BOREA

SELF-SUSTAINABLE MARS MOBILE HABITAT SOLUTION

June 2011

Named after the Greek god of cold north winds, Boreas, BOREA takes advantage of the prosperity of high winds on Mars, and condenses the daily living needs of a Marsian exploration team into a compact yet self-sustaining module.

At 7.5m long, 5m wide (inclusive of docked rovers) & 2.5m tall, BOREA is built to rove freely on the rocky Marsian surface. The wheels are independently suspended & operated in order to achieve highest manoeuvrability. The back wheels of BOREA's main cabin are expandable in size, hydraulically operated & reinforced for traction on rough Marsian terrain. When an area of exploration interest is reached, the two excursion vehicles detach from the main chamber before roaming freely on their own. Designed with 3 wheels, the back wheel is intended for stability, while the front 2 are used for steering & levitating. When rotated 90 degrees along the length of its body, the hybrid turbine-wheels allow the front, the back, or all of the vehicle to hover above the Marsian surface during travel.

Intended as an all-encompassing living & research facility, its ultra-insulated shell and regenerative systems capture resources available on the surface of Mars, allowing BOREA to be completely self-powered.

BOREA was the result of a group project [with Mimi Zou and Chulhun Park] at the Royal College of Art for the World Space Agency. In addition to renderings and interior plans, we produced a 1:30 scaled model using rapid prototyping that we painted and decorated before final presentation. It represents for me the second vehicle design project that I developed and enabled me to expand the diversity of my skills.

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