NASA has found a design for a base on Mars

If humans ever reach Mars, we may live in houses made of ice. Ice House, relies on the power of water, which we now know exists on the red planet, to create a pressurized and habitable shell where human and plant life can thrive. It features a hydroponic greenhouse, Ice rooms to give the illusion of space, and a safe area where astronauts can hang out without their suits. The ice shell protects against radiation and won’t melt since Mars is about 67 degrees below zero. “Ice House is born from the imperative to bring light and a connection to the outdoors into the vocabulary of Martian architecture,” the designers said. One of NASA’s ongoing goals, says the team, is to adopt a method of exploration in which it follows the water. Ice House was designed as an extension of that goal. The creativity and depth of the designs we have seen have impressed us, said Centennial Challenges Program Manager Monsi Roman in a statement. These teams were not only imaginative and artistic with their entries, but they also really took into account the life-dependent functionality our future space explorers will need in an off Earth live. Up next are the remaining two phases of the competition which opened for registration on September 26. The first event tasks entrants with proving that their technologies to built a Mars habitat are feasible, while the latter puts their theories to the test in real world builds here on Earth. The purse for the upcoming competitions is $2.2 million, split between each phase. Winning designs will be considered for the space agency’s mission to send astronauts to Mars from about 2030.