Space Architecture: Exploring How We’re Going To Live On Mars & The Moon — Explained

The human race is at an interesting crossroads and interjunction where technology and ideas are coming together and evolving to make progress and inroads into inhabiting other planets.

We’re slowly making steady progress to begin colonizing Mars and the Moon and there are teams of designers, architects, scientists, engineers, thinkers and innovators who are toying with possibilities and using the technology available at our disposal to usher in the next phase of human progress — inhabiting space.

What was once thought of as inconceivable, is now slowing turning into reality and we’re edging closer to begin our tryst with space travel and inhabiting our nearest planetary neighbours — the Moon & Mars.

But how is this going to become a reality? Sure, it’s one thing to theorize the elabourate plans & ideas to start colonizing space, & but how will we execute it?

However, despite skeptical notions, we’re closer to it than you would think. Teams of researchers, and ‘space architects’ are systematically designing and testing out how human life can inhabit Mars & the Moon and make it a reality in the coming decades.

Melodie Yashar, is one such space architect who is working on setting up spaces for humans to live on Mars & the Moon.

She says,

“I am a space architect. I design and conceive habitats supporting human exploration in deep space, like on the surface of Mars. Not only do I design spaces for optimal crew health and performance, but I also investigate what these habitats are and how they’re going to be built.”

“(To inhabit Mars) we’ll have to figure out how to build protective and durable structures to shield us against solar radiation, galactic cosmic rays and extreme temperatures swings. On a Mars mission, there’s only so much that we can bring with us from Earth. And it’s prohibitively expensive to launch tons and tons of construction materials into space.”

“So to realize a pioneering habitat that progressively grows, adapts and expands into a permanent outpost, we have to think differently about how we build.”

Yashar proposes using robots sent into space from Earth to reach Mars and begin surveying and constructing habitable structures on the surface of Mars using cutting edge 3D printing, which is perhaps the most ideal way to build in space.

There is a hitch though, because Mars is so far away from the Earth, communication takes 22 minutes one way or from Earth and can’t be done in real time. But, my initial notion was that 22 minutes isn’t too bad.

Yashar explains the process of constructing habitats on Mars using autonomous state-of-the-art robotics,

“Now, Mars is so far from us that communications delays can take up to 22 minutes one way to or from Earth. And what that means is that we can’t rely on real-time telerobotics controlled by people on Earth to supervise what happens in construction on Mars or for that matter, to supervise anything that happens when we’re exploring the planet. But if we leverage autonomous robotics, we’ll send 3D printers and other construction robots to build protective habitats and shelters before the crew even arrives.”

“So how exactly would 3D printers build a habitat on Mars? Well, first we have to figure out what these structures are made out of. Just like early civilizations, will use in situ regolith, commonly known as dirt, and other resources that are local and indigenous to the planet, including water, and possibly combine them with additives and binders that we bring from Earth to engineer high-performance construction materials.”

“Our goal when we’re designing these habitats is to introduce an airtight structure that can withstand internal pressurization, which is what will allow people to live in a breathable and temperate environment on the inside.”

“The robots that we deploy on Mars will need to perceive and interpret the complexity of a construction site in order to sequence and choreograph different types of tasks. These tasks will include prospecting Mars and surveying for a site to build, collecting raw materials, processing those materials and maneuvering them around.”

“Once the site has been excavated and foundations are printed, these structures are manufactured layer by layer by layer. And as construction progresses, prebuilt and preintegrated hardware like airlocks or life support equipment brought from Earth are inserted into the print until finally they’re sealed at various connection points.”

However, for humans to survive and live on Mars, we need to ensure that the structures are as close to Earth-like conditions as possible.

Yashar elabourates,

“To do more than just survive in space, we need to create environments that positively contribute to well-being for months and years into the future. And as more civilian astronauts travel to space, it’s important that our environments are more than the tightly packed mechanical interiors of the International Space Station, which today represents the state of the art for long-duration human life in space.”

“We also want to incorporate practical architectural elements such as access to natural light through windows and greenery. These were features that were missing aboard the space station when it was first commissioned, but which we know are critical to positive psychological functioning and well-being. For long duration missions in deep space, it’s important that crew members feel less like they’re living in a machine and more like they’re living in a home.”

“Designing structures in space is all about mitigating risks and the habitats that we create will need to be the most durable and the most resilient structures ever conceived. Future off-world surface habitats will be self-regulating and self-maintained structures to support the crew members while they’re there, but also to operate autonomously when they are not.”

But how are space architects, scientists and their teams going about their work with the target of creating these habitats on on other planets? The answer is that data & simulation is at the core of their work and research.

And further, they are proposing to use the Moon as the base for testing and implementing these plans & ideas.

Yashar believes that we’re soon to colonize the Moon in the coming decade and use it as an intermediatory pitstop and refueling station that will act as the first step in the future colonization of Mars.

“Before we send anyone to Mars, we need data to answer some very key questions about human health, safety, and to validate each of these construction activities.”

“Fortunately for us, we have a testbed and a proving ground much, much closer to Earth. That’s our own Moon. Today we’re working with NASA to demonstrate how we’ll 3D-print infrastructure like landing pads, roadways and eventually habitats directly on the lunar surface.”

“The Moon is a critical pit stop to refuel, resupply and serve as a general platform for vehicles traveling to deep space, and we’ll use the technologies establishing a permanent human presence on the Moon to travel to, from and operate on the surface of Mars.”

Yashar and her team have begun testing & simulating this complex Moon and Mars mission already and are slowly inching towards making it a reality. Their testing site called Mars Dune Alpha is launching later this year. She says,

“What else are we doing to advance the viability of 3D printing for building in space? Well, for one thing, we can demonstrate that 3D-printed structures can support people in a mission-like environment right here on Earth, and use data from those experiments to set standards and requirements for future Mars missions.”

“This is what we did in designing and building Mars Dune Alpha, a 3D-printed analog habitat at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, referred to as the Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog — this structure will house four volunteer crew members simulating a one-year mission to Mars, including a 20-minute communications delay.”

“The first mission is kicking off later this year”

In her revolutionary TED Talk, space architect Melodie Yashar investigates the challenges and proposes solutions for the next evolution of the human race in colonizing the Moon and Mars and reveals how it isn’t inconceivable and how it could become a reality in our lifetime.

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