June mission begins for the Aquarius undersea laboratory.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3230825]

http://www.nurc.net/blog/2011-saturation/aquarius-june-saturation-mission-and-2011-mission-season-be
gin

For those not aware, the Aquarius reef base is one of just three active undersea research stations in America (Marinelab and Baylab being the others) and the only government funded undersea station in the world.

This year between June and October, the Aquarius will be performing a series of experiments on manipulating reef organism disversity, and hosting NASA astronauts who will be training in neutral buoyancy suits (simulated zero G conditions) on a massive artificial asteroid sunk near Aquarius. This operation, called Neemo 15, will be preparing them for a near term mission to explore an asteroid, one of the prime targets for spaceflight in the near future.

Here, you can see an in-depth tour of the station's interior:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TM_Xhj64cI

And here, live webcam feeds from inside the habitat, just outside of it, the mobile ROV robot, and the aquanauts' helmetcams.

http://aquarius.uncw.edu/live/

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3230844]

Aquarius facts:

The station has both an airlock and a moon pool, permitting the living and sleeping areas to be depressurized to 1atm or pressurized to ambient as needed. Because of this, the entire habitat can be used as a decompression chamber, or can be used at depths up to 125 feet (It is currently at 60 feet) while maintaining the same pressure as at the surface. This eliminates health issues for very long stays, although typically missions last no longer than two weeks.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3230871]

While working outside the habitat, aquanauts are typically tethered to it not just for unlimited bottom time, but also for communications; Radi owaves don't travel very far in water, and accoustic communications disturb local wildlife, so all comms must be done via physical data cable.

The aquanaut's helmet is basically a functioning ambient pressure mini-habitat; The constant flow of air creates a slight overpressure, excess air escapes through a relief valve, and the flow is sufficient to replenish the atmosphere inside faster than the wearer can foul it with CO2. This is more wasteful than traditional scuba gear, where air is used only as needed, but this helmet design permits aquanauts to talk over comms to aquanauts inside the station, so they're used wherever ongoing communication is necessary.

[Anonymous No.3230873]

Is that pilotable forest rover project canceled?

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3230876]

This graphic shows the gist of the NEEMO 15 mission, including the artificial asteroid that astronauts will be practicing on. The mock lunar lander and rover in the background have been there since NEEMO 14 concluded last year.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3230891]

>>3230873

No, what gave you that idea? I just don't have as much money now as I did when I started that, so it's been slow going. The donations stopped altogether just a month or so into it, so it will have to wait until I can pay for the next necessary part (the battery pack) out of pocket.

But all of this is off topic. Check out the mock lunar lander and rover from NEEMO 14:

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3230899]

Here's a shot of the unladen rover, meant to serve as a standin for NASA's pressurized lunar rover prototype.

[Anonymous No.3230908]

lol youre the Hampture guy right?

Making any progress on your submersible habitats?

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3230922]

>>3230908

Yes, but that's off topic. This thread is about Neemo 15 and other missions occuring aboard the Aquarius this year between June and October.

Pic: Neemo engineer tests recently installed artifical asteroid surface.

[kilo !6Mf6LtCqak No.3230932]

Thanks for the followup MadSci! I look forward to watching the live feed. Looking at the youtube clip you referred now...

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3230936]

A helmeted diver looking over the completed faux asteroid surface.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3230969]

>>3230932

>>I look forward to watching the live feed

It's active now. Aquanauts have just come inside after their initial recon of the surrounding reefs.

Pic: Here you can see what's called a "talk bubble" These mini-habitats are strewn around the landscape at key points so that if two aquanauts need to speak to each other, they can poke their heads up inside that bubble and do so. There's a larger bubble habitat just outside aquarius where aquanauts can plug their air tanks in for refilling without having to go inside the main station, and another larger bubble habitat a ways away called the "undersea outhouse", as it's where certain biological functions are taken care of.

A 3d visualization of the various mini-habitats surrounding Aquarius can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-768QRMNT4

[Anonymous No.3230989]

>>3230969

>certain biological functions

This interests me greatly. Doing #1 wouldnt be a problem if youre in a wet-suit in the water for 8 hrs a day. What do they do about #2 though?? Really, I need to know this!

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3230991]

Also, please enjoy this music video put together by the 2007 Aquarius crew, which depicts life as a scientist and aquanaut.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExO6eYwLFZc

[Anonymous No.3230992]

Let me guess: it's gonna be cold and wet.

[kilo !6Mf6LtCqak No.3230993]

1. What will your role at Aquarius be? How long will you be down there?
2. (Besides attracting investors/venture capitalists) what is the purpose of the project and what kind of experiments will be performed? Explain to a nub why do we need to explore our oceans (is it only for resources)?
3. What is the worst case scenario living in this kind of habitat (CO / fire)? uscare?
4. Have you purchased a captains hat for your time under the sea?

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231000]

>>3230989

The fish eat it.

I'd love to have an aquanaut thread that doesn't eventually revolve around sea pooping.

[Anonymous No.3231035]

>>3231000
ok but more specific. Swim to the poo-bubble, point your arse and dont look back? Is it really that crude? It seems so barbaric. At least a bucket is almost civilised.

Reminds me of being out fishing on a boat when my mate had to do a crap. He was in the water doin his business and talkin away when a massive log floated up and bobbed around next to his head. The panic on his face was priceless. Ah the lulz.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231058]

>>3230993

>>1. What will your role at Aquarius be? How long will you be down there?

What? None. I'm not going to be aboard Aquarius or have anything to do with it. Do you possibly have the Aquarius confused with the Leviathan, which I will be staying aboard for 24 hours? (pic related)

>>(Besides attracting investors/venture capitalists) what is the purpose of the project and what kind of experiments will be performed? Explain to a nub why do we need to explore our oceans (is it only for resources)?

The Aquarius performs mainly climate related research, as the coral reefs show most clearly the effects of increases in oceanic Ph. However it's also used for training astronauts, as the environment makes it possible to tune an individual's weight to whatever it would be on a specific planet/moon/asteroid. It's also a good space analogue as the tech involved is very similar, and there's no easy escape (You cannot surface without 17 hours of decompression or you will die.)

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231075]

>>What is the worst case scenario living in this kind of habitat (CO / fire)? uscare?

Leaks are not a problem if that's what you mean. Ambient pressure habitats never take on water. The slight overpressure means that if there's a fissure in the hull, air leaks *out*, but no water gets in. Sealing it is as simple as putting some silicone gel on the crack and letting the pressure push it into the contours.

A fire would be bad, yes, but the main concern is CO2 buildup. There's a large display panel inside showing the CO2 level at all times, and alarms that go off if the CO2 scrubbers stop working. It's a concern because the limestone based sodasorb powder needed to make the CO2 scrubbers work has to be replenished every so often and everyone's a little paranoid about forgetting, since their survival depends on it.

>>Have you purchased a captains hat for your time under the sea?

No, but I'm considering building my own aquanaut style diving helmet. It's a much more pleasant way to dive than just goggles and a mouthpiece.

>>3230992

>>Let me guess: it's gonna be cold and wet.

No, that's why they do missions mainly in the Summer.

>>3231035

The aquanauts have a larger "waystation" habitat to do their business in. Their upperbody is in air. And yes they lean their lower half out from under the edge so the waste goes elsewhere. It's gone in under a minute thanks to a species of small ravenous fish that lives on the waste from other marine organisms, in this case humans.

Pic: That white thing is a waystation habitat. There are two others further from Aquarius, one of which is used as a bathroom, plus a bunch of smaller 'talk bubbles' which aren't.

Hopefully this is the end of the poop-centric discussion.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231096]

From the live feed. One aquanaut appears to be doing paperwork related to the current mission. Two were raiding the fridge earlier, presumably hungry after the morning's work.

http://aquarius.uncw.edu/live/mainlock

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231117]

Here's the live view from just outside. Not much going on, the really big groupers don't come by until later in the evening. Plenty of smaller tropical fish, though.

http://aquarius.uncw.edu/live/exterior

[Anonymous No.3231119]

inb4 all work and no play makes Johnny kill all the other aquanaughts.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231131]

For some reason the live feed from the mini-habitat outside Aquarius now links to the live feed from the automated life support buoy overhead.

The little yellow ball is a comms mini-buoy, sent up on a tether by an individual aquanaut. It connects wirelessly to the main life support buoy, which can connect to shore via microwave. This system lets aquanauts who are not tethered to Aquarius via data cable still utilize the overhead buoy to talk to the control station onshore.

http://aquarius.uncw.edu/live/gazebo

[Anonymous No.3231133]

>>3231075 overpressure

What is this? I thought you said thry keep it at surface pressure, so why isnt underwater pressure stronger?

