AEROO Space Settlement Competition 2025
Team design proposal for a self-sustaining rotating habitat in the Kuiper Belt.
- Period
- Oct – Nov 2025
- Organisation
- AEROO
- Role
- Team Perseus, one of four authors
A republican online hackathon on space engineering. We proposed a colony of rotating O’Neill cylinders (about 500 m radius, ~1.3 rpm for 1 g) with closed-loop life support. Participation certificate, not an award.
Figures
- Habitat configuration
- Two O'Neill cylinders with radiation shielding and rotational gravity
- Radius ≈ 500 m; spin ≈ 1.3 rpm (≈ 1 g)
- O'Neill (1974)
- Life support (CELSS)
- MELiSSA-based bioregenerative loop, seven core crops
- >99% closure of air, water and nutrient cycles
- ESA (2019)
- Energy
- Kilopower-type fission reactors with heliostat thermal assist
- 10–50 MW steady electrical output
- NASA (2005)
- Thermal control
- Liquid-metal radiator network
- Internal temperature near 293 K
- Fincannon (2014)
- Radiation protection
- Ice/regolith wall shielding 3–5 m
- Annual dose reduced by >80%
- Simonsen et al. (2020)
- Resource utilisation (ISRU)
- Autonomous mining of H2O, CH4, N2 ices; electrolysis for O2/H2
- Local resource independence for fuel and life support
- McKinnon et al. (2020)
- Society & governance
- Culturally structured, psychologically resilient social design
- Cohesion across ≥ 5 generations
- Kanas & Manzey (2008)
| System | Design | Target | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Habitat configuration | Two O'Neill cylinders with radiation shielding and rotational gravity | Radius ≈ 500 m; spin ≈ 1.3 rpm (≈ 1 g) | O'Neill (1974) |
| Life support (CELSS) | MELiSSA-based bioregenerative loop, seven core crops | >99% closure of air, water and nutrient cycles | ESA (2019) |
| Energy | Kilopower-type fission reactors with heliostat thermal assist | 10–50 MW steady electrical output | NASA (2005) |
| Thermal control | Liquid-metal radiator network | Internal temperature near 293 K | Fincannon (2014) |
| Radiation protection | Ice/regolith wall shielding 3–5 m | Annual dose reduced by >80% | Simonsen et al. (2020) |
| Resource utilisation (ISRU) | Autonomous mining of H2O, CH4, N2 ices; electrolysis for O2/H2 | Local resource independence for fuel and life support | McKinnon et al. (2020) |
| Society & governance | Culturally structured, psychologically resilient social design | Cohesion across ≥ 5 generations | Kanas & Manzey (2008) |
From the presentation
Projected production and recycling efficiencyBar-and-line chart of projected annual production (tons, log scale) and recycling/production efficiency (%) for seven colony processes, from water extraction to electronics. 
Proposed orbitOrbit-viewer plot showing a user-defined circular orbit (blue) at about 42 AU among the planetary orbits, with its state-vector readout. 
Cover pageCover of the ASSC 2025 junior-category proposal "PERSEUS: Self-Sustaining Rotational Habitat in the Kuiper Belt", listing the four team members.