NASA's solution for a home for astronauts sent to Mars is as cold as ice!

Image courtesy: NASA

New Delhi: NASA's Mars mission is one of the most anticipated projects and has science and space aficionados waiting with bated breath for any news or updates regarding the same.

Of course, the preparations for deep space explorations aren't easy and NASA researchers are struggling to work through the obstacles, the biggest one being housing.

A place for astronauts to sleep and live is of primary importance and researchers are aware of that, which is why after much thought, they have finally come up with a solution – a house made of ice!

NASA is looking into creating inflatable igloo-like domes covered in ice for astronauts to live and work in, which will ensure them the requisite protection from extreme temperatures and high-energy radiation.

"After a day dedicated to identifying needs, goals, and constraints we rapidly assessed many crazy, out of the box ideas and finally converged on the current Ice Home design, which provides a sound engineering solution," said senior systems engineer Kevin Vipavetz, from NASA’s Langley Research Centre in Virginia, Science Alert reported.

Officially called the 'Mars Ice Home', NASA's working model is an inflatable, inner-tube-like device that, when inflated fully, is covered with a thick sheet of protective ice.

Science Alert quoted the team who said that, "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."

Cosmic rays, that can penetrate the Martian atmosphere can damage cells, raising the risk of a slew of health concerns such as cancer and acute radiation sickness. This is the reason that the researchers cam up with the Ice Home concept.

Ice is hydrogen-rich and acts as a protective shield against harmful rays, making it a great cover to prevent them from smacking into the astronauts.

Scientists even released an illustration explaining the structure of the ice dome. Check it out below:

"The materials that make up the Ice Home will have to withstand many years of use in the harsh Martian environment, including ultraviolet radiation, charged-particle radiation, possibly some atomic oxygen, perchlorates, as well as dust storms – although not as fierce as in the movie The Martian," explains researcher Sheila Ann Thibeault, also from the Langley Research Centre, as per Science Alert.

Science Alert further reported that besides offering protection from the harsh environmental realities of Mars, the Ice Home would be super light compared to other settlement ideas that involve constructing buildings here on Earth before shooting them off to the Red Planet.

"After months of travel in space, when you first arrive at Mars and your new home is ready for you to move in, it will be a great day," explains team member Kevin Kempton.

Without the inflatable habitat, which the team says can inflate and cover itself with ice extracted from the Martian landscape in about 400 Earth days, researchers would have to likely find a way to get heavy drilling and digging machines on Mars to create underground shelters before astronauts got there, a concept that would be far too complicated and cost way too much money.