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231140]

>>3231119

>>inb4 all work and no play makes Johnny kill all the other aquanaughts.

That was a real concern. In the 70s, there were a bunch of missions funded by NASA aboard larger habitats like the Tektite specifically investigating longterm psychological health in such cramped, isolated quarters.

It led to refinements such as the entry lock (keeps out humidity, reducing the incidence of infections) full spectrum lighting (reduces depression) nutritional balance (to compensate for lack of sunlight, as fullspectrum lighting still can't supply everything the sun does.)

These refinements not only went into making the Aquarius more livable for long periods but also went into the design considerations for the ISS.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231153]

>>3231133

>>What is this? I thought you said thry keep it at surface pressure, so why isnt underwater pressure stronger?

It *can* be kept at 1atm, but there's no point unless the station is lower than 100 feet (where oxygen, at ambient pressure, becomes toxic.)

Since Aquarius is stationed at 60 feet, it's kept at ambient pressure. This prevents the need to cycle through the airlock to get in/out, and decompressing for 17 hours at the very end of the mission isn't that big of an inconvenience. The lock door is still kept shut most of the time to prevent the spread of humid air, but the pressure inside is still kept very slightly higher than it is outside, to cause the air to continually vent into the outside water and carry away excess CO2. This means a lower load on the scrubbers.

[Anonymous No.3231163]

>>3231153
Dats cool

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231187]

Btw, if anyone wonders what happened to the spacious, wonderfully designed Tektite habitat seen here >>3231140 It is now sitting unused in a coastal shipyard. (Pic related)

Nobody's using it and it was sold to the current owner for $1 on the condition that they provide the means to move it. Right now its future is uncertain, but I for one would love to see it return to active scientific use. It is to date one of the largest and best equipped undersea research facilities.

[Anonymous No.3231219]

>>3231187
such a waste

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231261]

>>3231219

Agreed. The ISS is ten times the size of the Aquarius, and does perhaps half the actual science. Not that I don't support space exploration and colonization, I do, but the funding should be more balanced than it is right now.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231302]

If there are no objections, general seabro thread starts now. We can also watch the live stream from the Aquarius and comment on it. :3

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231318]

Blonde guy came back in and is working on shit again. Tubby red shirt guy was doing dishes a moment ago. Such is life beneath the sea.

[Anonymous No.3231328]

>>3231302
Whats the patent fund again? Mod banned me before i could write it down?

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231332]

NEEMO aquanaut preparing for EVA.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231339]

>>3231328

>>Whats the patent fund again?

[e-mail]

Pic: Seabros chillin' and enjoying dominion over the deep.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231359]

Uh oh, interior just went dark, then the red backup lights came on. Now an aquanat is doing something with the power control panel. I wonder what went wrong.

[Anonymous No.3231363]

>>3231302
We are go for poop talk.

They would likely use a rag or something in lieu of t.p wouldnt you imagine? You have to use something to give it a whipe. You could of course just use your hand. Maybe some kind of symbiotic relationship with the poo eaters....AMAZING!

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231367]

Uh oh, interior just went dark, then the red backup lights came on. Now an aquanaut is doing something with the power control panel. I wonder what went wrong.

[Anonymous No.3231368]

>>3231359
really?

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231376]

The occupants appear contemplative and are talking to the shore base.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231397]

Now they're flipping various switches. That looks like the life support control panel, not power.

[Anonymous No.3231412]

>>Red lights come on
>>Cthulu approaches
>>Shit just got real

This is now a Pressure thread.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231426]

They keep talking to base, then fiddling with the controls, then talking to base, etc.

Can't be too serious, this guy's making himself a meal.

[Anonymous No.3231457]

Any women living on this thing?

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231459]

Aaaaand it's fixed. Guy in the background is repeatedly testing the airlock doors. Guy in the foreground just made a call to shore base.

Might've been nothing more than a diagnostic. Or if it was a problem, it was easily solved.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231488]

>>3231457

>>Any women living on this thing?

Ocassionally the crew does include one or two women, yeah. Not sure about this year's crew.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231519]

Actually the Tektite was host to the very first all-woman aquanaut crew. The media was predictably sexist, referring to them as "aqua belles", "aqua babes", etc. although all were qualified scientists.

[Anonymous No.3231528]

Fascinating. I always loved active research, nothing better than a group of like minded people coming together and spending time researching actively. Too bad as a mathfag I'll never get to do something like this, so it's nice for them to have a web feed for me to enjoy myself and indulge some fantasizing :)
For me one of the best threads on /sci/ in a long time!

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231540]

>>3231528
Build a blanket fort in your universities maths department, invite some people round, and spend a week inside proving axioms in new ways

[Anonymous No.3231556]

>>3231540
First I laughed out lout, the idea sounded so cute. But then I realized: something like that might actually be fun, doable and useful (except the "proving axioms" part, that kinda doesn't make sense ;))! We had similar things happen though when we were working hard on some problem and used to spend the night at our institute, we all had offices so it could be quite the atmosphere when there's suddenly four people hangin' in your office all totally chilled and still working on that problem...good times.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231559]

>>3231528

Well if you have Second Life, there's a place where they've created a 100% accurate 1:1 model of the Tektite you can go inside of and explore. The same region also has an aqua elevator down to a hypothetical deep sea lab. I believe the region is called "Yan Lauria".

[Anonymous No.3231564]

>>3231457
mile low club?

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231568]

>>3231556
good point, I also used the plural of university rather than the possessive :/
You should definitely do it. Kidnap participants if necessary.

[Anonymous No.3231571]

>>3231457
Probably not. It's a good thing they're all engineers!

[Anonymous No.3231576]

>>3231571
I shouldn't of laughed, but I did.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231582]

>>3231564

>>mile low club?

Check out the sign. This is in the entry area of the Jules Undersea Lodge, an old 1960s undersea research station converted into a hotel.

[Anonymous No.3231588]

>>3231582

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231597]

The Jules is nicely furnished but the design is obviously 1980s, which is when it was converted to a hotel. There's a grand total of two sleeping quarters, one entry area, and one common room (pictured).

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231600]

I don't know that they'd let you get busy with your girlfriend in here, but a 3 hour stay is $125 per person. Overnight is something like $435, or $500 for the full package including dinner, scuba expeditions, etc.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231601]

>>3231597
Looks brilliant, regardless of decor.
Do you know how much it costs to design and build something like this?

[Anonymous No.3231604]

I'm surprised we don't have at least one underwater town yet-shit would be pretty badass.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231605]

>>3231604
I understand that there should be some pretty similar to what we have now in about 1000 years.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231609]

>>3231601

Typically a couple million for a larger habitat like Tektite or Aquarius. A small two man habitat like Hydrolab can be built for under a million.

Sublimnos only cost $100,000 to build, although like many other historical habitats, it's now sitting around in disuse slowly rotting away. (pic related). ;_;

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231619]

>>3231604

>>I'm surprised we don't have at least one underwater town yet-shit would be pretty badass.

I'm a member of an organization actively pursuing just that. Currently, a proof of concept 4 man habitat is roughly 50% complete (the design can be seen here:>>3231058 ) with plans for a 4 *family* permanent colony hub in 2015 (pictured, although the design has changed since this was published)

www.underseacolony.com

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231628]

>>3231609
:(

I'm interested in the idea of an entirely isolated self-sustaining habitat, in which issues things like this would uncover would be incredibly important. I wonder if some kind of homebrew version could be made.

Also interesting from a sociological angle: Biosphere 2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosphere_2

[Anonymous No.3231631]

>>3231619
extraordinary! Tell me, will you move this out to waters unowned by the corrupt nationstates of humankind and form a newer, freer, better society, untainted by racism and hate, forged in friendship and solidarity?

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231634]

>>3231628

Sean Waterford is working on a self-sufficient 1atm concrete dome habitat, pic related.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231641]

>>3231634
Looks fabulous, googling now
It's awesome having someone who is actually involved with this kind of thing present. You can be assured that we are all feeling significant jelly towards you.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231642]

Waterford is an eccentric character, but he's done similar projects before, and is making good progress on this one. Pic related, the completed habitat shell. Last I checked he was in the progress of getting legal permission to sink it in an Australian cove.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231648]

>>3231642
He seems a bit full of himself :s
<span class="math">330ft^{2}[/spoiler] is a lot of room for something underwater, though.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231649]

>>3231641

>>It's awesome having someone who is actually involved with this kind of thing present. You can be assured that we are all feeling significant jelly towards you.

