May 28, 2019

SSDC 2019 Tryouts

Your response paper must be submitted by 23:59 on 15th June, 2019.

You may submit your responses to Pranay Jain (IB2-B) or Rahul Gupta Sir.
Alternatively, scanned or typed responses can be mailed to

Rahul.gupta@tsrs.org

jainpranay02@gmail.com

Section A is mandatory for all.

Attempt your first department from Section B, C, D or E.
You may attempt more than one Section to indicate your second department preference.

The following applies to all Sections - wherever possible:

You will be marked on the creativity, the practicality and the coherence of your logic.
You may include figures to better elaborate your points.
All your responses must include justifications, pros and cons, feasibility, and a conscious understanding of
the weigh cost, and sourcing of the material

If you make any claims or use any resources found online or otherwise, include appropriate citations.


SSDC TRYOUTS 1
Section A: Space as an Industry
Q1. Space provides immense commercialisation opportunities for private and government
parties alike. It allows new advancements in military technology, scientific research, new private
industries, etc.
Name and elaborate on a few of these opportunities, including in your response why and how
orbital or extra-planetary settlements may benefit from the conditions and resources available in space.



SSDC TRYOUTS 2
Section A: Structural Engineering
Attempt this section if you wish to try out for structural engineering. You must attempt only 1 question from
this section (Q3 OR Q4)

Q2. Extra-planetary expeditions offer a host of survivability problems for spacecraft - for eg. solar
radiation, pressurisation, temperature variations, physical stresses from acceleration and launches.
Spacecraft must then be designed to withstand these issues with a large margin of safety. A lot of these
problems have already been solved and implemented on Earth for other hostile environments.
Elaborate on at least 4 solutions to problems experienced in space. You may include diagrams. Your
response must be mindful of the fact that material is at a premium in space. You are expected to include in
your solutions 4 design ideas or structure concepts that counteract the problems above.

OR

Q3. Launch costs from Earth are incredibly expensive. Shipping construction materials from Earth
becomes largely impractical for large scale extra-planetary or orbital settlements. A solution to this is using
on-site materials extracted from bodies such as the moon or asteroid mining for construction resources.
However, energy and infrastructure is required on these bodies before work can begin.
Produce a plan, accounting for development and usage of infrastructure on the Moon with the end
goal of producing a functional settlement. Your plan must include when and how power will be generated,
if and when manned missions or automation will be sent from Earth and the order in which the
infrastructure must be developed for the most efficiency. 


SSDC TRYOUTS 3
Section C: Operations
Attempt this section if you wish to try out for operations. You must attempt only 1 question from this
section (Q4 OR Q5)

Q4. Perhaps one of the most important aspects of maintaining a functional manned space settlement
is the production of food and energy. Soil farming is almost impossible in space without special materials
from Earth, and electrolytic production of water is difficult without large amounts of Liquid Hydrogen and
Oxygen. Aquaponics, vertical farming and the innovative water and waste recycling / managements
systems are attractive solutions.
Elaborate on the above, or other methods of the production of agricultural products and water. The
methods must be sustainable for a long time and be practical in space. You may include systems designed
to counteract losses in this system.
(Hint: the International Space Station had many of the same problems.)

OR

Q5. Materials used for the construction of space settlements are best sourced on the site of the
settlement, or at least on the same body. For instance, a settlement made near the asteroid belt, would be
best and cheapest constructed using materials from the asteroid belt itself (such as M or Ctype asteroids),
or from the moons of the nearby planets.
Assume the construction of a small manned settlement orbiting Luna (Earth’s moon). Most of the
settlement must be constructed using materials sourced on Luna itself. Provide a plan for the extraction
and possible usage of some lunar materials in the construction of the settlement. Include whatever
materials are deemed suitable, or possibly useful found in lunar soil.
(Hint: lunar soil contains vast amounts of Titanium, but in its oxidised form.)


SSDC TRYOUTS 4
Section D: Human Factors
Attempt this section if you wish to try out for human factors. You must attempt only 1 question from this
section (Q6 OR Q7)

Q6. Human bodies are not conditioned for space travel. A lot of factors taken for granted on Earth
cause huge problems in space, such as gravity. The human body is not accustomed to great levels of
radiation either. In the short run, evolutionary adaptations are not possible.
Elaborate on some of the problems encountered by the human body in long term space travel. Include
your solutions for mitigating the damaging effects of these problems. The solutions must be practical,
mostly ethical, and relatively safe for the astronauts involved.

OR

Q7. Surviving without much external contact takes a heavy physiological and psychological toll on
space travellers. To boost morale, entertainment must be provided to avoid such issues.
Produce plans of providing entertainment and building a more welcoming environment for the
settlement. Include adaptions that must be made to the surroundings to mitigate psychological issues and
make the settlement more welcoming. Of course, none of these ideas can interfere with survivability, the
practicality, or the safety of the settlement.

SSDC TRYOUTS 5
Section E: Automation
Attempt this section if you wish to try out for automation.

Q7. Of all the other technological requirements for space travel, perhaps the only one lacking in the
present is the advancement of technology. Advancements of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and
rational thinking computing machines is critical to the development of space travel.
Highlight how the aforementioned advancements can help in the daily functioning and construction of
a space settlement. You must also include other advancements that could help with space travel and space
settlements.
Include predicted improvements in communication and computational technology and how they could
help with space settlements.
(Hint: Construction robots equipped with the aforementioned can quickly speed up the maintenance
and construction.)

SSDC TRYOUTS 6