INTRODUCTION

The Eighth Wonder Of The World may be off world… in an orbit that cycles around Mars and Earth. It will be large, peaceful, and beautiful. Its function will include the space development in orbits, on the Moon, and at Mars with space government on board: a legislature, court system, and specialized executive offices. Dr. Buzz Aldrin has promoted cycler orbits for 20 years and he is in favor of the planning for this Earth-Mars Cycler Orbiter mother ship in outer space. United Societies in Space agrees and sponsors this contest accordingly, for the benefit of all humankind.

The CONTEST

USIS, through its' affiliate, the Space Orbital Development Authority, presents the following challenge to the people of Earth, as individuals as well as collaborating groups: Design an Earth-Mars Cycler Orbiter core vehicle, stating and defining the mission, enumerating those features of the vehicle which support the mission, specifying the hardware configuration, identifying major systems and their relationships, and addressing the Human Factors implicit in the design. Final selections of winners will be determined by the USIS Board of Directors based upon the recommendations of the SODA Board of Directors and their judging staff.

ELIGIBILITY

The contest is open to all persons internationally, both as individuals as well as collaborating groups. Such groups could be an elementary school class, a youth organization such as YMCA or Boy Scouts, a space enthusiasts' club or space professionals.

Since this contest is an outreach and promotional effort all entries will have serious consideration irrespective of their authorship or objective audience. For example, judging may be weighted to facilitate youth participation. Technical papers are also encouraged. Previously published papers are acceptable, recognizing that USIS must have rights to reprint.

Members of USIS affiliates are permitted to compete and place, but are not eligible to win a cash award.

PRIZES

First Prize: $2003, a plaque and USIS barter club space dollars: 100,000 SD.

Second Prize: $1000, a certificate and USIS barter club space dollars: 50,000 SD.

Third Prize: $500, a certificate and USIS barter club space dollars: 25,000 SD.

STANDARDS FOR SUBMISSION

Drawings must present a design concept which is feasible and functional and has an aesthetic appeal, recalling that this is envisioned as the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Essays are limited to 5,000 words, including exhibits, plus no more than 50 drawings, photos or designs.

One hardcopy of the paper should be submitted on standard 8 1/2 x 11” or A4 paper formats. An additional electronic copy should be submitted on 3-1/2" floppy, IBM(MSDOS) format or on a CDROM. The file format should be MicroSoft Word97 or better (.doc) OR Adobe Acrobat (.pdf), and for separate graphics exhibits use JPEG (.jpg) or Graphics Interchange Format (.gif).

ADDRESS for POST or PACKAGE DELIVERY

USIS / SODA

499 S. Larkspur Drive

Castle Rock, CO 80104

MISSION GOAL

The principal purpose of the Cycler Orbiter is to insure a permanent, purposeful and peaceful Human presence in space, supporting permanent, transient and tourist populations, as a space-faring society in our solar system.

ARCOLOGIES

A practical model for the EMCO is the Arcology, Architecture/Ecology which has descriptive literature from three principal sources.

Paolo Soleri, Arcology: The City in the Image of Man.

R. Buckminster Fuller: Ideas and Integrities, Critical Path, and numerous other books.

Gerard K. O'Neill: The High Frontier.

DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS

The EMCO must support sustained operations and is in no way a "one-shot" mission approach. The EMCO is analogous to a cruise ship which never puts into port.

The EMCO must provide for all utilities and systems necessary for power, communications, water, etc.

The EMCO must have the ability to recycle every bit of mass which is available to it.

The EMCO must provide Housing for both Permanent Party (crew) and Transient populations, and recreational facilities to include a park with a river running through it.

The EMCO must provide lease space for Commercial and Industrial Tenents and for Space Governance functions such as a “circuit” court, etc.

The EMCO should be scalable, which is to say that the design should be expandable and repeatable, and if a modular system the EMCO may vary constantly in size and configuration. It is quite possible that EMCOs are built up and then split like living cells and are used to "spawn" new EMCOs. The project is Large in Scale and only gets larger.

The EMCO may be temporarily parked around Earth, Moon or Mars and will require a propulsion system adequate for entering and departing planetary orbit.