Haha, that just makes me feel guilty because I don't deserve to take part in this. Everyone else involved is so much more qualified. I'm just going to do my best to be your "man on the scene" and give you the latest info about what's happening in this area. And of course plenty of video footage/photos of the mission when it happens. :3

>>3231631

>>Tell me, will you move this out to waters unowned by the corrupt nationstates of humankind and form a newer, freer, better society, untainted by racism and hate, forged in friendship and solidarity?

Nope. Colonists will still need to be able to commute to shore for work, so it will be just a couple miles east of Brevard county Florida in a position where it can use the gulf stream for reliable turbine power.

Also, Waterford isn't the only private citizen working on undersea habitats; Lloyd Godson finished a 14 day mission in the Legoland Aquarium earlier this year in his "Biosub 2" habitat, pictured.

[Anonymous No.3231655]

Mr. Mad Scientist, sir, do you know if their is a way to extract oxygen from the rocks and other stuff on the ocean floor, as I think it would be cool for an underwater town to be truly independent and self-sustaining underwater.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231656]

>>3231649
Far more qualified than anyone else here. Are you a marine biologist?

Thanks for the reporting, which I am definitely saving every piece of.
as for >>3231631
I suggest you look at the concept of seasteading, which is a lot more feasible for any new country effort.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231657]

>>3231648

>>He seems a bit full of himself :s

He is, but if you get to know him you find out his overconfidence is invested mainly in his projects, not himself. He's actually a very cool guy, just super super passionate about his projects and eager to sell people on the idea.

Pic; Lloyd Godson's Biosub 1, with its innovative biological life support system, the biocoil. It used blue/green algae and his own urine to sublimate CO2 and produce a steady supply of fresh air. In it, he spent roughly 14 days in a lake, although the biocoil proved just barely too weak to cope with the task and by the end of the mission CO2 concentrations had become dangerously high.

For Biosub 3, Lloyd is hoping to use a revolutionary device called Like A Fish which can separated oxygen out of sea water for 150 watts per person. He hopes to get permission to station Biosub 3 near the great barrier reef of Australia.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231665]

>>3231656

>>Far more qualified than anyone else here. Are you a marine biologist?

No, I majored in graphics. Maya, 3DS, that kind of thing. To be honest I'm mostly interested in the technology used to live in and explore the sea, although I definitely am interested in deep sea organisms as well.

I'd really like to see the Navy donate a nuclear sub for conversion into a science vessel. We used to have one, the Nautilus, but it was decommissioned a few years ago. Being able to stay underwater for years at a time and move about freely would be tremendously useful.

I'd also like to see a deep sea hydrothermal vent research station, but that would be a technological challenge perhaps beyond modern capability.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231673]

>>3231657

That's more understandable then. I'd be pretty pushy if I'd just invented an underwater habitat that worked.

RE biosub: That's smart. Do you have any idea why the system wasn't strong enough (eg did he need more algae)? Pulling oxygen straight out of water with that little power is more miraculous than magnets.

>>3231665

Ahah, that's interesting. How did you end up staying on Levithian?

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231694]

>>3231673

>>RE biosub: That's smart. Do you have any idea why the system wasn't strong enough (eg did he need more algae)? Pulling oxygen straight out of water with that little power is more miraculous than magnets.

Biocoil systems are about as compact as it gets for bioregenerative (plant based) life support, as blue green algae is as efficient as it gets when it comes to scrubbing CO2 and producing more O2. Even so, you need a lot of algae per person, meaning a large coil. He calculated this size would be sufficient, but real world conditions turned out to be less forgiving than they were on paper. A larger coil would likely have done the job, but it wouldn't have left much room inside the habitat for Lloyd himself.

This is precisely why I set to work on a bioregenerative life support design that can function outside of the habitat without requiring its own costly enclosure. This is why, on anon's recommendation, I set up a paypal for those wishing to donate to my patent fund.

>>Ahah, that's interesting. How did you end up staying on Levithian?

By happenstance I met the missions leader, and when I found out what he was up to, I mentioned Hampture as I thought he'd get a kick out of it. He did, we had a long convo about the history of undersea living, and before I knew what had happened, he chose me to occupy a recently vacated seat on the 2012 Leviathan mission.

In order to feel that my presence is justified, I've been working on a new type of life support system (mentioned earlier). I'll be testing the prototype during the 2012 mission and with any luck it will outperform Godson's while taking up 100% less interior space.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231700]

Just looking through the Biosphere 2 article on wikipedia, there are some rather worrying statistics
>They lost an average of 16% of their pre-entry body weight before stabilizing and regaining some weight during their second year
>During the first mission, the oxygen inside the facility, which began at 20.9%, fell at a steady pace and after 16 months was down to 14.5%
>Carbon dioxide levels fluctuated 660ppm
>as high as 4,000-4,500 ppm during winter

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231702]

Also, regarding the Like A Fish centrifugal sea water oxygen separator, here's the website:

http://www.likeafish.biz/

Pic related, it's the polished prototype. The original device was a mess of canisters and tubes, this one's much closer to something marketable. I'm envious, it's a really brilliant concept.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231757]

>>3231694
I actually love you. Hadn't realised you were the Hampture guy.

would it be possible to have some kind of external system containing the same components as the coil? A thick watertight bag outside the habitat, containing the algae, for example.
I have no money so can't really donate, but I wish you the best of luck. If I ever meet anyone working on anything relevant, I'll put in a good word for it.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231780]

Also, correction for an earlier figure:

The Sublimnos habitat cost $10,000 to build, not $100,000.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231790]

>>3231780
Order of magnitude better, awesome.
Do you know how these things are designed and tested? I mean, do you simulate them first or just design something that will definitely be safe beyond specifications and then build it? I'm seriously considering giving it a go.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231793]

>>3231757

>>would it be possible to have some kind of external system containing the same components as the coil? A thick watertight bag outside the habitat, containing the algae, for example.

You're getting very close to what my design consists of. Smart guy. :3

Unrelated pic: A talk bubble being installed.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231800]

>>3231793
lol, I'd better not go deeper.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231812]

>>3231790

Anything you build would have to be ambient only, and thus you wouldn't want to put it deeper than 30 feet or so. The depth of the moon pool must be 21 feet or less, so that the internal pressure is no greater than 1.6atm. This is the limit at which your body won't absorb nitrogen. Any deeper than that, and you'll require decompression to surface.

As a consequence, you don't need to worry too much about resilience. Remember, an ambient pressure habitat resists outside water pressure not because of the strength of the shell, but because the internal air pressure is the same (slightly greater, actually.)

Many homemade submarines are built from used propane storage tanks. This is how Marinelab and Baylab were built, also. If you could get your hands on a very large used propane storage tank, with a bit of welding it could be turned into an undersea habitat fairly easily.

Pic related: The interior of Marinelab, what you could realistically expect from a reasonably priced homemade habitat made from a propane tank. Lloyd Godson's habitat was roomier, but made from a cargo container, that's certainly another valid way to go.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231834]

>>3231812
A local company is getting rid of some silos that are made of 5/8" thick steel for hardly anything, I might see if I can get one cheap. I think ambient pressure would definitely be a good idea for now.
Is there a risk of de pressurisation becoming necessary as the amount of time spend under water increases, or should I be safe regardless?

[Anonymous No.3231840]

>>3231812
Talk more about moon pools please

[Anonymous No.3231844]

Damn it, so awesome!
say hi to the seamonsters for me!

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231845]

>>3231834

So long as the habitat is at a depth where the hatch you use to enter it is NO DEEPER than 21 feet, you won't require any decompression. You can swim straight to the surface.

It's why some newer designs like Seabase 1 (Pictured) put the moon pool on top. This way the rest of the base can be deeper, and the interior pressure stays at 1.6atm. basically wherever the interior air is exposed to outside water needs to be at 21 feet or less.

[Anonymous No.3231852]

>>3231845
if you give your undereater habitat a smokestack that breaks the surface, you will always have surface pressure regardless of how deep the test of the base goes?

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231853]

>>3231840

>>Talk more about moon pools please.

Take a drinking glass. Now fill the sink with water. Now, turn the glass upside down and push it down underwater.

See how the water doesn't rise and fill the cup? That's because the internal air pressure keeps the water out. The water level does rise *slightly* because as you push the cup deeper, the water pressure rises, and further compresses the air in the glass. But you can solve that in a habitat by pumping in more air at higher pressure.

