Response from Jennifer Heldmann:
Excellent work. Your design shows that you have really thought about some of the most important aspects of designing the lunar research station. It is a good idea to design a station for 4 astronauts since that is how many astronauts NASA is planning to send back to the Moon at first. Great idea to include a greenhouse so that you can provide food for the astronauts (and it also gives the astronauts the opportunity to do some gardening!). Hydroponics is a good idea as well. Also it is a good idea to use solar power, but what will you do when it is nighttime? Can you include a back-up power supply (such as batteries)? Remember that on the Moon, nighttime can last as long as 2 weeks if you are near the equator. It is also a good idea to cover the habitat with Moon dust to protect from radiation. Also good work with the design of the space suit for the astronauts. This is very important so that the astronauts can go outside and work outside the habitat. You have included many of the important parts of a space suit such as gloves that aren't too thick so the astronauts can still work with them on (but still providing the right amount of protection), radiation protection, oxygen, temperature control, communications, and battery pack. Good idea to have an emergency kit, too -- what is included in the emergency kit? Can you think of some things that the astronauts might need to use in an emergency? Also, it is a good idea to put your Moon base in a crater - can you think of any reasons why putting the base in a crater is a good idea?

Response from Jennifer Heldmann:
Excellent work. You have covered many very important aspects of the design of a lunar research station.

Topic: Entry and Exit, from Brandon, Victoria, and Kylie. This is a very detailed and comprehensive design - well done! Very good that you have given the astronauts enough space to put their spacesuits on. Great idea to include the blowing gas to clean off the spacesuits. Can the astronauts also use this gas that comes down from the ceiling when they are coming back in to the living quarters after they have been outside working on the Moon? One thing that happened to the Apollo astronauts is that a lot of Moon dust stuck to their spacesuits and so they tracked a lot of dust back into their spaceship.

Topic: Contamination, from Tyler and Levi. Good that you have pointed out that we need to protect the astronauts from radiation. Can you think of more ways to protect the astronauts from radiation? You could use a layer of slag and water to protect the astronauts. Have you also considered covering the research station with Moon dirt? This can also help protect against radiation. For removing the Moon dust from the astronauts spacesuits after they are done working outside on the Moon, a magnet will only work if the Moon dust is magnetic. If all the dust isn't magnetic, can you think of other ways that you could clean the spacesuits of the Moon dust?

Topic: Location, from Alexis, Amanda, and Connor. Good idea to put your lunar research station in a crater. Some craters are smooth and some craters are rocky, though, so you'll have to pick a good spot. When you are picking your location, can you think of any reasons why you might want to have ice nearby? Remember there is not much ice (if any at all!) on the Moon -- only maybe near the north and/or south pole of the Moon.

Topic: Human factors, from Joey, Teresita, Alison, and Kris. Great job in that you have listed many of the most important human factors involved in designing a lunar research station! You're right - building an outpost on the Moon is probably harder than it looks. Remember there is no atmosphere on the Moon, so probably there is not much activity in terms of Moon storms. You're right in that at the equator of the Moon you have two weeks of darkness and two weeks of sunlight. However, near the poles of the Moon there are some places that are almost always in sunlight (and also some places that are always in darkness)! Would it be better to put your research station near the equator or near the pole? You can decide from a human factors standpoint. For the generator room, will you have a back-up source of power in case the generator fails or you run out of fuel?

Topic: Life Support, from Logan, Kassandra, William, Brandi, and Adriana. Good ideas for supplying the Moon base with water and oxygen. Yes, you can get water from Moon rocks and urine. However, the only Moon rocks that might have water in them are rocks that are located near the north and/or south pole of the Moon, in places where the sun never shines so that it is always very dark and very cold. There might be ice in these places, so to get water from the Moon rocks you'd have to have your base near the pole. Moon rocks all over the Moon have oxygen, though. So based on this information, where will you plan to put your Moon base?

Topic: Architecture of Moon base. Great that you have including living space as well as space to conduct experiments. For the launch strip around the outside of the dome, should this launch strip be straight or curved? (Think about runways on Earth, like at the airport -- are they straight or curved?) It is also good that you have thought about the design of your research base. Good choice to put the circular base in a crater. Also, your design of the capsule and transporter for carrying people between the Earth and Moon is excellent. How many people can the capsule and transporter carry?

