Geodesic domes for planetary exploration

Venus and the Ocean Worlds are emerging areas of interest for space exploration, as they can potentially host, or have hosted, conditions compatible with life. Landers and probes for in-situ exploration, however, must deal with very high external pressure, due to the environmental conditions, often resulting in thick and heavy structures. Robust, reinforced shell structures can provide a lightweight solution for the primary structure. In this frame, the isogrid layout is already a standard in aerospace, especially for flat panels or cylindrical shells. In this paper, isogrid-stiffened hemispherical shells, or "geodesic domes", are described, focusing on the case of a concept of a Venus lander. Early design methods for both plain and geodesic domes subjected to external pressure are presented, providing design equations. Additive Manufacturing is identified as the key technology for fabricating metallic geodesic domes, due to the complexity of the internal features. Moreover, it allows to fabricate ports and integrated thermostructural systems in the same process, potentially resulting in improved performance or cost and schedule savings.