gases produced by anaerobic degradation
• Earthworm breakdown of solid waste
• Use of earthworms as fish food
• Not very high in calories
• Reports are fish don't seem to thrive on exclusive diet
• Earthworm Research Paper
• Soil pH stabilization using earthworms
• Production table for plants (calories/area planted)
• The Second Paper
• Research notes
• Visiting other CELSS/biosphere sites
• 1993? Visit to Kennedy
• 1993? Visit to Johnson Space Center
• 1991?, 1993? Visits to Biosphere 2
• Proposed visit to NASA Ames
• Proposed visit to Russian Bios 3 facility
• Conversion of NASA research papers into HTML, fully linked with our references (this is just a test system (idea) now; we aren't sure it is going to work well enough to be worth the considerable effort needed).
• Further experiments for Nauvik
• Simulated lunar lighting, where we only use a very minimal amount of light (just enough to keep plants growing) for 14 days-and 24 hour high intensity lighting for 14 days. This would simulate the lunar day, and we could experiment to see what kind of problems a CELSS on the moon would run into with this kind of lighting, and how much power it would need to survive the lunar night.
• Lower pressure than normal (10 psi?).
• Higher pressure than normal (20 psi?).
• Stressed by crop failure.
• Stressed by too more people (exceed design parameters).
• Stressed by low atmospheric nitrogen levels.

Super Tube

• Preliminary specifications
• Construction
• Ice as a construction medium
• Preliminary ice strength tests
• More ice testing
• Ice & metal
• Test launcher #1: what kind of g forces can we achieve?
• Rifle statistics
• Test launcher #2: what kind of speeds can we achieve?
• Discussions of speed needed
• A few ideas for one that'll put a payload in space
• Orbital techniques (the super tube will not put something in orbit; the trajectory must be 'rounded' to prevent the projectile from running into earth near the end of the first 'orbit'. 2 possibilities: a rocket to give the added boost, or a catcher to catch it.
• Payloads
• Hardened materials
• 'Soft' materials
• People
• Shooting at the moon
• Accelerations
• Transfer orbit
• Landing on the moon
• Hard landings
• Rocket assisted stopping
• Catcher assisted stopping

Creation of ISECCo

• Initial meeting
• Filing papers with the State of Alaska
• Getting our non-profit status from the IRS

Building membership

• Our first 5 years
• Advertising
• The web page
• More advertising
• Ideas for the future

Web site

• The initial web site was done by converting some explain files Ray had on the University of Alaska (Fairbanks) computer system. Channon Price did this in the spring of 1995.
• Version 1.0; published in August, 1995.
• Minor modifications were done through the end of 1995
• Version 2.0-Beta released in January, 1996. It was by no means complete, so we just linked it to Version 1.
• Connections & Explorations
• Research Papers we'd like to add

Newsletters

• 1988
• 1989
• 1990
• 1991
• 1992
• 1993
• 1994
• 1995
• 1996
• 1997
• 1998
• 1999

Remote control vehicles

• Mobile crawler
• Mock-up of space robot

Papers, conferences, interviews, press releases etc

As our productivity increases we are becoming better known in scientific world. This is due in part to the papers we have presented at conferences, published or otherwise distributed as well as a few classes we have given lectures to. This isn't quite complete yet, but we are working on it!

• Conferences attended
• Interviews
• March, 1993
• Papers presented at conferences
• Mars Base 0: An Alaskan Platform for a Martian CELSS {duplicate of above}
• {Marilynn's paper}
• Books we've printed
• The Biosphere Project: Outline [95K]
• Class lectures presented
• Ecology ## class lecture, spring 1991: Nauvik

Hanger

• The hanger is the property of Ray R. Collins; he will pay for it, though ISECCo will help build it.
• Why & how we are involved
• Construction to date
• Future construction schedule

These projects start a little bit far out, and go way off the deep end (at least in terms of our ability to accomplish them). As far as that goes many of these are more goals we'd like to see the nation (or international community) tackle.

Disclaimer: We do not, nor do we expect to, have the resources to do many (if any) of the things listed below. They should be viewed strictly as our fantasies about how the future will come about.

We are looking for comments we can add to all of the following. Please mail any you may have! What have we missed? Which are so far out that they aren't practical?

Obtaining $10,000 per month

• What we need it for
• When we expect to need it
• How we hope to get it

Aero-space plane

This is for our more ambitious members, and for the sedate ones to fantasize about.

• Specifications
• Possible costs
• Construction ideas

Orbital CELSS

This one is getting up there.

• Purpose
• Possibilities of making it mobile, to wander the solar system

Preliminary space station

So is this one.

• Purpose
• Possible uses

Lunar 'railway': a transport & support system

This is more about what is needed, not how to do it.

• Requirements

Lunar Orbiter

• Purpose
• Initially a Lunar mapper
• Base to launch un-manned surface exploration
• Primary support base for ground base
• Storage facility
• Emergency support of ground base
• Transfer point for traffic
• Design
• Costs

Lunar circumnavigation

Just a fun idea.

• Ideas.

Lunar exploration

Research into the lunar resources

• How?
• Orbital vehicles
• Surface vehicles (teleoperation)
• Sample & return
• Manned exploration
• What we are looking for
• Minerals
• Light
• Water
• Building materials
• Astronomy sites

Lunar transport system

If there were a way to get to the moon without spending huge amounts of money, we are confident it would be quickly colonized.