7. Eagle Point Elementary 4th and 5th grade Science Club
Teacher / Club Sponsor: Dr. Lisa Milenkovic

Response from Jennifer Heldmann:
Nice design! Very thorough and you have thought of a lot of things that are important to the design of a lunar research station.
LOCATION: Good idea to place your station underneath a ledge - this will provide you with protection from radiation and also small meteors. There isn't really a place on the Moon that has less of a chance of a meteor strike than any other and also the radiation isn't much lower in any particular place than any other so it is good to protect yourself by being somewhat underground. Remember that if you are going to be near a place that might have ice then you have to be near the north or south pole. It is only near the poles where there are places that the sun never shines so it is very cold and ice might be there. Very good point to check out the daylight availability at your location. Near the equator you will get 2 weeks of daylight and 2 weeks of darkness but near the poles there are places where it is almost always daylight (and other places where it is always darkness)!

ENERGY and LIFE SUPPORT: Great idea to use solar power. Also good that you will be checking the availability of sunlight - this is important to your design. Will you have a back-up power source in case the solar panels break? Good idea to also have a greenhouse, and excellent point that we need to test out a greenhouse on the Moon first because we have never grown anything on the moon before! Also good idea to recycle as much as possible.

HUMAN FACTORS: You have included many of the essentials in the lunar research station design, such as recreation areas, living room, bedrooms, bathrooms, exercise room, kitchen, and greenhouse. Will there be any laboratories for the astronauts to do their science research? Also good that you have included communications systems. For people out in the field - will they be able to communicate only with other people out in the field or can they also talk with people back in the habitat? And for communiations with Earth - can the astronauts only communicate with Earth by text message & email or can they also talk with people on Earth by radio signal?

EXPLORATION AND EVA ACTIVITIES:  Nice that you have included information regarding space suits and also exploration vehicles. Can you design what a rover might look like that the astronauts can drive on the lunar surface? How will the rover get power? How many people can it carry?

RESEARCH STATION ARCHITECTURE AND MATERIALS: Excellent research station design! Good idea to build the station partly below ground and also good that you have protection on the part of the station that is above ground. You have done a good job of designing the station so that people can move around to different parts of the station by including the ladders and such. What will be included in the ship bay? To minimize contamination for moon dust, should you cover the bottom of your habitat with some material instead of just using hollowed out moon rock?

CONTAMINATION: This is an excellent and very comprehensive assessment of contamination issues on the Moon. Great idea to provide radiation protection by placing your living quarters below ground. It is also a great idea to keep all the rovers and ships stored in the landing room and separate from the astronaut living quarters. Also good to have the astronauts go through decontamination procedures both as they enter and exit the research station. Can you give more specifics regarding the design of these decontamination procedures? For example, how will you get the moon dust off of the spacesuits when the astronauts come back inside the research station?
Your plan for recycling of carbon dioxide, water, and waste is also excellent. Recycling is very important for a lunar base since it may be difficult to get the raw materials needed to support humans on the Moon.

Response from Ben Corbin:
Thank you for submitting a moon base plan to the NASA Quest Challenge! I wish you well just for trying, and I hope your passion for space exploration stay with your throughout your education.

First, I'd like to say that having a base underground would definitely protect the astronauts from dangerous radiation and micrometeorites. I've actually discussed this idea with some graduate students across the world and they say it's not that difficult, and I personally wrote a recommendation about radiation into the Youth Space Declaration. However, there are a few questions you will need to address. Will the digging equipment be too heavy to launch? Can it be automated so it can dig out areas while the astronauts aren't on the moon yet so when they get there, there will be plenty of room to build an underground base? Also, I don't think digging a giant 1-mile radius hole would be a good idea structurally. Try to think of ways to not just dig out a huge cave, because lunar regolith isn't as strong as steel.

Your idea for taking oxygen out of the soil is a great one. The surface of the moon is covered with light silicates from which oxygen can be extracted. However, this base must be self-sustaining for a month. Do you think having something that would speed up the process make it so you wouldn't need a backup plan of importing from Earth?

You made a claim that the lack of gravity is dangerous to human health. As you know, zero gravity does promote bone decay; however, no studies have been done on low but non-zero gravity, so you may not have to rotate crews so often.

As with any project, there is always some room for improvement, but I think you have a good idea of what the base needs and how to supply those needs. Now think about what can make it better. Good luck Nishant!

Response from Ben Corbin:
Great concept for a moving base! Not only can the crew live in the safety of a base, but it can also travel across the lunar surface and explore different regions.

First, I like your drawings. It's always a good design practice to draw what you intend to make, and detailed hand sketches can say far more than pages upon pages of words. The more detail you can put into a drawing, the better. Most of the time in the engineering field, one object will be drawn from several different angles just so the minor details can be see. You may be on track to start learning computer modeling!

Your method of extracting gases and metals from the soil is a great idea, and the chamber that you designed would probably work well, and of course, extracting oxygen from the soil will be essential to life on the moon base.