The pool, basically just a hatch in the floor that opens directly to the ocean, is what is called the moon pool. It lets you enter/exit without needing to go through a double door airlock. It only works for ambient pressure habitats unless there's an airlock between the moon pool room and the rest of the station, for obvious reasons, as the two sections would need totally different air pressures.

Pic related, a very big moon pool. Actual moon pools can be seen here >>3231582 and here >>3231332

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231858]

>>3231852

No, because in the pic you can also see a moon pool. The "smokestack" does not permit air to pass from the surface to the habitat or vice versa. If it did, the pressure differential would equalize, the moon pool would overflow and fill the habitat.

That tower houses the electric air compressors that send fresh air down to the habitat. It's just a rigid alternative to a life support buoy.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231870]

>>3231845
ahah. I think I'd probably go for a horizontal configuration at first.

[Anonymous No.3231877]

>>3231858
But without a moon pool, or if the moon pool was seperated hy a hatch and had its own pressure?

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231888]

>>3231877

Ahhh, I get it. The pic is what I thought you were talking about. It should be obvious why opening that hatch would be disastrous for anybody inside the habitat.

But yeah, if there's no moon pool or if there's an airlock separating the moon pool room from the rest of the habitat, sure you could have both without problem.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231893]

>>3231877
That would work, but be difficult. You'd need an airlock, and every time you exited the water through the pool you would have to use a de-pressurisation chamber for a long while.

To Mad Scientist: If the hatch is at 21ft but I want to dive lower, would it be safe for me to reenter the habitat, and then surface? In other words, could it be used as a kind-of half way house where one could de pressurise?

[Anonymous No.3231897]

>>3231888
I wonder how far down i could be lowered before my container collapsed in on me.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231902]

>>3231893

Yes, absolutely. jacques Cousteau's Conshelf 2 undersea colony (perhaps a strong word, it had only three buildings) included a "deep cabin" habitat at 90 feet. The idea was that you could dive to 200+ feet and while doing your regular decompression stps on the way up, once at 90 feet you could enter the deep cabin and have a bite to eat, relax, even have some wine and a cigarette (it was a French project, obviously they were going to allow drinking and smoking.)

Pic related: The deep cabin design.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231904]

Here's the Deep Cabin interior. It was suitable to sleep two, while the Starfish house (the main colony building) at 30 feet slept 6.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231906]

Here's Starfish House, the core of the Conshelf 3 colony. One of the largest undersea habitats ever.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231910]

>>3231897
Depends on what it is, and what it's made of. Plate glass, would definitely be a problem though.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231912]

Here's the interior. Naturally, they brought a woman. Starfish House had a five star chef on board, hot showers, all the modern amenities.

The Conshelf 3 colony was funded by the French oil industry. The promise was that men would be able to live and work on deep sea oil rigs that would make it safer to do deep sea drilling without the danger of BP oil spill type accidents (Since you'd have humans on-site to manually take care of it.)

Cousteau had a change of heart when he saw the effects of what was just starting to be understood as climate change on the oceanic ecosystem. He swore off human colonization of the seas in favor of environmental conservation.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231917]

>>3231902
Brilliant, that makes things a lot easier. What would you say the absolute maximum pressure the human body could withstand is?

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231921]

>>3231912

>>Conshelf 3

Pardon me, I meant Conshelf 2. Conshelf 3 was a spherical deep sea outpost intended exclusively for oil workers. One of the deepest undersea stations ever at 300+ feet. Only Sealab III went deeper (684 feet) and that failed (although it was due to sabotage.)

[Anonymous No.3231927]

Well my nerdy little non-friends it is my duty and pleasure to inform you that you are smalltime.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231928]

>>3231921
It, as all of these, looks awesome.
>t was later found that his rebreather was missing baralyme, the chemical necessary to remove carbon dioxide.[8] According to Craven, while the other divers were undergoing the week-long decompression, repeated attempts were made to sabotage their air supply by someone aboard the command barge.
Holy crap, that sounds bad.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231930]

>>3231917

>>What would you say the absolute maximum pressure the human body could withstand is?

It's believed to be somewhere around 3,000 feet. Although I've heard rumors from saturation divers that chimps have been exposed to the pressure a full mile deep and come back (after decompression) with no permanent injury.

Saturation divers regularly work at and below a thousand feet, their bodies directly exposed to the ambient pressure. They're lowered to that depth in a mobile, elevator style mini-habitat on a winch. It's a hybrid habitat; When the hatch is closed, you can control the pressure inside precisely. That way they can decompress on the way up. Once on the ship, this mini-habitat (diving chamber) is docked, space station style, to a larger decompression chamber so the divers can sleep comfortably during the long, looong decompression period.

Pic related, a diving chamber mated to a shipside decompression chamber.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231934]

>>3231928

>>Holy crap, that sounds bad.

It could have been worse.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byford_Dolphin#Diving_bell_accident

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231971]

>>3231934
>D4, being exposed to the highest pressure gradient, violently exploded due to the rapid and massive expansion of internal gases. All of his thoracic and abdominal organs, and even his thoracic spine were ejected, as were all of his limbs. Simultaneously, his remains were expelled through the narrow trunk opening left by the jammed chamber door, less than 60 centimetres (24 in) in diameter. Fragments of his body were found scattered about the rig. One part was even found lying on the rig’s derrick, 10 metres (30 ft) directly above the chambers. His death was most likely instantaneous and painless.

...
Yeah, I don't think I'll be messing with ambient pressure. I knew it was dangerous, but I had no idea anything that extreme could possibly happen.
I remember having a conversation about saturation diving with my dad when I was younger, if I remember correctly they tend to develop age related physical problems a lot more rapidly after being submerged :/

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231974]

Saturation diving is something I deeply admire. It's a job only a few can do safely, not because of the environmental dangers but from a psychological standpoint. Watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmmKrxJvEkE

They are as isolated, removed from Earth in every sense as any astronaut. But there is no ISS to return to. They have just their diving chamber and a seemingly endless void of darkness, bitter cold, a crushing pressure. To float weightlessly in that abyss is to be utterly alone, in the most alien environment imaginable, which nature never intended us to (re)enter.

Working in such an environment without going mad requires the kind of constitution that you need to be born with. A saturation diver is an astronaut with nads.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231979]

>>3231971

>>Yeah, I don't think I'll be messing with ambient pressure. I knew it was dangerous, but I had no idea anything that extreme could possibly happen.

It was the pressure differential that caused the severity of the accident.

The pressure differential in an ambient pressure habitat with a hatch depth of 21 feet and the surface is only .6 atm, which isn't even enough to require decompression.

Attempting a 1atm habitat, even at that depth, would be both more mechanically complex and more dangerous as a fissure would let water in instead of just bubbling out air.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3231986]

>>3231974
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmmKrxJvEkE
I'd like to think that I would be able to do that, but I would definitely not risk it. I wonder if there's some way of waterproofing a kindle to 2000ft so you can at least be entertained while you're down there.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3231988]

>>3231971

>>I remember having a conversation about saturation diving with my dad when I was younger, if I remember correctly they tend to develop age related physical problems a lot more rapidly after being submerged :/

Also this is true; It's why Aquarius is inhabited for only a few weeks at a time, and it's why commercial diving firms are increasingly switching over to spacesuit-like rigid bodied exoskeletons like this one, which maintain 1atm inside at all times like a submersible.

They are more expensive, but they eliminate the need for diving chambers and decompression chambers, which means no potential for grisly accidents such as the one that occurred aboard the Byford Dolphin.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3232019]

>>3231988
but also come with the added risk of any kind of puncture being fatal, I guess. I can't think of any more dangerous profession.

I made an underwater glass dome while we were talking, and modified it to have a diving bell. Sadly, it wouldn't really be any use because it's 10M below the water level.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3232035]

>>3232019

Oh cool, I've made something similar. :3

[Colonel Coffee Mug !phJ7yIcs.Q No.3232040]

>>3232035

Heh, I'm building the Diamond Palace of Source Victoria (From The Diamond Age) and it looks just like tat except you have to see it from the ocean floor.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3232048]

>>3232035
you definitely win :D

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3232061]

>>3232040

Neat, I'd love to see screenshots.

