HASSELL’s modular moon habitat for EU space agency
As we venture back to the moon we may want to stay a little longer. Design concept from HASSELL for a lunar station. Construction would incorporate 3D printing and soil from the moon.
Designed in close collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and Cranfield University, the Lunar Habitat Master Plan — unveiled today on stage at the ESA’s Space Research and Technology Centre in the Netherlands as part of its annual Space for Inspiration event — is the next step in the creation of the first permanent human settlement on the moon.
HASSELL introduces a design that employs 3D-printed modular components that double as the moon habitat’s protective shell. The shape embodies the form of a hexapod, with its building blocks assembled one by one and interlocked. This helps shield the modular moon habitat from radiation on the moon, a necessary factor to allow the community of up to 144 people to safely live on the lunar surface.
What’s more in the design is its ability to be regenerated using materials directly sourced from the moon such as lunar soil. In HASSELL’s conceptual architecture, there is a 3D printer on-site at the habitat, so the residents can rebuild and repair the modular components without needing assistance from people on Earth.
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