I think you have most of the scientific equipment covered (power systems, extraction techniques, cameras, and more), but I don't see any parts on the vehicle where the crew would work and stay. Think about what the astronauts would need to survive, such as food and waste disposal as well as living quarters and fun stuff to do.

You're off to a great start! I hope I see more from you later.

Response from Ben Corbin:
Nice name! First, I didn't even know about the Peaks of Eternal light. Your choice of location inside of a crater is a good one because you have access to both the inside of the crater on one side and the rest of the crater on the other. However, if you were at the North Pole, how much sunlight would you get? Would it be enough to power the solar panels and put enough energy into the greenhouses?

It's a great idea to build a base underground to block radiation and meteorites. How would you dig out an area big enough to put a moon base in?

Your drawings are very good and give me a great idea of what the base would look like. However, because I was unable to open File 2 for some reason, I don't have a sense of what's up and what's down. It's a good practice to label those sorts of things since after all, astronauts are already dizzy from the trip!

How did you come up with a wall diameter of 5 meters (aside from the fact that it is the thickness of the Ares Rocket, which is a great observation for designing a station around)? Don't forget, the parts have to fit inside the rocket as well though. You should measure how big five meters is and compare that to how wide the hallways in your house are. Also, is 0.5 meters too thick? Even light metals are heavy when they are too big. Is the 5 meter diameter the inside thickness or the outside thickness of the aluminum tubing?

It's good that you considered waste disposal options. How would you launch the waste back into Earth? Would it be easier to do something else with it so it's out of the base?

The idea of having 7 crew members because of the capacity of the Orion capsule is a good direction to head in. You are right in assuming that mostly scientists should be on this base, but who else would you need in a lunar mission besides scientists and commanders?

You guys have done a good deal of research. Keep up the great work!

11. Mr. McKinsey, Pleasant Valley Intermediate Cogan’s Courageous Crew

Response from Jennifer Heldmann:
This is an excellent, well thought-out design. Your team has certainly thought of many of the most important parameters for designing a lunar station. Great job.

Good choice of location. Excellent justification for why you chose Peary Crater. Also a good idea to put part of your station underground. (Also good to include an emergency tunnel)! Your station will be built of titanium. Is there titanium on the Moon? Will you use this lunar titanium or will you bring it from Earth? Also great idea to include a greenhouse. Your energy and life support systems are also good since you include backups. Dust is also a big deal on the Moon so it is good that you've designed a way to clean the spacesuits. The Human Factors and Communication section is also excellent - good to provide the astronauts with a bit of privacy. Are there any other types of space the astronauts might need? What about laboratory space to analyze their samples collected from the Moon? Could this be included in the plans for the research station?

EXCELLENT work including a map of the location of Peary Crater on the Moon. Also good that you have considered the size of the Ares rocket and therefore the size of your lunar station. Will people assemble the lunar station on the Moon or will you send robots first to build the station?

Excellent work. Well done.

Response from Jennifer Heldmann:
Flintstones: Nice floorplan for the research station! It is good that you have included the necessary elements such as living quarters, gym, communication, green house, lab, power plant, and vehicle area. What are the sizes of each of the rooms?

Your research station will be above ground in order to use sunlight for power. Near the equator on the Moon there are 2 weeks of daylight and 2 weeks of darkness. How will you power the station during the 2 week lunar night?
Also, considering the dome-shaped modules of your station, how will you get the lunar regolith to stay on them without sliding off? How much regolith do you need to protect the rubber domes from being popped? Are there any other advantages of covering your station with lunar regolith?

Tella Tubbies: Good to note that the south pole of the Moon *may* have places where there is water ice. Is the Sea of Moistures one of those places? To have water on the Moon you need to be in a place that is in permanent shadow - where the sun never shines.
Also, it is true that there is a risk of being hit by a meteor if your station is above ground but these risks are fairly small. Radiation, however, could be a problem. Are there any advantages to building your station underground in terms of limiting the astronaut's exposure to harmful radiation?
For your power system, that is an excellent idea to have a back-up battery system. If you have a generator, where does the fuel come from to run the generator?

Homecoming: Good work. For you communications if the system is run on solar power, what happens when it is night and there is no sun in the sky? For recreation you've added some exercise equipment which is a great idea. Are there any other things you might add to the recreation room for the astronauts?
Very nice floor plan of the living quarters. How big are each of the rooms?

Side Kicks: Good designs for entry/exit from the research station. Make sure you have air locks at each entry and exit. Very interesting idea for protection against radiation. This is an important issue and it is good that you've thought about this. Dust will be a problem on the Moon - how will you make sure that the astronauts don't track dust inside the research station on their spacesuits after they've finished working outside on the Moon? Great idea to use the greenhouse to recycle grey water, too.

