Plan C. Mars settlement concept by Makhno Studio

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On Mars, all they talk about is Earth

Back story

In 2020, during the first lockdown, we wondered whether it was possible to make life underground comfortable if life on Earth became just impossible. That's how we came up with our Plan B — a project proposal for an underground bunker that made headlines across the globe and was published on about 200 media platforms. In 2021, we moved along and tried to imagine our lives away from planet Earth. Thus we came up with our Plan C, a Martian settlement concept.

Welcome to Mars

Plan C is our vision of the aesthetics of the future that may never come.

There is currently no evidence of possible Mars colonization. It is unknown whether this cold, distant planet will be able to accept people. There are no rockets that can deliver a piece of much-needed equipment over a distance of 225 million kilometers. At the same time, Mars is the most similar planet to Earth out of all in the solar system.

Let us remind you what Mars is all about: the atmospheric pressure equivalent to climbing three times as high as Everest, an atmosphere with an extremely low density almost completely lacking in oxygen, active solar radiation on the planet’s surface, low gravity, and an average air temperature of −50°C. As a bonus, there are frequent sandstorms up to 100 m/s and meteorites. If Earth has a hypothetical "blanket" — the atmosphere that protects it from solar radiation and solids — then Mars may surprise you with a random meteorite shower from time to time. And who’s to say what other factors are awaiting us.

And yet, people are great dreamers and inventors, so — welcome to Mars.

Never say never

Scholars often appeal to the concept of terraforming. This is the modification of the atmosphere, temperature, and ecology of the planet to make it suitable for terrestrial plants and animals. Simply put, it is the transformation of space into one that can support human life.

For Plan C, we took a hypothetical point of time when

there are ways to process Martian resources;
the robotic technology is functioning on Mars;
there are ways to eliminate radiation from regolith (residual soil) and produce the required amount of oxygen, water, and food.

Under these conditions, there will be a chance to build our Plan C — a fully-fledged place with all the necessary conditions.

Protective bagel

Plan C is an autonomous settlement, the outer walls of which must be built with 3D printers. People won't be able to do it because it is only inside buildings where it's possible to move freely without suits and oxygen devices.

The settlement needs to be as close to the equator as possible to enable the achievement of such pressures and temperatures that will make the environment as habitable as possible.

Plan C should be located on the slope of the crater that will protect it from sandstorms and radiation. Thus the shape of the building resembles a torus or, simply put, a bagel.

So we have a protective "bagel" with a cold, dead, radiation-permeated Mars on the other side.

Inside the bagel

There is a public hall stretching through the entire settlement that functions as a place for long walks and a dining area. Half of our "bagel" is occupied by sleeping accommodations, and the other half — by technical, research, and common areas.

The ambiance of the interiors combines two worlds — the unknown Mars and the near-and-dear Earth. Sandstorms were responsible for the color scheme, plants — for the ability to breathe deeply, and the science of the future — for the ability to live on a dead planet.

Further information in the press release to download

- Fotogallery (34)