My ShiftBoston Moon Capital Competition entry. (Credit: Ben McGee)
Well, being that the Moon Ball is already past us and I my inbox hasn’t lit up, I imagine I didn’t win anything and it’s safe to submit my concept of “Fort Rille” to the world. What is it, exactly? It’s a concept for a future lunar settlement (year 2069, 100 years after Apollo 11,) that I entered in ShiftBoston’s Moon Capital Competition.
I don’t think the concept was far-out enough to please the judges, frankly. (-And I have my suspicions that, not being a graphic designer, my artwork may have held me back as well…) However, I do think this is exactly what our first settlements will look like. Much like the Old West and turn-of-the-20th-Century exploration expeditions after which my concept was modeled, life will be rough, exciting, fulfilling, and a little dangerous.
Highlights include hybrid solar and betavoltaic battery power systems, Earth-telecommuter-controlled robots and roving lifeboats to help out, sunglasses to protect against high-intensity glare, and ubiquitous polymer-based duster-style jackets for weight, warmth, and radiation protection.
The contest designers wanted something a little less practical, I imagine. I just couldn’t stop myself from creating what I think we’ll actually see in another 50 years. (And yes, you might note that the “fort” isn’t military, and the more lunar-savvy amongst you might also object that while the settlement is called “rille,” it isn’t on a rille – it’s in a crater. But that wasn’t the point. I just thought the name captured the right feel of the place.)
Go ahead and take a look. If you’d like, let me know what you think.
I may be projecting, but I imagine some pretty cool science and blues would (will?) come out of a place like this. Which, of course, naturally go hand-in-hand.
Astrowright 
Looks really good, man. I’d be interested in seeing the winning entry to see what they were looking for that you might have been lacking. Your art style reminds me a little bit of Out of This World / Flashback.
Incidentally, I’d never heard of betavoltaics. Are they currently in use?
Hey, man! -You’re telling me. I want to see who won, also, though in the contest literature it seemed clear they were looking for something far out. (i.e. hoping the future in 2069 would look very different than what we have today.) I just couldn’t stop myself from keeping the innovation grounded in something plausible. We’ll see. ShiftBoston mentioned having the site updated by early November with the winners, so it’s just “hurry up and wait.”
As for style, you’ve got me totally pegged – and you’re the first to get it right down the middle. *grin* (I shouldn’t be surprised. =) ) I started copying the polygonal style of those early games way, way back in the day, and I did it all in Powerpoint (still do). I love the way it looks. I almost feel like polygonal-style imagery can seem to have more detail than if the images had been actually detailed, because your brain infers much based on the shapes. *shrug* So now, whenever I dive into an art project, that’s the style I use.
Betavoltaics are not in use….yet. There’s a company that is currently in real trials, having developed a new internal geometry array (think a solar panel shoved into a AA battery, with the gas inside supplying the “light”) that has apparent met with much success. But they’ll be out there soon. Definitely within the next decade. And I’m going to buy them. =)
Betavoltaics are in development. It’s all very close to the vest, but military and private firms are all aiming toward it. (Can’t supply a lot of instantaneous power, but has a really high energy density… Good for pacemakers and spacecraft… Or built-in trickle-chargers for Lithium ion batteries…)
Oh, and here are the winners: http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/innovation/11/18/moon.colony/index.html
I got smoked by the design guys. -Gave it the ol’ college try.
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