N3BULA3 Simulation Project — MARS-INDUS-001

Seeded Mars Colony with planet-scale, four-level mining logistics — Hybrid ABM + DES + stock/flow.

Title: Seeded Mars Colony Version: 1.0 (Draft) Owner: N3BULA3 Simulation Lab Mode: ABM + DES + Resource-Flow Timebase: 1 tick = 10 minutes Units: SI Locale: UK English

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1) Mission Objectives

Bootstrap a viable, power-positive colony using six seed robots:

2× ARD — Autonomous Rock Drills
2× AOC — Autonomous Ore Carriers
2× A3P — Autonomous 3D Printers

Scale entirely in-situ via regolith feedstock and MRE metal extraction. Operate a 4-level planet-wide mining and logistics chain from sites → spaceport → LMO → Earth.

2) Scope & Layering

Colony: habitat, life-support, power, ISRU, smelting/MRE, fabrication.
Mining: prospecting, drilling, fragmentation, loading, backfill.
Logistics (4-level): L1 sites → L2 sectors → L3 regions (rail) → L4 spaceport.
Orbital/Egress: chemical or coilgun to LMO; autonomous freighter to Earth.

3) World Model & Map

Hex grid (≈50 km), ore/ice/dust/insolation tags.
Graphs: traversal routes; power bus; reliability/faults.
Dynamics: diurnal/seasonal, dust storms, temp swings, comms latency.

4) Agents & Assets (Seeds)

ARD ×2

Percussive/rotary drill, core sampling, sonic/thermal fragmentation, self-relocation.

State: IDLE → MOVE → SETUP → DRILL → EXTRACT → MAINTAIN/FAULT

AOC ×2

5–10 t payload, swappable batteries, convoy mode.

State: QUEUE → LOAD → HAUL → UNLOAD → CHARGE → MAINTAIN/FAULT

A3P ×2

Large-format regolith sintering, metal/polymer printing.

Products: spares, rail, frames, PV masts, shells, new modules.

5) Processes

Prospect → plan (multispectral, grade, route risk)
Drill → fragment → load (backfill overburden)
Haul L1→L2 by AOCs; sector dumps absorb variability
Rail L2→L3 via printed rail & autonomous trains
Beneficiation @ spaceport; tailings → berms/shielding
MRE smelt/refine (Fe/Al/Si) with O₂ co-product
Propellants: Sabatier + electrolysis (CH₄/O₂, H₂/O₂)
Egress: canisters → chemical or mass driver → LMO
Maintenance: predictive; on-demand printed spares

6) Power & Energy

Gen: regolith-anchored solar + printed mirrors; optional compact fission.
Storage: structural batteries, Li-ion cassettes, O₂ tanks, thermal stores.
Controller: life-support ≫ comms ≫ thermal ≫ charging ≫ printers ≫ trains ≫ smelting.

7) Materials & Manufacturing

Regolith → MRE → metals + O₂
CO₂ + H₂ → Sabatier → CH₄ + H₂O → propellants
Metals → rolling/extrusion → rail, chassis
Geopolymers → panels, sleepers, berms
QC: coupons, NDT, thermal cycling proofs

8) Autonomy & Control

Onboard mission planning; low-bw supervision
Fleet orchestration (market-based or MILP)
Dust-robust perception; mesh UHF & optical hubs

9) Simulation Mechanics

ABM: ARDs, AOCs, A3Ps, trains, tugs, depot/power managers
DES: queues at loaders/dumps/chargers/printers/smelters; faults; weather
Stock/Flow: ore grades, energy, propellants, spares, print capacity
Failure: Weibull lifetimes; dust multipliers; thermal fatigue
Learning: optional RL/bandits for routing & maintenance

10) KPIs & Outputs

Throughput (t/day, t/launch, t/month)
Energy intensity (kWh/t by stage)
Utilisation (ARD/AOC/Printer/Rail)
Reliability (MTBF/MTTR, abort probability)
Economics (energy-costed ore, print vs import)
Colony health (power margin, propellants, spares)

