Exploring Optimal Geometric Shapes for Martian Habitat Design: A Comparative Analysis and Structural Evaluation
43rd International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction, ISARC 2026, Singapore, Singapur, 22 - 26 Haziran 2026, ss.666-673, (Tam Metin Bildiri)
- Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Tam Metin Bildiri
- Doi Numarası: 10.22260/isarc2026/0086
- Basıldığı Şehir: Singapore
- Basıldığı Ülke: Singapur
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.666-673
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Construction on Mars, Mars, Mars building, Mars habitation, Optimization
- Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
- Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Designing resilient and resource-efficient habitats is essential for ensuring the safety and well-being of astronauts in the harsh Martian environment. This paper investigates optimal habitat designs capable of withstanding extreme temperatures, high radiation, and the thin Martian atmosphere, while maximizing resource efficiency and sustainability. Previous studies have explored Earth-supplied or Martian soil-based materials, but both present significant challenges. Martian soil fails under tension while the high internal pressure of habitats places additional strain on building materials. To address this, polyethylene produced from Martian CO2 is proposed as the primary construction material due to its superior tensile strength compared to soil or Martian concrete. However, material selection alone is insufficient; building geometry also plays a critical role. Finite element analysis (FEA) was used to compare various building shapes such as spheres, cylinders, ellipsoids, domes, tori, clusters of spheres, and rectangular forms, based on their compactness and structural integrity under Martian environmental loads. Results showed that spherical and dome-shaped habitats offer the best material efficiency and high compactness. By utilizing CO2 to produce polyethylene and optimizing structural shapes, this research highlights sustainability and reduced reliance on Earth-supplied materials. The study concludes that spherical and ellipsoidal habitats are the most optimal geometric shapes for Martian building designs in terms of structural performance and compactness, reducing material usage by 23% compared to the torus shape and by 480% compared to the rectangular shape. This study contributes to the literature by structurally evaluating the most suitable geometric forms for habitat construction on Mars.