Btw, saturation workers are increasingly working not on oil rigs, but subsea power installations. They're large unmanned equivalents to the transformer stations on land. The cost to waterproof them is minimal as most of the equipment doesn't care what pressure it's at, and the portions that do can be contained in pressure vessels with no need for life support as the entire facility is unmanned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9PbkwSYxpE

They build on the sea floor for one of the main reasons I've talked about people going to live there: Free land. Zoning for power stations is costly and enough of a headache that building them undersea is literally cheaper and easier in some cases.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3232077]

Btw, Aquarius update: The rest of the crew has boarded. Here are three more of them, the other two are presumably outside working on the reefs.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3232079]

>>3232061
I'm not sure if I like the fact it happens or not, but regardless that is amazing.
I'm seconding you re: screenshots, or if either of you uploaded your worlds I would owe you several internets.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3232080]

I take it back, blonde guy was just in the other room. That leaves two aquanauts unaccounted for, which is consistent with the buddy system. Those must be the two diving currently.

[Colonel Coffee Mug !phJ7yIcs.Q No.3232091]

[Colonel Coffee Mug !phJ7yIcs.Q No.3232094]

Turn the monitor to see it.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3232095]

>>3232079

I don't share this map, it's a private whitelisted SMP server. But I do have video tours of it, the shallow water colony, the space stations and the Nether Lab:

http://www.youtube.com/user/Zamboro

Pic: Deep sea mining stations, situated over manually added deposits of glowstone, iron and diamond.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3232099]

>>3232094
>>3232091

Very cool. What are your plans for it?

[None !/oddSpacew No.3232101]

>>3232091
Do want. Is that lava on the seabed?
>>3232095
Thanks, watching now

This thread is undoubtedly the best I've ever been in. Thanks for answering my questions and having a conversation.

[Colonel Coffee Mug !phJ7yIcs.Q No.3232103]

>>3232099

For now I have to fill the office space with furniture, fill the water elevators; maybe add some lightning to the ocean floor near the water intake; and afterwards there really isn't much.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3232116]

>>3232103

So you're really going to leave that vast seafloor empty? It begs to be colonized. Imagine looking down from inside that palace and seeing the glowing lights of a vast undersea city stretching out before you.

[Anonymous No.3232124]

>>3232116
You shall be the destroyer of sea cows, I can see it now, white man.

[Anonymous No.3232137]

This is why I love /sci/

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3232150]

>>3232137

>>This is why I love /sci/

Hehe. :3c

Here, have another pic.

[Colonel Coffee Mug !phJ7yIcs.Q No.3232160]

>>3232116

It's a water filter, not a mining facility.

I'll build a massive underwater base somewhere else.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3232163]

Actually I have plenty more from past NEEMO missions. It's of great interest to me as it combines both space exploration and subsea habitation. The two great tastes that taste great together.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3232191]

Btw, more exciting news:

http://inhabitat.com/nasas-omega-project-creates-carbon-neutral-food-and-fuel/#more-264241

NASA is making headway on a project that directly benefits subsea colonization efforts. It's a sort of long, thin clear plastic 'pouch' filled with algae. You filter waste water through it (which a colony would generate a lot of) and it produces oils usable as biofuel as well as oxygen as a byproduct. It produces more biofuel per acre (by 40 times) than soy, and plentiful oxygen as it's basically a huge flat biocoil that requires only waste water from the colony's bathrooms to function.

This is the same technology used by the hypothetical undersea colony in "National Geographic Naked Science: City Under the Sea". But they've actually gone ahead and started to make it real.

[Anonymous No.3232309]

>>3232191

Cool stuff. They could sell the biofuel to pay for the colony's expenses.

[Anonymous No.3232324]

wow, this is SO fucking gay

meanwhile, my hot girlfriend just blew me today (shit was SO cash)

[None !/oddSpacew No.3232331]

>>3232324
A FOR EFFORT

[Anonymous No.3233467]

Bumped from the dead because all the frontpage threads are shit.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3233492]

>>3233467
Thanks <3
I was hoping this would get brought back.
Does anyone know what happened to /sci/'s plan to buy Tektite III?

[None !/oddSpacew No.3233506]

Tektite III is stored in a dock in San Francisco, and is apparently free for anybody to take if they move it. A few weeks ago, a thread here suggested that the habitat be bought and placed off of the west coast of America, and that it be let out to holidaymakers for prices lower than those charged by the people currently running a different Tektite (I forget the number) in a murky bay somewhere in the US. The habitat could be booked for week long periods by /sci/entists who bought into the operation, for research to take place

I'm personally sceptical of anyone on /sci/ having research to do involving underwater habitats (or rather, I was until I found this thread), but the idea of resurrecting the habitat definitely appeals to me.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233540]

>>3233506

There's only one Tektite. I suspect the other habitat they were referring to is the Jules undersea lodge, which is in fact currently being used as a novelty hotel.

It's a solid business case and the Tektite would be an ideal habitat for it, it's just a matter of obtaining venture capital.

[Anonymous No.3233545]

>>3231649
A successful seafloor colony would be great.

But what would the source of money be? How would this colony make its living?

[Anonymous No.3233550]

>>3233545
Grow weed.

[Anonymous No.3233555]

>>3232191
you don't need a seafloor colony to do this

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233557]

>>3233545

>>But what would the source of money be? How would this colony make its living?

Some portion of the living spaces would be set aside as hotel rooms for paying guests. Other modules would be set aside as rented laboratory space for marine researchers. All permanent residents would pay rent and utilities. The same algae panels used to produce oxygen also produce biofuel: >>3232191

[None !/oddSpacew No.3233558]

>>3233540
>only one Tektite
huh? this:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tektite_habitat
Seems to say there are three, with the third currently residing unused in storage in Oakland estuary.

[Anonymous No.3233561]

>>3233557
see
>>3233555

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233566]

>>3233555

>>you don't need a seafloor colony to do this

That's true, but they produce oxygen as a byproduct. That means if you put a colony on site, bam, free oxygen. Plus the company that put them there can hire local workers from the colony to maintain them rather than having to send out a fully crewed support vessel. Everyone wins.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233567]

>>3233561

I was in the process of addressing that when you posted this. The reply is here: >>3233566

And to expound upon it, you don't need a seafloor colony for anything. It's not a practical necessity. It's a desire. People would pay to live there because it's a beautiful, novel place to live.

It's not like we colonized Hawaii for the resources.

[Anonymous No.3233569]

>>3233566
>what about seafloor mining or methane harvesting

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233575]

>>3233569

Methane hydrate forms only at the poles, and at depths that would require cramped windowless habitats nobody would want to live in. Seafloor mining is best done by robots. Human beings will want to live in the photic zone, no deeper than 300 feet and at or near the equator.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3233609]

>>3233558
oh, I see. It's the same habitat with each expedition being given a new number.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233621]

>>3233609

Yup. I'm still buttmad about Conshelf II being removed almost totally after the mission was finished. All they left was the submarine docking pen (pictured).

The closest thing to an undersea colony, ever. Three separate habitats including a minisub docking station, and it is no more. Why not leave it standing, pass off maintinence responsibilities to an oceanographic research institute? Imagine if all the undersea habitats of the 60s-80s had been kept in operation, or at least preserved. They could all be assembled at the same site, and presto, you'd have an undersea city.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3233630]

>>3233621
heh, more of an underwater hamlet probably. Is there any reason the Conshelf II habitats were removed?

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233648]

>>3233630

I don't know. It's very common. The same fate befell nearly all habitats from that era, although many made it into museums such as "The Museum of Man in the Sea", which is where many of the most notable habitats wound up.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3233651]

>>3233648
Perhaps the owners were afraid their designs would be stolen by other oil companies.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233675]

>>3233651

Doubt it, since most weren't designed for that purpose.

Although it's a huge waste to let them sit around rotting, or in museums, at the same time perhaps it's better not to cling to the past. Those old habitats had fundamental design flaws that have since been corrected in newer generation habitats like Aquarius. The sudden abandonment of undersea habitation owes largely to those flaws, which were at the time seen as proof that living undersea was inherently a bad idea. Bringing them back would just be trying to make a broken approach work a second time without changing anything.

What we need is a new generation of subsea science platforms, using a new generation approach; No more ambient pressure, 1atm only, with ISS style docking rings for submersibles and airlocks for hardsuited divers. We'll put them deeper than ever before, at sites of high scientific value like hydrothermal vents, rather than the endless study of reefs (the only thing ambient pressure habitats are suitable for, which is why the Aquarius didn't vanish with the rest of them).

Something like the vent base in this photo will become the new standard for seafloor research bases, although realistically I expect we'll have just one, and it will be compact enough that we can relocate it to study different vents as needed. The minisub and suits in this concept art are real products though, by a company actively working towards the realization of a next gen deep sea 1atm research base just like this one.

