Floating Venus Habitat

What if humans could colonize a planet with conditions almost equal to Earth? What if we could live on a planet with an atmosphere almost identical to Earth's at sea level? It may sound like science fiction, but it's much closer than you think. This is Venus. Although its surface could never be lived on, a different world lies above its dense clouds. For my project, I have designed habitat to colonize the skies of Venus and create a second home for humanity, and at the same time, learn even more about our home planet.

• Tinkercad
• Fusion 360
• Internet
• Pencil and Paper

Before designing and building a habitat, I first had to brainstorm where and what I would design. I knew I wanted to design something in space, but that could be anywhere from the Moon to Pluto. Ultimately I decided to build my habitat on Venus.

When we think of humans inhabiting different planets, we often think of Mars. Venus, however, is a much better choice for several reasons…  

• First of all, it is easier to get to Venus. Astronauts can reach Venus in as little as 3 months, while a trip to Mars takes about a year. Also, traveling to Venus only requires a spacecraft to slow down and fall toward the sun. Reaching Mars means firing rockets to speed up and increase your orbital radius. This faster and easier journey significantly reduces the amount of fuel and resources required.  

• Venus has a very substantial atmosphere. This creates some problems I’ll address in a minute, but dealing with a challenging atmosphere is actually easier than dealing with a planet that has little or no atmosphere.

• Venus’ mass, radius, and gravitational field are very similar to Earth … it is often referred to as Earth’s sibling-planet.

• The Earth-Venus similarities make Venus an ideal place to study geological and atmospheric planetary systems. Understanding Venus will help us better understand Earth. 

• Thinking farther ahead, it is actually easier to travel to asteroids from Venus than it is from Earth or Mars. So future missions to explore and mine asteroids would benefit from a Venus base. 

The problem with Venus is that its surface is completely inhabitable for humans and most forms of life as we know them. The temperature and pressures are so high that few of the probes that landed there actually survived and those that did only survived 1-2 hours. However, as altitude increases, the temperature and pressure drop to levels that are very similar to those on Earth.

My next step was to design a floor plan for the habitat.

Because the habitat needs to be transported into space over 38 million km, it needs to be small and lightweight. I decided to create a habitat design similar to an RV.

According to the Stanford Design Process, good designs being with empathy - which means we should think about the people we are designing for.  

Obviously, the basic needs for astronauts visiting Venus are shelter, food, and water. They will also need laboratories and equipment to do the scientific work they traveled so far to do. Beyond survival and work, the astronauts will need space and facilities to…

• spend time socializing with their crew mates
• be alone
• communicate with their families and friends back on Earth
• get exercise

The final floor plan includes sleeping quarters, a lab, greenhouse, entertainment room, bathroom, food storage and eating area, airlock, and a cockpit. The habitat I have designed will be a place where astronauts can survive and thrive in the harsh conditions found on Venus.

The sleeping quarters contain two sets of bunkbeds for four astronauts to sleep. Because Venus' gravity is so similar to Earth's, Earth beds will fit the needs of the habitat. I chose for the habitat to have a crew of four astronauts so the astronauts don't feel alone, while still keeping the habitat small.

A lab is important for the mission. It will allow the astronauts to analyze Venus's atmosphere and research the planet to help scientists on Earth learn more about planetary science as well as our own planet. This information will be very important, especially as scientists fight climate change. The lab is also a greenhouse where food is grown for the astronauts. Although a lot of food would still have to be brought from Earth, food grown in a greenhouse would help the astronauts maintain a healthy diet and would help recycle the air. The greenhouse could also allow astronauts to relax and remind them of home.

There is an entertainment room with a TV, virtual reality equipment, and a treadmill. This will not only keep astronauts from being bored, but can also remind them of home and improve their mental health while away from Earth for a long period of time. A monitor be used for entertainment, as well as to send and receive messages from family and friends on Earth. The treadmill would be used by the astronauts to keep their bodies physically healthy while in a small habitat for the duration of their mission. This room is very important for the mental, emotional, and physical health of the crew members.

The airlock is necessary for docking any ships delivering supplies or getting astronauts to and from the habitat. It would also be used when astronauts go outside to collect data or check on the outside of the habitat. It stores supplies, such as space suits for the astronauts.

The cockpit would be used to contact Earth, pilot the habitat through the atmosphere, and monitor all the habitat's systems.

Above the habitat is the life support systems for the crew. Life support includes all of the systems required to keep the crew alive, including food and water storage, oxygen and air storage and filtration, and cooling. All of these are completely necessary to keep the inside of the habitat a livable environment for the astronauts.

Below the habitat lie the mechanical, navigation, and communication systems. These systems allow for the habitat to travel around Venus's atmosphere in a controlled manner and transmit data and information back to Earth. Without these systems, it would be impossible for supplies and crew to reach the habitat and get back to Earth. Additionally, these systems allow for the habitat's mission to be fulfilled.

The next step was to determine the size of the balloon. The balloon carrying the habitat is very important. The balloon is made of mylar, a lightweight and durable plastic film that is often used in weather balloons. On top of the balloon would be solar panels. Because the habitat floats above the dense Venus clouds, solar energy is readily available and efficient.

The weight of the habitat would be slightly more than the weight of an RV of the same size, 9071.8474 kg (20,000 lbs). Using the buoyancy force equation, I found that the balloon had to have a radius of 12.1m.

After coming up with a floor plan and finding the size of the balloon, it was time to design the habitat in CAD software. I used Tinkercad to create a model of the habitat with walls, rooms, and even furniture.

Finally, I 3D printed a physical model of the habitat. It is painted to make the features more visible and appear more realistic. The physical model provides a tangible version of the habitat for people to see and understand the scale and layout.

Habitat Interior:

https://www.tinkercad.com/things/jkuzkkxkZ4z-venus-spacecraft-inside-i?sharecode=nOwHysfKxifbd2koQRS-G8bFsKQbb6DvX5mv30Vsf28

Habitat Exterior:

https://www.tinkercad.com/things/lOIT9gJPM49-venus-spacecraft-outside?sharecode=Mw-I5dvxb-mtufi5YGjBJXRxZrPtkXoC3_o_UHNSTEc

Habitat with Balloon:

https://www.tinkercad.com/things/175s4d5zVOx-copy-of-venus-spacecraft-outside?sharecode=jp05KTXZreFZWdMayyub7ds7jbh1vqTweELscihRXlU