Astronomy and Space + Aerospace Engineering
Design a Mars habitat and justify every choice
Design a base for four astronauts and explain how it provides air, water, food, power and radiation shielding.
- DifficultyIntermediate
- Estimated time1–2 weeks
- BudgetUnder ₹250
- ClassClass 8–12
- Team2–4 people
- You needHousehold materials
Prerequisites: None beyond your class work
Original · by TechnifyedEngineering DesignPresentationLow costTwo subjects
Overview
Design a base for four astronauts and explain how it provides air, water, food, power and radiation shielding.
Skills you will use
Materials and tools
- Research notes on Mars conditions
- Card, bottles and foil for a model, or free 3D software
Tools and software
Step-by-step roadmap
Start
You will finish with: a model, a labelled plan and a table linking each hazard to a design choice.
- 1
Prerequisites
Nothing special to know first. Then collect the 2 items in the materials list.
- 2
Learn
Read up on space technology: design, habitat, life support. Your textbook chapter and one short video are enough.
- 3
Plan
Sketch the design, list every part with its price and decide how you will know it works.
- 4
Build
- List the hazards: thin air, cold, radiation, dust and distance.
- Decide how the base gets air, water, food and power, with one source cited for each.
- Sketch a floor plan with areas in square metres.
- Build a physical or 3D model.
- Present the trade-offs you made.
- 5
Test
Run it ten times in a row. Note every failure, fix the cause and test again.
- 6
Document
Photograph each build stage, keep the circuit or drawing, and note what failed and how you fixed it. Report structure
- 7
Present
Demonstrate it working first, then explain how it works and what you would improve. Presentation structure
- 8
Publish
Share a short video, the parts list and the drawing or code so someone else can build it.
Expected outcome
A model, a labelled plan and a table linking each hazard to a design choice.
Other versions of this project
Advanced version
Estimate the mass that must be launched and how much could be made on Mars.
Working as a team
2–4 people. Suggested roles:
Report and presentation
Report structure
- Title and aim
- The problem it solves
- How it works (principle)
- Parts list with cost
- Design: drawing, circuit or block diagram
- Build steps
- Testing and results
- Problems faced and fixes
- Limitations
- Future improvements
- References
Presentation structure
- The problem
- The idea
- How it works (one diagram)
- Parts and cost
- The build (photos)
- Live demo or video
- Test results
- What did not work
- Next version
Viva questions
Prepare your own answers to these before you present.
- What is the aim of your project, in one sentence?
- What is the principle behind it?
- Why did you choose these materials or tools?
- What result did you get, and was it what you expected?
- What went wrong and how did you fix it?
- How could this be improved or used in real life?
Resources
Source and attribution
Original
Written by Technifyed. Free to use for your own school or college project; write the report in your own words. Added 1 Oct 2026.
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