Per Brolund

Noah´s Ark - Emergency radiation protection shelter - A deployable shelter that utilizes existing resources to shield lunar explorers from the harmful effects of a solar flare event on the lunar surface. A project executed together with Isabelle Olsson and Emily Héden, in collaboration with NASA, 2007.

Noah´s Ark - Once a flare occurs, the shelter is deployed in a pre-dug hole, its walls filled with water and the rover chassis is lowered, creating an anti radiation shield that is completed by the surrounding moon dust. Regolith and water both hold excellent radiation protective abillities in the right proportions and combinations.

Noah´s Ark - By utelizing the surrounding environment and necessary cargo, such as water supplies and food rations as protection, the explores save extremely valuable weight and volume during a mission where every single gram counts. Noah’s Ark is reusable. After employment it can be retracted back into the rover and the crew can return to the habitat where it can be reloded of supplies.

Noah´s Ark - When the shelter is deploying, a part of the rover floor is released and becomes the floor of the shelter. This action reveils all supplies and makes it possible for the crew to access everything they need for up to 4 days. The shelter shape is designed to misslead the perception of the minimal space available.

Noah´s Ark - After three weeks of prepatory studies in Lund, Sweden, we went on a field trip to Johnson Space Center in Houston to during three intense weeks to learn more about space, defining a project area and create concepts filtered and enhanced by many NASA employees.

Noah´s Ark - When designing for extreme environments and situations like this, everything have to be categorized, tested and finally put into different scenarios. All in the spirit of NASA; failure is not an option.

Noah´s Ark - Solar Particle Events (SPE) and Solar Flare Event (SFE) on the other hand can kill an unprotected person in a single burst. In the habitat the crew will be protected but on longer excursions the astronauts might not have enough time to return if they receive a solar flare alarm. Within 30 minutes they have to be able to protect themselves for up to 4 days.

Noah´s Ark - The overall shape is simplified to make the design feel more inviting and human. The shape of the interior is also designed to misslead the perception of the minimal space available, avoiding four walls that creates the feeling of a confined space.

Noah´s Ark - In space there is a fine line between life and death, Noahs Ark offer the astronauts safety in the most vulnerable situation. Noahs Ark could have similar fields of application back on earth, for example in case of a nuclear catastrophe or large bio hazardous incidents.