11) Scenarios (switchable)

S-A Seed • S-B Solar-Only • S-C Compact Fission • S-D High-Grade Cluster • S-E Low-Grade Diffuse • S-F Mass Driver • S-G Severe Dust

12) Bootstrap Timeline

P0 (Sol 0–30): land, pads, PV skids, initial bake/charge
P1 (31–120): first ore, print spares, micro-smelter & MRE, O₂ surplus
P2 (121–300): extra ARDs/AOCs; first rail to sector dump
P3 (301–600): regional rail spine; spaceport beneficiation; propellants at scale
P4 (≥600): first orbital shipment; expand regions

13) Roles & State Machines

ARD: IDLE→MOVE_TO_SITE→SETUP→DRILL→FRAGMENT→LOAD_REQUEST→WAIT_CARRIER→RESUME/RELOCATE→MAINTENANCE
AOC: QUEUE_AT_SITE→LOAD→HAUL_TO_SECTOR→UNLOAD→CHARGE/SWAP→RETURN→MAINTENANCE
A3P: PLAN_JOB→PREP_FEEDSTOCK→PRINT→POST-PROCESS→QC→DEPLOY→MAINTENANCE
TRAIN: ASSEMBLE→DEPART→WAYSTATION→ARRIVE→UNLOAD/LOAD→RETURN

14) Configuration (YAML excerpt)

timebase_minutes: 10
seed_assets: { ARD: 2, AOC: 2, A3P: 2 }
targets: { export_tonnes_per_month: 500, first_launch_no_later_than_sol: 650 }
power:
  solar_watt_per_m2: 300
  farm_initial_m2: 1200
  storage_mwh: 2.0
  fission_enabled: false
logistics:
  aoc_payload_t: 8
  l1_to_l2_avg_km: 12
  l2_to_l3_avg_km: 85
  l3_to_spaceport_avg_km: 240
printing:
  printers_parallel: dynamic
  print_rate_kg_per_hour: 6.0
  metal_fraction: 0.18
failure_models:
  dust_multiplier: 1.3
  mtbf_hours: { ARD: 600, AOC: 800, A3P: 700 }

15) Validation & Experiments

Sanity: mass/energy conservation; queue stability; ≥15% power margin
Stress: 30-sol dust storm; dual ARD faults; printer bottleneck; rail blockage
Sensitivity: ore grade, print rate, storage, MTBF, storms
Success: exports ≥ target for ≥120 sols; no life-support brownouts; ≥30-sol spares

16) Feasibility Discussion

Strengths

ISRU leverage: print rail, frames, spares; minimal Earth lift after seeding.
Hierarchical buffering: sector dumps smooth variability.
O₂ co-product: supports life-support and propellants.

Challenges & Risks

High energy intensity; solar vulnerability to dust; storage/fission trade-offs.
Materials chain QC under Martian thermal cycles.
Reliability/autonomy with only six seeds; early single-point failures.
Dust/abrasion on seals, bearings, optics.
Egress economics: favour concentrates/ingots over raw ore.

Pragmatic Outlook

Near-term: regional demonstrator is credible with compact fission or very large PV+storage.
Planet-scale: requires many more assets, km-scale rail, resilient power grids.
Export mix: oxygen + refined metals/high-value concentrates.

17) How to Use in N3BULA3

Import YAML; set map seed & scenario toggles.
Run bootstrap; track power margin, print capacity, spare-part debt.
Scale-out; extend rail; watch queue stability/asset utilisation.
Egress trade-offs: chemical vs mass driver vs tug cadence.
Monte Carlo: vary storms/failures/grades; harvest KPI distributions.

18) Deliverables

Simulation package (config + presets + agent libs)
Dashboards (throughput, energy, reliability, cadence, risk)
Decision brief (power architecture, printer farm size, export mix)

19) Recommendations

Enable compact fission for early realism.
Print extra AOCs within first 120 sols.
Add beneficiation prior to launch.
Build dust-hardening kits into standard print queue.
Stage a regional pilot before planet-wide runs.

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