Indian National Space Settlement Design Competition

For the second year in a row, 12 of our students of Grade 9-11 participated in the Space Settlement Design competition, where high-school students are put in the shoes of aerospace engineers, and are expected to design a space settlement in the bid to win a contract. With Mars being on the outlook and visitors coming in from Earth the idiom "grass is always greener on the other side" has stopped making sense for our students. This time in INSSDC, our students were challenged to make a settlement on planet Mercury in a Lava tube. They proposed a settlement for manufacturing and researching the materials found there while housing 300 occupants. Students depicted operations for all the basic yet crucial components of atmosphere regulation, electrical power, food production and waste/water management for the settlement. As working on a contract set for 2087 they were expected to automate all operations which made human intervention minimal. For the 300 individuals, our students designed plans for the workplaces, hubs, residential areas, communities and recreational activities to keep all onboard engaged and make it a priority to ensure that they live up to their expectations. Responsible for designing and providing robotics services essential for the various functions, the Automations department was solely in charge of the safety systems, emergency systems, contingency systems and even backup systems to ensure that residents would be prepared at all times!

  Students for a chance to interact with and learn from engineers from the aerospace industry who were mentors and judges in the competition. Along with building on their knowledge of space science, our students learnt communication, resilience, perseverance, and most importantly, that there is no 'I' in a team.