NEW HOME, A Martian Habitat

AAU - Aalborg University, Denmark

Project idea

We are living in an era where interplanetary travel, most significantly to Mars, is widely discussed in both science and popular culture. However, considerably less attention is placed on the quality of living spaces provided for the mission crew even though it will have significant impacts on both the design of the journey and the overall success of the mission. That is why our project of a Martian habitat firstly seeks to identify the crucial technical and human-centered architectural challenges of a long-duration stay in seclusion and confinement in the hostile Martian environment.

Project description

The habitat consists of a fully prefabricated central structure that will be transported onto Mars in the form of a lander spacecraft, containing additional folding-plate balconies and an elastic ETFE envelope, that will both deploy upon landing and thus expand the inhabitable spaces of the habitat and form a spatial and visually open Martian base. In addition, the design provides the crew with the sensations of safety and belonging, and grant the crew the possibility to extend and enhance their living environment as the spatial demands of the crew evolve over time, through the incorporation of bamboo crop within the design of the habitat.

Technical information

Technical limitations together with lowering the possibility of failure during construction led us to develop 3 stages of construction – core, habitat and home. This concept allows us to achieve a self-deployable habitat of sufficient spatiality, while minimizing the need for earth-bound material.

Co-authors

MSc. Antónia Pohanková