[Nuka-Cola !dbLFTRZqOI No.3233704]

damnit, mad scientist, i want that rc sub around hampture!

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233711]

>>3233704

Your wish is my command for $700. That rc sub is out of my price range for now. I want to own it as badly as you want to pilot it, but unless the donations spontaneously pick up, it ain't happening. :I

[Anonymous No.3233721]

I'm a skeleton

[None !/oddSpacew No.3233727]

>>3233721
Have a art, for the sake of bumping again.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233728]

The Thunder Tiger Neptune is a hell of an rc sub though. It's almost more accurate to call it an ROV. It does everything a seabotix ROV does at a fraction the price. Apparently calling an rc sub an ROV justifies a huge markup.

Look at the shit you can do with this beauty (skip to 2:05 to see it operating deep underwater)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CzgSAJ5v_8

I could conceivably put a stereo camera pair in there, and send the output to my VR headset. There's also a turret mechanism for cameras intended for model airplanes that will pivot the camera(s) around according to your head movements. It'd be like being there. Of course that'd add another $300 or so to the cost. :-\

[None !/oddSpacew No.3233737]

>>3233728
If you'd be prepared to use individual video cameras rather than a pair designed for stereo usage, I know of a 480p camera about the size of a match box that takes a microSD card and can probably record for about 6 hours straight. It's reasonably priced (no more than $30) too.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233741]

Also, if that didn't blow your mind, the *really* expensive RC subs fire working torpedos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aDDlCHjewc

As in the torpedos themselves have electric motors and battery power. If you loaded them with an explosive charge you could have very expensive but awesome rc sub battles.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3233749]

>>3233741
Do want
If you want to have expensive battles, though, RC planes are definitely the way to go. An good RC jet will easily cost you over $5000 and be non-repairable.

[Nuka-Cola !dbLFTRZqOI No.3233752]

>>3233741
shit, if i could get the shell of one of those and some decent water sealant, it would be awesome to try to build the interior from parts.
the torpedoes just look like sealed tubes with propellers on the back that switch on when given a short range radio signal

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233754]

>>3233737

I've already got such a camera, it's how I recorded footage inside Hampture Mk. II during its 5 hour lake mission:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05pkg0DuPNQ

Pic semi related; Hampture Mk. III, the next step, partially assembled. Currently waiting for a suitable mounting platform, weights, and enough $$$ to buy the battery pack that will keep the onboard lights, heaters and surface air pump working for several hours at the shore of a remote lake.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3233758]

>>3233754
I know I keep saying it, but you are everything that is right about this board.

Is the hampture test subject still healthy, or will you need another?

[Nuka-Cola !dbLFTRZqOI No.3233766]

oh, a magnetic switch? pretty sneaky sis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSHrOz-Il2I&feature=related
wonder if i could code in a radio kill command of some kind so the torpedo doesn't fly around the water till the batteries are dead

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233769]

>>3233758

He escaped and made a nest under the stove/dishwasher combo. I was unable to coax him out and capture him before I moved. He's the next tenant's problem now.

My plan is to buy three more hamsters and named them Hamdrew Ryan, Nomtaine and Ratlas.

I'd also like to get a waterproof video camera enclosure and get some footage of the habitat from outside, as it probably looks pretty cool. Also, a live webcam stream from the interior that you guys can watch.

[Anonymous No.3233775]

>working rc depth charges
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExA69prggRg

[None !/oddSpacew No.3233778]

>>3233769
I laughed out loud, twice. Are you going to try and stream from a phone. or a webcam and some kind of mobile internets modem?

[Anonymous No.3233787]

>>3233741
>>3233754
>>3233775

>>Working rc subs with ballast tanks and shit
>>Working mini torpedo launchers
>>Working mini depth charges
>>Fucking underwater hamster city
>>My face when Secret of Nimh style intelligent hamsters could have secluded undersea civilizations at war with each other and we'd never know

[Liberty !!nQrIRh+JHbs No.3233794]

>>3233754

What lens did you use to shoot?

[Anonymous No.3233798]

>>3233787

ALL OF MY MONEY.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233821]

>>3233794

Whatever it came with. I don't know much about photography. The camera I used was a mini pocket cam dealie, the smallest I could find so that it wouldn't take up too much interior space. It worked out surprisingly well.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233838]

For reference, this is the Seabotix "Benny" ROV. It does exactly what the Thunder Tiger Neptune does, but costs many thousands of dollars. No manipulator arm, just a tiny claw that opens and closes (good luck lining it up with what you want to grab using thrusters alone) plus some onboard sensors like sonar. Tethered control only. It does have a more powerful ballast pump so it can ascend/descend more suddenly, and it can operate at greater depths. Still, pretty close to the same thing. This should highlight what an unbelievable deal the Neptune is, or what a ripoff many ROVs are.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3233846]

>>3233838
Is that the 150-4 or the 200-4?
It looks interesting, regardless.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233894]

>>3233846

No idea. Btw I highly encourage you to buy that silo. Both if possible as they can of course be welded together for more interior space.

Simply having them in your back yard or wherever taking up space will create the impetus for you to work on them until the habitat is complete. A committment to finishing the project. Lloyd Godson did it out of his own pocket, so can you.

Bro tip: Mount them on legs, so there's room to swim up underneath into the moon pool. The legs should be bolted to a platform with bucketlike depressions into which you can shovel pig iron, the cheapest, heaviest material available and therefore best for ballast (A large habitat will need a lot of weight to keep it from floating)

An automotive air compressor should be sufficient to provide enough air flow for one or even several people however most of them include oil that gets into the air, this is fine for cars but will make people sick. Be sure to get an oil-free electric air compressor. Electric because trying to keep it running on gasoline will bankrupt you, while running it on mains electricity will be cheap as fuck.

Definitely rig some kind of alarm that will sound inside if the air pump stops working. You need to know immediately as CO2 buildup happens faster than you think. A cheap CO2 sensor that connects to a laptop via USB and will warn you when CO2 levels rise too high can be purchased here:

http://www.co2meter.com/products/usb-probe-co2-sensor

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233904]

More bro tips:

You can purchase sheet acrylic or lexan from major plastics suppliers online. Either material will be ideal for windows and can be ordered in custom-cut shapes.

Since the 'floor' of a horizontally oriented cylinder is curved, consider adding floorboards and using the space underneath to store regular lead acid car batteries. Make sure they are sealed AGM type, not flooded, as flooded emit hydrogen gas while charging that could foul the air. These batteries can be charged from the mains, and used to keep the lights/air compressor/etc working in the event that there's a power outage. The rest of the interior space under the floorboards can be filled with other onboard systems, like a compact hot water heater, a few electric space heaters for warmth, and of course additional pig iron.

Do not add the pig iron until the habitat has been moved to where it will be sunk. Empty the habitat of everything you can move by truck, including the pig iron, and hire a helicopter to relocate the habitat, which should be fairly light without the ballast or interior stuff like furniture. You can avoid this cost if the habitat is designed to be trailerable like a boat.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3233905]

>>3233894
they're actually quite a lot bigger than my land, I'd have to borrow a field :D. It's alright though, I can probably find one, and the financial burden should make me finish as soon as possible.

Both are at least 8M tall and 4M in diameter.
Legs definitely sound sensible. Would I be right in thinking the block the thing's held down by should be made of concrete?

RE: pumps, that sounds fine as long as they don't use obscene amounts of power. I shouldn't need more than about 30L/minute though, so I doubt it would.
The alarm idea sounds sensible. I'll bookmark that link.

Thanks for the advice

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233908]

That's all you should need for the basic habitat. For a more advanced design, you might consider running the compressors only to top up a bank of scuba tanks mounted to the exterior, which would leak into the interior at a rate just sufficient for your needs. This will make more efficient use of air and cut down on your power bill, but it will require a CO2 scrubbing system as it does not purge air quickly enough to remove CO2 at a sufficiently fast rate. This can be as simple as an air circulation system using fans that forces inside air through a chamber filled with sodasorb powder: http://www.sodasorb.com/English/

This requires replacement every few months however, which can get expensive. You're probably better off with the simpler design; Air compressor sends air into habitat, which is forced out through moon pool, faster than you can foul said air with CO2. Crude and wasteful, but easy and certain to work.

You'll also want an onboard air conditioner (depending on weather) and dehumidifier. The latter is important. It gets extremely humid inside an ambient pressure habitat unless you have a sealable hatch cutting off the moon pool from the interior while you're not using it, and either a dehumidifer to actively remove moisture from the air or a supply of dessicant powder. Dessicant requires constant replacement like sodasorb, so I would recommend going with the dehumidifier instead.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233916]

>>3233905

>>Both are at least 8M tall and 4M in diameter.

