Base sur Mars - Illustration - Mars Ice Home concept - Artist's view of an...

Base sur Mars - Illustration - Mars Ice Home concept - Artist's view of an inhabited base on Mars. Inflatable housing concept surrounded by a layer of ice. The “” Mars Ice Home”” is a large inflatable torus, a shape similar to an inner tube, that is surrounded by a shell of water ice. The Mars Ice Home design has several advantages that make it an appealing concept. It is lightweight and can be transported and deployed with simple robotics, then filled with water before the crew arrives. It incorporates materials extracted from Mars, and because water in the Ice Home could potentially be converted to rocket fuel for the Mars Ascent Vehicle, the structure itself doubles as a storage tank that can be refilled for the next crew. Another critical benefit is that water, a hydrogen-rich material, is an excellent shielding material for galactic cosmic rays - and many areas of Mars have abundant water ice just below the surface. Galactic cosmic rays are one of the biggest risks of long stays on Mars. This high-energy radiation can pass right through the skin, damaging cells or DNA along the way that can mean an increased risk for cancer later in life or, at its worst, acute radiation sickness