Response from Jennifer Heldmann:
This is a good start - you are on the right track! Interesting idea to use the monorail for quick transportation. This could certainly save the astronauts time if they can move around quickly. I note there is a dune buggy collecting moon dust.  This is a good idea - and can the moon buggy be used for other things, too, such as for astronauts to study rocks on the surface of the Moon that are far away from the research station? There are also sensors outside the station - what are these sensors measuring?
Extracting oxygen from the moon rocks is a good idea - NASA is studying this right now to see if we can get enough oxygen to be useful for people. For water, there are no ice caps on the Moon but there might be water ice in a few special places near the north and/or south pole of the Moon, in places that are in permanent shadow where it is very cold because the sun never shines there.
It is also an excellent idea to include a recreation center as part of the lunar station. This will be very important when people spend a long time working on the Moon!
You're off to a good start on your designs. Well done - and keep up the good work. We look forward to seeing your final designs!

Response from Robert Citron:
I like the very detailed floor plan of the research module and how it is drawn to scale. You seem to have thought of mostly everything needed to smoothly run a lunar research station. You should also consider safety, which is a top mission priority. Is there a medical room or a place for first aid? Could an extra entrance be beneficial in an emergency? Would a radiation safe room help in case of solar storms? Also is there a space for waste storage/recycling?

Response from Robert Citron:
Human Factors by Caleb (Ms.Jamison’s Students Warrington Middle School)
Caleb you have some great ideas for including privacy and recreation in the lunar base design. These are very important to human factors and you have addressed them well. I like your ideas for lunar ball and weightless races. Is it really possible to have a no gravity room on the moon? Can having bedrooms that lock also provide privacy? Is a high security room necessary/space efficient?

Hazard Protection by Erik Caleb (Ms.Jamison’s Students Warrington Middle School)
Your idea is very creative, and the detailed diagrams were useful for visualization. Are meteorites the greatest threat to the research station? What hazards besides a meteorite would a research station face? How would your force field stop radiation? It is good that you think about using inexpensive materials to make your force field. Would giving the machine a brain be hazardous (HAL 2000)? What exactly would the force field be composed of? I would like to know some more about the dynamics of the system. How exactly does the energy from a car batter stop a meteorite?

Life Support by Shandera (Ms.Jamison’s Students Warrington Middle School)
I especially like how your life support system is conservation minded. You also provide excellent dimensions to support your well-drawn diagram. Using a green house for oxygen/food production is a great idea. Solar power is also a good idea, would you have a battery system to store the power? I like the idea of breaking up moon rocks for supplies. How exactly would one obtain oxygen from a moon rock, and is this very efficient? The dome is also an excellent idea. Are there any backup systems if there is a break in the dome? Also does the dome protect against radiation?

EVA by Ralf & Khoa (Ms.Jamison’s Students Warrington Middle School)
Your design for the Gazelle Mk.1 is very thorough, with many excellent and detailed diagrams. What will the defenses be used against? It is great that you started with a basic rover and then added attachments; modular systems are very practical. Would it also be useful to have some first aid/suit repair kits on the rover in case an EVA takes a bad turn? Lastly, where can I get one?

Solar Powered Generator by Jeremy (Ms.Jamison’s Students Warrington Middle School)
It was very practical of you to think of storing energy for when it is dark outside. What activities might this solar power provide energy for, and how would the energy be transported? Where would you get the oxygen from, and is it necessary? Thank you for including the diagram, it looks like there are many panels to capture lots of energy. Is there a way for the panels to move, following the path of the sun and maximizing light captured?

Human Factors by Cameron (Ms.Jamison’s Students Warrington Middle School)
This is a very creative idea. Not only would it provide entertainment, it might also help build up the astronauts’ dexterity and sense of balance working in their suits. It was good to provide tethers in order to avoid loss of materials. First, on the moon would this be non-gravity or low-gravity skateboarding? I’m concerned about transporting so much wood to the moon. Would it be possible to use materials already there? What other activities would you suggest?

Life Support by Miranda (Ms.Jamison’s Students Warrington Middle School)
It was good to think about providing lots of variety for the astronauts’ diets. How would you provide all of that water/oxygen and build such a large tank? Bringing just two of each animal would make them much easier to transport. Would this cause any inbreeding? If you had to narrow down the list of animals, which ones would you choose? Think about what animals would be the easiest to bring and take care of and could provide the most benefit to the habitat.

