Simulation Concepts

The MarsSim project is an autonomous simulation of life on Mars for Settlers living in Settlements.
Any Simulation is defined by a Scenario that defines the starting conditions.

Entities

The simulation involves managing many entities and simulating the impact of time on each of them. There are different Entities from the large Settlement down to a small EVASuit. The impact of time affects each type differently and has consequences on other Entities.

Time is simulated as a time pulse that applies a time duration to all entities, the frequency and duratino of these pulses can be altered by the end-user to drive a slower or faster simulation.

Scenarios

The Scenario provides the starting condition of a Simulation. The default installation provide a number of predefined Scenarios as well as the ability for a user to create their own can be created via the Scenario Editor tool. Each Scenario consists of 2 elements of information that the Simulation uses to build the initial set of entities; one for the exiting Settlements and the other future Settlements.

Existing Settlements

Settlements are the cornerstone of the Simulation as they are the main modelled entity. Each settlement that exist in the Scenario is defined as:

• A unique name
• A Settlement Template that specifies the physical layout of the Settlement.
• Location on Mars Surface
• The owning Authority
• Population sizes
• Optional Crew. If a crew is present; it’s members will be seeded into the initial Settlement population. There are a number of pre-defined Crews; in addition new Crews can be created via the Scenario Editor.

Arriving Settlement Mission

This defines any new Settlements that will be created in the future via a Resupply Mission. Currently there is no limit of the size of the supply mission, e.g. a 20 Building Settlement could arrive in one delivery. The Resupply stipulates all the existing Settlement details with the additino of the future arrival in terms of Sols.

Activities

The daily life of Settlers and Robots are simulated at a micro level allowing them to perform Activities that may improve the settlements:

• Tasks which are activities for an individual to perform.
• Missions these use a group of Settlers to work together to achieve an objective.