A Review of Mechanical Element Design of Lunar Greenhouse for Long-term Space Mission

Abstract

Humans have been learning to survive in space with the aim of prolonging the periods of missions. To be able to stay longer, the resources for a living are important for the crews. However, the payloads brought into space should be restricted because of the mass and cost limitations, so it is not often possible to transport limited resources like water or food from Earth to the Moon. In recent years, there has been a concept of a Moon Village established for humans to be able to stay in space longer. Consequently, a greenhouse module was proposed to meet the needs and was designed with concepts of the Moon’s environment and Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS). This review paper includes brief details of the greenhouse module design and the two main subsystems of a lunar greenhouse: agricultural subsystems and environmental control subsystems in mechanical engineering aspects. In addition, comparisons of the advantages, disadvantages, and challenges of the three designs of lunar greenhouse modules are provided since each design had its own characteristics. Thus, the engineers should choose a proper design by considering the requirements and limitations regarding the mission. Also, this review paper can further expand knowledge of designing greenhouse modules on the lunar surface and improving the subsystems in the greenhouse module in the engineering field.