Clothing by Ebony (Ms.Jamison’s Students Warrington Middle School)
You have clearly given lots of thought to your clothing designs. I appreciate you including the materials from which each component of the space suit would be made, as well as the accompanying pictures. Taking into consideration heating/cooling and radiation protection was also a good idea. Could these suits also include some form of protection from small meteorites etc? The boots are very well designed for protection! Where does the oxygen in the helmet come from? Is there an oxygen tank? It was clever to use a similar setup for the space toilet as those already existing in airplanes. Would it be possible to use the waste as fertilizer, or to simply burn it, instead of dumping it into space?

Habitat ˆ Research Station by Brieanna (Ms.Jamison’s Students Warrington Middle School)
Your design is well thought out and includes a good detailed diagram. What other gasses besides oxygen would you need to store. This is a good idea for a rocket. What changes would you make to transform it into a permanent station? In this rocket you seem to bring all the supplies you need. Could you also produce extra supplies while on the moon? Would a laboratory for doing research also be useful?

Response from Robert Citron:
Location (Ms. Gragert's Class Holman Middle School)
I like how you have picked a very specific location for your base. How would being below ground level help protect the station? Also how would you determine if there is titanium in or near Tycho crater? Also are there any scientific reasons that make Tycho a better choice for a station? What type of research would be best accomplished at this location?

Energy and Life Support (Ms. Gragert's Class Holman Middle School)
Your approach is very conservative minded, bravo! Building a station underground is an excellent idea. I like your circulation ideas. What other gases are in the Earth’s atmosphere that you will have to control/circulate? Where in the research station will you store excess waste? Is it sanitary/enjoyable to live close to your own excess waste?

Human Factors (Ms. Gragert's Class Holman Middle School)
Keeping up communication is very important and you have addressed this well. Privacy is also important for crew morale, good job. What type of activities could you invent to keep the crew occupied (Quittich)? What happens to communication when the station is on the opposite side of the Moon as Earth? Can this problem be solved with satellites?

Exploration and EVA Activities (Ms. Gragert's Class Holman Middle School)
Your capsule system is well thought out and efficient. What other scientific instruments could you use? How would you collect/store samples? And how would one navigate themselves during their EVA activities (GPS, maps, waypoints, etc…)?

Research Station Architecture and Materials (Ms. Gragert's Class Holman Middle School)
Your idea of separating a station into distinct components is good. Building your station below ground is a great idea for radiation protection. How is it easier to build it below ground than above the surface? Why is titanium the optimal material for building your station and what other materials could you use? Is having four separate bathrooms using space efficiently?

Contamination (Ms. Gragert's Class Holman Middle School)
It is great that you think not only about protecting the station, but also the moon! Your ideas show a great sense of conservation, which is also good. Making a station underground indeed protects you from radiation. How far underground will you have to build the station? Also is it a good idea to store toxic waste in a research station where astronauts live?

20. Mrs. Woods’ GT Class Avalon Jr. High Dillon– 6th grade

Response from Jon Rask:
Looks like you've done a lot of good work in designing your habitat, and identifying many of the components necessary to keep astronauts alive. Is there any way you could move the words in the image so that they could be more easily read? It's good to see that you've remembered to consider contamination protection. Lunar dust is something that coats suits and has even been inhaled by astronauts. Good ideas!

Response from Jon Rask:
Your discussion about your base is well thought out and supports the design you've included. Good idea on using science as a reason for doing the exploration of the Moon. It's crucial for real missions. It's good you've included places for recreation, privacy, and exercise--astronauts are normal people with extraordinary jobs, so they too want to have fun and need to exercise. Great idea on reusing water--we can't just throw things out up there. We've got to make use of every resource as efficiently as possible. And it's good that you have identified a location for the base. Where do you think we should put one on the Moon? (Think of places where resources may be that we would need to use, like water ice--somewhere near a crater that has ice?). Good idea of using in-situ resources for energy, like solar and radiation (are there tools out there that can gather radiation and convert it to usable energy?). Good ideas about contamination, and it's good to know you're thinking about being considerate of not contaminating the Moon with Earth chemicals! This is an area of active debate (planetary protection--pretty interesting stuff!). Good ideas on having a landing strip close to your base, but consider this: Would a plane be able to fly on the Moon? (Remember, there is no atmosphere.) What did the Moon landings in the 60s and 70s look like? Are there risks of having the landing area too close to the hab? Nice work, students!

23. Celia Space Station Prototype Alice -- S. Peter's Collegiate School

30. Ms. Dheming' Class, Cuernavaca, Mexico, Arie, Mariana y Tania

39. Ms. Vallieres, Sequoyah Middle School Team name: Shooting Starz