NASA is eyeing inflatable space lodges for the moon, Mars and beyond. They hope the habitats can feature exercise equipment and noise-canceling sleep stations Follow ReutersScience for more space news
LAS VEGAS - When astronauts orbit the moon or live on its surface in the decade ahead, they will probably be doing so inside inflatable space lodges now in development.
“The whole point is to define what we like and what we don’t like about these different habitats,” NASA astronaut Mike Gernhardt, principal investigator for the testing campaign, told Reuters. Bigelow’s B330 habitat, launched from Earth compacted inside a rocket, is made of a fabric-like material designed to shield inhabitants from deep-space radiation and high-speed space debris. Once docked alongside other Gateway modules in lunar orbit, the habitat unfurls into a two-story, 55-foot-long outpost that up to six astronauts could stay in.
The companies are giving NASA ideas — such as where to place astronaut toilets, how big the beds should be and how many windows the station should have. Those will inform a blueprint that NASA is due to release in the coming months.
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