• Rockets
• Aero-space planes
• Mass Drivers

Lunar base

The first few permanent people

• Purpose
• Logistical problems
• Are there lava tubes around that could be modified for use?
• Proposed activities (work)
• Proposed activities (leisure)
• Tour length
• What we think it should be
• What others think it should be

2^nd Lunar 'Power' Base

• ___ suggested to us that placing 2 bases 'across' the lunar pole from each other would allow one of them to have sunlight at all times. The distance between them need not be excessive; ?60? miles is all that would be required. This would allow you to use solar energy throughout the lunar night by 'shipping' it from one base to the other.
• Of course locating a base at the pole would allow you to have portions in the sun the majority of the time, especially mountain tops and such near the base. (We need to check orbital wobble and determine the exact amount of time which it would-and wouldn't-be in the sun.

Lunar colony

We (abstractly) define a colony as 100 people or more. Though we don't think anything under 2,000 people would be a viable community, (mostly independent from earth), and it is more likely to be much closer to several hundred thousand.

• A single structure, or a community of structures?
• Above ground or below?
• Food, air and water production.
• Imports
• Exports
• 2,000 person colony
• If you need 1,500 square foot per person (including that needed for CELSS operation) that equals the area of a 2,000 foot diameter crater.
• Construction costs, at $60,000 per square foot gives a total construction price tag of $180 billion dollars, or $60 million per resident.

1. Is this a reasonable number? It is 1,000 times more costly than residential construction in Alaska. But it must include the terribly expensive transportation costs.
2. What kinds of construction materials can we obtain locally?
3. What kinds of materials need to be imported?
4. How much weight, per square foot constructed, must be transported to the lunar surface?
5. It capping a crater a reasonable idea?
6. How porous is the lunar rock? Can a sealer be used, or must it a metal or rubber surface be used?
7. What will be needed to do in the way of surface preparation?
8. What sort of heavy equipment will we need?
9. Should the top be glass?
10. If it is not glass, should we try to get away with a very thin interior surface, covered with lots of soil to counteract the force of the air inside (70' thick, estimate, to get earth normal)?
11. How much work will be required to build a sheet metal plant?
12. What kind of man-hours will be required to build the colony:

• Locally
• Teleoperation

1. What kinds of ancillary support facilities will be needed to run the structure:

• Heating & Cooling
• Air quality
• Light (sunlight vs artificial)
• Power
• Water
• Fire detection & suppression

1. CELSS functions

• We suggest a teleoperated CELSS unit, which is capable of being run almost exclusively from earth; lunar manpower should be reserved for use on the moon!
• Future expansion

Space elevator

This is by far the most economical way to get to space.

• What it is
• Going up: energy needed
• Coming down: energy acquired
• Things to be transported

Martian exploration

Mankind has already started. But there is lots left to do, and some sort of surface exploration is needed. Money to properly explore mars has yet to be found, though both NASA and ##Russian## have taken several steps in the right direction.

• Explorations to date
• Unites States
• Russia
• Currently proposed explorations/ideas
• United States
• Russia
• European
• Japanese
• A few possible techniques
• Orbital vehicles
• Surface vehicles (robotics)
• Sample & return
• Manned exploration
• What we are looking for
• Minerals
• Water
• Carbon dioxide
• Building materials

Martian base

The first few permanent people

• Purpose
• Logistical problems
• Proposed activities (work)
• Proposed activities (leisure)

Semicycler

The semicycler is an orbital device, which would provide comfortable transportation between earth and mars. It would be a larger space station orbiting between the two planets, allowing you to save the costs of accelerating/decelerating a large support structure more than once. All you need is a shuttle between the earth (or mars) and the semicycler, just big enough to transport your passengers.

• Our additions to his ideas
• Cost savings analysis
• How long would it take?
• Recommended sizes

Martian colony

Mars is a planet that has long fascinated mankind. In general, given a choice, many people would prefer to live on mars rather than on the moon

• Transportation to & from
• Resources
• Work & leisure

Huge space colonies

Gerald O'Neil, founder of Space Studies Institute, believes mankind's destiny does not lie on the surface of planets, but in large space colonies. Who are we to argue?

• Their designs
• O'Neil
• Savage
• Others
• Our ideas

Mining the asteroids

By the end of the next millennium mankind will be getting the majority of his raw resources from space. Since asteroids are a huge resource, their mining & processing is likely to be one of the major industries. This will also relieve earth's ecosphere from having to absorb the toxins produce by smelting ore.

• What is out there
• What we need
• How we can get it to earth
• Getting it down to earth

Mass driver to the stars

This is just an idea, but suppose you build a mass driver that was a million miles long (naturally this would have to be in space). Then you put a projectile that had whatever instruments you wanted on it. Accelerate it at 26,000 g (this is quite a bit less than a rifle bullet, the fastest of which accelerate at over 100,000 g). The final velocity would be 10% the speed of light-or fast enough to make it to the nearest star in one lifetime. Of course if technology progresses to the point where we can boost at, say, 2.6 million g we'd be able to get very close to the speed of light (90%). Of course we aren't any where near being able to build such a device. Nor could we launch people with it: 10 g is as high as is safe for any length of time! But as a means to explore the near parts of our galaxy it would be a good way to start.