Excellent. Each one is slightly larger inside than the Aquarius. Two of them joined together (I recommend side by side, joined with a central trunk, like a squished letter H) should provide ample living space.

>>Legs definitely sound sensible. Would I be right in thinking the block the thing's held down by should be made of concrete?

It's not wise to make the ballast a solid block you can't remove, as that makes it impossible to relocate via helicopter. The ballast should be something like sand or pig iron that you can move to the coast in lots of small loads via truck so it's manageable, then add to compartments in the mounting platform under the habitat to weigh it down once it's in place and ready to be sunk.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3233924]

>>3233904
I think a level floor would be wise, as would the batteries. I've always been fascinated with the idea of storing energy in magnetically supported flywheels, but this probably isn't going to be the time or the place to try anything like that.

With regards to the iron, I won't do. That could be a difficult mistake to correct. Avoiding the expense of a helicopter would be idea, so I'd probably make it tow-able. Perhaps if I set oil drums in a concrete cuboid, then filled the drums with ballast once in place, I could kill two birds with one stone.

I'm going to try some kind of atmospheric scrubbing system of my own, similar to the algae bags mentioned above. Having a backup air supply is a must also, though.

Air conditioning won't be needed, as the habitat would be off the coast of wales and therefore water temperature would never exceed about 20 celcius. I already have a dehumidifier, which should save me a bit of money.

>>3233916
Transport is going to be a definite problem, now I think about it: This video is of a newer tank of similar dimension being moved http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNqVBK0_yoY.. Perhaps if I moved the tanks to somewhere they could be move by crane into the water, then constructed the entire habitat, things could be simplified somewhat.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3233929]

>>3233924
this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJnVmDyUagE
shows the movement far better. I don't think I could fund something twice that wide being moved if I wanted to.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233935]

>>3233924

>>This video is of a newer tank of similar dimension being moved

Hoooooly fuck. A small town could live in there. If you *really can* get ahold of two of these tanks, do it. Life is short. May as well do something noteworthy, adventurous and cool if it's within your means. Be one of the few people who gets off their ass and accomplishes something unusual, right?

Seriously, if you can afford to, make this happen. MAKE it happen. Make serious plans, act on them, set deadlines and meet them. Lloyd Godson did it on a marine biologist's salary.

If you can do it, it would be the single largest undersea installation ever built. It could be your permanent home if you so desired.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233945]

>>3233929

Hm. Maybe purchasing just one is a better idea then. I'm more sold on that now that I see how huge they are.

Although if you really have the income for it, buy both. Make two identical habitats. They don't need to be connected, just positioned side by side so you can swim between them on one breath of air.

However if your income is modest and you're concerned about funding it as is, then yeah, go for one. Even one looks spacious enough to live comfortably inside of.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3233953]

>>3233935
>if I so desired
heh, maybe. I'm an astronomer at heart though, so I'd need an observatory tower if that happened
The ones on sale aren't quite as large, but are by no means small. I think the new ones have 20% more capacity, mainly due to height.
>>3233945
I think that would probably be sensible, if only because I would need to make an airtight seal along the entire gap between the two silos, and find a large enough flat area of sea bed.

Funding is bad, as I'm a student. I'll look for an extra job or 5, though, and see if I can find the money needed.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3233969]

>>3233953

>>Funding is bad, as I'm a student. I'll look for an extra job or 5, though, and see if I can find the money needed.

LLoyd Godson paid for Biosub 1 out of pocket mainly because no individual unaffiliated with any university or research institution had ever built their own habitat before. Once Biosub 1 was completed and got press, he was able to get sponsors to pay for much of Biosub 2.

By citing his precedent, once you have the silo in your possession to show you are serious, you may be able to attract sponsors who will help fund your efforts.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3233983]

>>3233969
Getting funding would certainly be an interesting element of the project. I wonder what scientific justification for it I could fabricate :D

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3234008]

>>3233983

>>I wonder what scientific justification for it I could fabricate :D

Find other students looking for housing, willing to live in it semi-permanently (at least until graduation). It's never been done. Use it as proof of concept for permanent homesteading of the sea floor. That the ocean can be a place where we do more than just send scientists for two weeks at a time; It can be someplace people call home.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3234020]

Assuming the base is 1.5*4*10M, it will displace 60 Cubic Metres of water. Water weighs 1000Kg/M^3, Concrete 2,4Kg/M^3, and air 2Kg/M^3. This means that for the base to float it needs to be less than 41.5% concrete. (assuming I ship it out whole)

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3234023]

>>3234020

It looks very tall, even on its side. Will it even fit entirely underwater while maintaining a hatch depth of less than 21 feet? How much 'room' will there be overhead between the top of the habitat and the water surface?

[None !/oddSpacew No.3234035]

>>3234020
2,400Kg/M^3 for concrete, rather. Sand is only 1920Kg/M^3, so isn't great ballast, whereas iron is 7830, so definitely a better choice.
>>3234023
Very good point. I don't have any measurements at the moment, but I'll make a phone call after 9AM and see if I can get some specifications.
I think the diameter must be under 21ft, but more than 12, so it will be close.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3234047]

>>3234035
Assuming I can fill the barrels to 40% capacity, which is probably about right, the whole thing will weigh 168 973.2 KG, which means I need to work out how to get the total weight of the container to within 108 Tonnes of that of whatever it displaces.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3234050]

>>3234035

You can always purchase a portable, inflatable decompression chamber like these:

http://www.hbo2t.com/

What this would allow you to do is put the habitat much deeper, and then sleep in this chamber and decompress overnight before you surface.

However the hatch depth still must be less than 100 feet, as that's roughly the depth where the amount of oxygen in air becomes toxic.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3234054]

>>3234050

Wait, nevermind, derp. You can't decompress in an inflatable chamber. They are designed to hold in high pressure air, not hold it out. You need a rigid bodied chamber in order to decompress in a high pressure environment.

So basically unless you can build a mini deco chamber inside your habitat (which would need its own life support system) you're still stuck with the 21 foot hatch depth. :-\

[None !/oddSpacew No.3234063]

>>3234050
That's definitely a possibility. Ideally, I'd like this to be in international waters, so having it deep water capable would be great.

If this picks up, you're welcome to come and stay/ look at the wreck

>>3234054
oh, poo. Seemed too good to be true. I'm thinking about options for this now, though.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3234066]

Final Aquarius update for today: Entire crew back in from work in the field, having snacks and preparing for bed. There is indeed one woman on the crew.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3234070]

>>3234066
It's a trap.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3234076]

>>3234070

Certainly nothing I'd want to see in a wetsuit, anyway.

Definitely pursue this project. It sounds like you have the passion and resources for it. Take this from idea to reality so someday I can visit you in your spacious undersea home. :3

[None !/oddSpacew No.3234094]

>>3234076
Will do. There will be cake, and it will be delicious and (hopefully not) moist.
Car Batteries hold a heck of a lot less than I'd expected: 72Ah? I'd need about 4 an hour :/

It looks like a 3*3*10M cylinder would only displace 70 cubic litres of air, which would mean the base would/should be able to hold it in place. I'm not sure I like having as little as 30 tonnes holding a container to the sea bed, so I'll look at other methods of holding it there too.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3234105]

ugh, I should remember this.
How do I work out the length of a chord if I know the distance from the circle's perimeter?

[None !/oddSpacew No.3234122]

The battery compartment would contain 56 72Ah car batteries, with the design I'm going with. Does that sound alright?

[Anonymous No.3234131]

>>3230825
watched the video
lol'd at

*COUGH* "EXCUSE ME! -you can cut that right?-" *continues on like nothing happened*

seems cool though

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3234148]

>>3234122

For emergency functions, that sounds like plenty.

If you choose an electric air compressor with an intake nozzle (rather than one which simply takes in ambient air) you could affix the air hose to that, and put the compressor inside the habitat itself. The advantage would be that you could conceivably run it off battery power and have a buoy overhead which holds the air intake point above water and has a large solar array to keep the batteries topped up. This would make you more or less indepenent from the shore. You could put the habitat as far out as the depth would permit. The downside is, solar panels and batteries are expensive and the air compressor would be very loud in that confined space.

