Through the Apollo 11 lunar mission in 1969, NASA made its first lunar landing.
Eventually, humans will visit the Moon once more, and this time, space agencies like NASA and the ESA are exploring ways to allow people to stay there.
More projects are being done right now to prepare for the moon's exploration.
One of them is Artemis 1, whose main objective is to ensure the entry, descent, splashdown, and recovery of the crew module in a safe manner.
Recently, Artemis 1 has garnered a lot of attention due to technical problems which lead to its delay, but it is not the topic at hand this time.
As previously mentioned, various moon-related projects are being carried out right now. This covers potential lunar habitat ideas as well.
Inflatable Moon Base
The European Space Agency (ESA) unveiled a concept for a future Moon settlement made of semi-buried inflatable structures on September 1. This concept was developed by Austrian expert Pneumocell in inflatable structures. An inflatable lunar habitat based on prefabricated ultralight structures was the subject of a system study by the company.
Below is one of the photos of the habitat concept:
You can access more pictures in this link.
Pneumocell submitted their proposal to the Agency's Open Space Innovation Platform (OSIP), which led to the creation of the study.
In order to better meet the burgeoning demands of the modern space industry, ESA launched OSIP in 2019. As a result of open calls for ideas as well as responses to specific challenges, the platform is now the primary entrance point for new ideas within ESA.
Through OSIP, anyone is welcome to make suggestions for innovative space technologies and uses.
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What Is the Goal of the Study
The study has two main objectives. The first is to create a plan for a lunar habitat that would be located not far from one of the lunar poles. The second is to show that the suggested design is feasible given the resources at hand.
The habitat should be able to sustain itself over time by producing and recycling its own food and oxygen inside enormous greenhouses, and by relying almost entirely on solar radiation for power.
Design of the Inflatable Habitat
Mirrors are positioned above each habitat, as seen above, to reflect sunlight into greenhouses inside the doughnut-shaped habitats.
A truss holding a mirror membrane that can spin to track the Sun through the sky would be built above each habitat. The mirror would reflect sunlight into an artificial crater, where it would then be reflected into the nearby greenhouse by a second cone-shaped mirror.
It seems that plans go beyond just moon dwellings. In fact, there is what you call a "Martian House" in the U.K. where the house is designed to withstand the harsh Martian climate.
If you want to know more details about the Martian House, you can head to the link below.
Related Article: A Martian House Has Been Created - Where Is It Located?
