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 Ready for Prime Time! Here we see the finished model complete with installed "Light Pipe," designed to channel sunlight down from the Martian surface. This light pipe was one of those open-at-the-bottom bell jars designed to display grandpa's antique pocket watch. Basically a one-piece short glass tube, with one end open and the other with a molded dome. It was retro-fitted with silvered mylar on the inside up to the bottom of the dome. Blue masking tape was placed over the mylar to protect the surface. This particular image was taken at the annual Earth Day fair at the Oregon Garden, where we had an educational out reach booth. |
 Here's a View from Mars! Well, an artist's conception at any rate. This shows one of several large light pipes installed in the hypothetical Martian lava tube colony dubed "Pele Base" after the Hawaiian Volcano Goddess. Similar in design and function of the "SolaTube" type skylights, this scheme relies on an inflatable cylinder with clear ends and mirrored sides. The top sports a dome and fresnel lenses that help channel the light down during day light hours on the Red Planet. |
The Caves of Mars Project is funded by a NIAC Phase II Grant from the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts.
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