2012/01/07

Lunar Base Niven 2012 updates

I finally had enough time and ambition to start adding the finishing touches to my Orbiter add-on surface base, Lunar Base Niven.  As of now, I've been working about 3 weeks on it, and estimate another 3-4 weeks before it is done.

I've animated portions of the domes and the doors on the surface locks.  I've added UCGO surface vehicles programmed to visit the outer laying portions of the base (the nuclear power plant, the VLA antennas, and the solar power panel farms).  I've also added UMmu breathable areas to the domes and locks.

Why the name Niven?  I choose it as a tribute to one of my top five science fiction authors, Larry Niven.  I would have choosen Heinlein...but it was already taken.

Here's 2 screen shots, both from the same position.  Remember, dear Reader (if any), click on any of the images to enlarge/download.

During lunar day:
During lunar night:


 As stated in the original documentation:
 Most of the structures are like icebergs with most of the volume below the surface in order to provide shielding against the occasional solar flare and coronal mass ejection.  Each dome is actually a sphere with a diameter of 110 meters. Volume of each is 641,431 m3, which gives the entire habitat complex a total volume of 5.8 million m3. This is about 5 times the size of the Pentagon, or, about 2 times the size of the World Trade Center.
Here's a graphic of the entire base, as published in the original release:

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