University of Regina team hoping to help send humans to Mars with new airlock prototype
A team from the University of Regina, known as Celestial Labs, has created a national award-winning airlock prototype that they hope will allow humans to visit Mars in the future.
“An airlock is a bridge between two environments that need to stay separate,” Anwit Adhikari, the division head for structure and design at Celestial Labs, said. “An airlock is essentially a small room that is attached outside the spacecraft so if you’re trying to exit into the void of space or Mars, you’d first enter [the airlock] and the doors would close, then you’d open the other door an go outside, therefore keeping the atmosphere isolated.”
The team had to consider a number of factors when building a structure for Mars. Those include, but are not limited to, a structure immune to radiation, wind loads, gravity, temperature and pressure.
“This will be one of the first operational Martian airlock [prototypes] in Canada’s history if we do it right,” Adhikari said. “I never thought we would get this far.”
They also had to ensure the airlock would be safe for use on Mars.
“Previous airlocks would just be inflatables because there was no gravity. Astronauts could essentially float outside,” he said. “Because Mars has a non negligible gravity, and astronauts will be walking in there, it needs to have a structure that can hold the shape of the airlock.”
He said this airlock also has an electronic system that is as simple as possible because of radiation levels.
Finally, the fabric used for the airlock has to stand up to the environment. Mylar and aerogel are used for insulation purposes. The polymer being used to give the airlock structure inside is still private information to the team.
Celestial Labs first started working on the prototype in 2018, when the University of British Columbia announced a national competition to see which school could design and build the best airlock for Mars.
“This was taken in light of the consideration the Elon Musk is planning to do a man mission to Mars in the next few years,” Adhikari said.
The competition had two phases. The first was held in 2019 and was focused on design. In 2021, phase two focused on a built prototype. Celestial Labs from the University of Regina won both.
“I’m just really proud that a small group from an underdog university can beat all the big shots of the University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto,” Samuel Reddekop, the chief of electronics design with Celestial Labs, said.
The team originally set out just to win the competition, but because of their years of work and success, their sights are now set even higher.
“Because we designed the airlock with real constraints in mind, somewhere along the line we thought maybe this is a technology that the industry could appreciate or find use for,” Adhikari said.
Within the next few months, the team will complete the prototype. They then plan to present it to industry professionals.
“We don’t expect that the whole airlock will be used by the industry, but we are hopeful that certain subsystems that we worked on for three years now will be applicable to certain aspects,” he said. “The most optimistic target would be that it would actually be used in Mars. We will work as hard as we can to get there, but in the event that that doesn’t happen, we are hoping it will find some use in earth-like terrestrial applications.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
WATCH Video shows dramatic police takedown of carjacking suspects chased through parking lot north of Toronto
Police have released video footage of a dramatic takedown of a group of teens wanted in connection with an attempted carjacking in Markham earlier this month.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
Advocacy groups speak out against domestic violence comments by Nova Scotia minister
Several Nova Scotia groups that assist women are speaking out against comments on domestic violence by Justice Minister Brad Johns, and at least one is calling for his dismissal.
A couple lost their wedding rings during the ceremony. Two strangers found a fitting solution
Every good wedding has to have one teensy, tiny crisis.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.