Kick-off meeting on 7th April marked the official start of the Rhizome project to be implemented with partners from TUD, ESA, and Vertico.

In order for off-Earth top surface structures built from regolith to protect astronauts from radiation, they need to be several meters thick. TUD proposes to excavate into the ground to create subsurface habitats. By excavating not only natural protection from radiation can be achieved but also thermal insulation because the temperature is more stable underground. At the same time through excavation valuable resources can be mined for in situ resource utilization (ISRU). The idea is that a swarm of autonomous mobile robots developed at ESA and/or TUD excavate the ground in a sloped downwards spiral movement.

(Read/view more)