Mars Base Diorama

This Mars Base concept leverages natural geological features to create pressurized living spaces. The target site is a cliff wall with steep fissures in which a segment of a dome can be wedged. The edges of the dome are anchored into the fissure walls to hold the pressure. The dome wall is either a double walled impermeable canvas or a thick wall of Martian rocks and binder dirt. The interior fissure wall is either covered with a thin impermeable film or coated with a barrier paint. Initially humans would live in just the enclosed space but chambers could be dug into the fissure wall to expand the living quarters as shown in the sectioned view.

Locating a base against a cliff wall protects against the wind and dust storms of the plains and the dug out chambers provide protection from cosmic radiation. This location also gives ready access to both the lower and upper levels of the cliff so that a wider range of landscapes can be explored.