FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT OVERVIEW

Equipment Spreadsheet (Google)

SHUGUANG BASE, CHAO MENG-FU CRATER, MERCURIAL SOUTH POLE

Shuguang Base is located at 87.3S 132.4W, near the south pole. The floor of the Chao Meng-Fu Crater is 150 kilometers in diameter, and 40% of it is permanently shielded from the sun, with a resulting temperature in the -170C range. Volatile ices are abundant.

Shuguang Base Diagram

The base consists of six five-meter long modules, each originally weighing 15 tons. Connected to a central hub, each “spindle” contains living and work space for a crew projected to range from four to twelve.

The Hub serves as an interface node with four modular connectors and an emergency airlock. It also features the base’s power substation.

Spindle One is regolith-insulated and buried beneath the planetary surface. It contains the Hab-1 module, with accommodations for four crew members in nominal configuration and up to eight in an emergency. It also contains a hydroponic garden and ECLS processing and recirculation equipment.

Spindle Two contains the operations and teleoperations suite, as well as the logistics module where all expedition supplies are cached. At the end of Spindle Two is the primary suitlock and dustlock. Surface excursion equipment is stored here.

Spindle Three is the regolith-insulated Hab-2 module, which houses the same four or eight crew member layout as Hab-1 and also features a hydroponic garden.

Spindle Four is the science laboratory and communications module. The comms module contains all equipment for planetary and Mercury-Earth communication, as well as the LMO satellite. All Earth-bound communication suffers a 4-5 minute lag. At the end of Spindle Four is the base’s safe haven – a heavily shielded storm shelter. The shelter provides a work and recreation area and additional sleeping space when not in use.

The garage is free-standing and unpressurized, and all base vehicles are stored here. Adjacent to the garage is a hydrogen fuel depot. The normal compliment, between CMF and Haystack, is:

MERCURY SPACEPORT, CHAO MING-FU CRATER

The land/launch facility is one kilometer away, and consists of a leveled and graded site and guidance beacons.

Four regional hoppers and a pair of MDE (Mercury Descent Element) craft are parked here. Both are unpressurized; hoppers can carry two crew members on flights of up to 1000 kilometers, and MDE craft are capable of reaching orbit with six personnel on board. With ISRU replenishment of propellant, they are each rated for numerous trips. Until propellant production is on-line, they are escape craft.

CLIFFSIDE PHYSICAL PLANT, CHAO MING-FU CRATER

The power station is two kilometers away, just beneath Chao Meng-Fu crater’s lip and the Peaks of Eternal Light. It consists of a massive solar array and power conversion equipment. Buried cabling connects it to the ISRU module and, further away, Land/Launch and Shuguang base.

ISRU (In Situ Resource Utilization) equipment is designed to process volatile ice, using the reverse water gas shift reaction principle, into oxygen for both ECLS and propulsion needs. Mercury’s high temperature aids this process, which requires an iron-chrome catalyst at 400C.

At the power station, the ISRU module is free-standing and unpressurized, with oxygen and hydrogen storage tanks clustered around it.

HAYSTACK OUTPOST, HAYSTACK VALLIS, EQUATORIAL MERCURY

4.7N, 46.2W, situated near the equator in a valley composed of secondary craters.

The Haystack outpost consists of a pre-fabricated research base designed for long-term habitation by four crew members. The entire outpost is designed to be heavily shielded and regolith-insulated.

A science lab, focusing on astrophysics and helioastronomy, shares a module with a logistics and communication equipment. A second module includes a cramped habitation section, ECLS machinery, and an airlock/dustlock.

LOW MERCURY ORBIT

The LMO Communication and observation satellite facilitates planetary communication from a geostationary position over the southern tropic. LMO watches the sun for solar flare activity, and its EM sensors can be teleoperated to assist in the search for Vulcanoids and other near-sun objects.

Mercury Excursion Vehicle One is the command vessel that brought First Team to Mercury. It serves as a communication relay and backup but is otherwise dormant, awaiting the end of the mission and return to Earth.

Mercury Excursion Vehicle Two is the follow-up vessel that brought Research Team to Mercury. It will be the primary vessel for the 3200 Phaethon piggyback mission and brought the near-sun sensor array to Mercury. The piggyback mission depends on ISRU production to avoid being scrubbed.

All orbital assets have a nominal orbit that puts them within 200 km of the surface at apogee and 15,000 km at perigee, with a period of 12 hours. Rendezvous can only occur at apogee.