To keep initial costs low I'd recommend using no battery backup. Have the compressor (on shore) and the internal systems run on mains power. You will of course want some sort of alarm to indicate if the pump fails. If it's just a power outage you'll know anyway as the internal lights will go out.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3234152]

...However, come to think of it, lead acid car batteries are very heavy. They would essentially be 'free' ballast, since they would be performing a useful function rather than just taking up space. I'd write up a cost estimate with and without batteries, then think about what you can realistically fund.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3234163]

Assuming 88 bucks per battery (average price based on a bit of googling) that's $4,928 for the entire battery pack you're proposing.

Not too shabby considering, but an expensive extra that you don't need, strictly speaking. At least not initially. I'd wait for sponsors before you add the battery pack.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3234165]

>>3234152
good point. The cheapest I've found them so far is £50 each, which would set me back £3600 just on power. I wonder if a diesel generator would work out to be more cost effective :/
>>3234148
I could. If I went with that kind of design, though, would the risk of explosive decompression be increased?
In terms of biological air cleaning, I'd like to integrate about 20 of these:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Simple-Algae-Home-CO2-Scrubber-Part-1/
above the surface, at some point. Apparently, 15 would replace the CO2 output of a human in a day. so 5 could be redundant.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3234173]

>>3234165

A diesel generator would be wise ON SHORE. Obviously not inside the habitat.

The algae CO2 scrubbers would need to be inside the habitat itself to do any good. You'll want grow lights of the sort sold at hydroponics shops for best results, and yes you definitely want overkill CO2 absorption. Lloyd Godson learned that the hard way.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3234183]

>>3234173
I was thinking with the bottles I could keep the whole system pressurised by putting the bottles on a buoy with hoses going down to a pump, rather than a compressor. A generator would definitely have to find its own oxygen supply, I'm rather attached to mine.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3234190]

>>3234173
Hold on...
How do you get freshwater? Recirculation?

[Anonymous No.3234198]

guys i've got it.
NUCLEAR POWER.
eh?

also, did someone just propose we grow weed in the colony to sell?
international waters or off the coast of a country with progressive drug laws, and sign me up.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3234204]

>>3234198
>this
>using it to circumvent law
;_;
surprisingly, nuclear power might not be feasible. I've always wanted to make a farnsworth fusor, though.

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3234207]

>>3234183

In the system shown, air is pumped into the bottle, saturated into the liquid via an aquarium 'breather' stone, and it comes out through holes in the cap. Unless you want a second tube just for returning scrubbed oxygen to the base (the aquarium pump won't support those depths) it's better to have the aquarium pump, the bottle, the whole shebang inside the habitat. And according to the guide, they can use the same water for months at a time, you just keep adding liquid plant food at 1 month intervals.

Besides, the design with shore based life support doesn't even need a buoy. Air and power are sent from shore. Remember the first rule of design, K.I.S.S.

Besides, several rows of rack mounted, LED illuminated bottles full of green fluid will make an awesome looking interior fixture. :3

[Anonymous No.3234213]

>>3234204
well not necessarily to circumvent laws, but to give the /sci/lab an exportable good

[None !/oddSpacew No.3234217]

>>3234207
I was going to go with a two tube system, yes. Probably infeasible though.
If I were to put the bottles inside the habitat, the lack of light would be a problem. You've already solved that though, with a combination of LEDs and lamps :D

[Anonymous No.3234224]

just wondering btw (this thread is fuckhueg)
are you guys designing a sea hab for humans?

i like the logistics of this

[None !/oddSpacew No.3234230]

>>3234224
I'm planning on trying to make one, Mad Scientist is spending 24 hours in one in the future. We like it too.

[Anonymous No.3234296]

data haven, grow op, resort hotel.
awwwww yeeeeeeaaaaaahhhhhhhh

[Anonymous No.3234410]

>>3234296

Truly a paradise.

A new more glorious dawn awaits
Not a sunrise, but an oceanrise
A morning filled with 400 dolphin pods
The rising of the aquatic race

[None !/oddSpacew No.3234420]

>>3234410
Billions and billions of krill
Billions and billions of wrecks

[Anonymous No.3234421]

Truly a paradise.

A new more glorious dawn awaits
Not a sunrise, but an oceanrise
A morning filled with 400 dolphin pods
The rise of the aquatic race

[Anonymous No.3234425]

GENTLEMEN. How can we teach a dolphin to use a bong. TOP PRIORITY.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3234432]

>>3234425
Let's not ruin it.

[Anonymous No.3234434]

<span class="math">>inb4[/spoiler] <span class="math">this[/spoiler] <span class="math">is[/spoiler] <span class="math">retarded[/spoiler]

[None !/oddSpacew No.3234442]

>>3234434
<span class="math">B^{u^{t}} {i}2\pi {i}s [/spoiler]

[Anonymous No.3234462]

>>3234432
I concur.

[Anonymous No.3234469]

>>3234432

But we must enlighten all of god's creatures. Even sea slugs. If it breathes, it can get high. Bring me a sea slug I will make this work.

[4tran No.3234662]

>>3234469
> If it breathes
> If
You may want to reconsider your objectives...

[None !/oddSpacew No.3235347]

It's the afternoon again. Hrm.

This is where I am now:
I need <span class="math">25m^{3}[/spoiler] of concrete for the base, which will cost around <span class="math">£55 per m^{3}[/spoiler] giving a cost of £1375. Not brilliant, but acceptable
Oil drums I can probably get free or incredibly cheap. They don't need to be watertight or anything, so the first rusty barrels I come accross would be fine. However, Oil barrels only have a capacity of <span class="math">0.191m^{3}[/spoiler], meaning I'd need more than 190 barrels for neutral buoyancy. I could have trouble obtaining that many
Pig Iron will cost me <span class="math">£600/tonne[/spoiler], and up to 168 tonnes can be used. For the entire craft to be neutrally buoyant on the sea floor, with current designs, I would 70 tonnes. Which is a huge problem, financially. It easily exceeds the cost of any other element of the project, and exploring alternatives is a must.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3235392]

I still haven't been able to obtain dimensions for the silo, but I've been thinking about it, and I might not even buy it. Shipping it to the coast would require planning months in advance, and costs would probably force me to cut corners elsewhere. I will look at options around the welsh coast, and see if I can find some kind of alternative.
Assuming a radius of 1.5M and a length of 10M, the whole thing would have to be suspended with the top 3.4M below the surface. Obviously, I'm going to try and avoid shipping routes with its placement, but this should pose no problem normally (especially as it will have a buoy).
The floor is going to be 2.23M*10M, which gives me an entirely reasonable <span class="math">235ft^{2}[/spoiler] of usable floor space.
The moon pool will be square, if only because it makes it a lot easier to make. It will be 1.27*1.27M, allowing it to be set 30CM below floor level, and hopefully allowing for the compression of air- or, at least, allowing for me to add air as the craft descends.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3235415]

>>3235392
Under the floor, I will have a 1.27*4.5*0.3 Compartment designed for holding 56 car batteries. It wouldn't actually be filled at first- the expense is rather too high- and instead power would be drawn from the mainland and a <span class="math">CO_{2}[/spoiler] meter be running constantly to make sure the air pump didn't fail.

Any modifications/questions?

[Anonymous No.3235610]

Im so glad to see Mad Scientist is not alone in his underwater scheming.

I wish you all the best and prey to Sagan for your success and safety.

Mad Scientist, I was shocked to discover you abandoned poor little Mega-Fucker after his usefullness expired. But, at the same time it pleased me that you exibit the ruthlessness one would expect of a man with your designs.

[None !/oddSpacew No.3235715]

>>3235610
I'm glad that Mad Scientist is here, I don't think I would have had the impetus to do this without him. Thanks for your prayers, but I'm a pastafarian.

[Anonymous No.3238076]

bmp/

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3239033]

>>3235347
>>3235392
>>3235415
>>3235715

Best of luck. If that oversize silo doesn't work out, here's an idea I had: If you can get your hands on a used tanker trailer like this one, it's already set up to be towed. :3

[Anonymous No.3239092]

>went to wikipedia article about Aquarius
>read it

>Since 2001, NASA has used Aquarius for its NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations) program, to study various aspects of human spaceflight in a similar environment. Like the environment of space, the undersea world is a hostile, alien place for humans to live.

>Like the environment of space, the undersea world is a HOSTILE, ALIEN place for humans to live

>mfw underwater hotels are springing up and snorkling and diving are extremely popular

[Mad Scientist !!Q11PG81nz2n No.3239122]

>>3239092

Yeah, the photic zone is for tourists. You want a deep space analogue, you head for the midnight zone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=490DxLQ4IRg