Testing Lunar Habitats in the Arctic
One day astronauts on the moon may use a bicycle pump to build their home. Of course it will be a bicycle pump like no other, powered and run with cutting edge technology, and the home may be in inflatable structure with eight foot high ceilings that can accommodate four grown adults. This is the idea for one of many lunar habitats under review for proposed moon missions for 2020, and NASA will be testing this lunar habitat for 13 months in the Antarctic.
McMurdo Station
The location for this test will be the largest American station in the Antarctic, McMurdo Station. McMurdo is managed by the National Science Foundation of Arlington, Virginia, and this organization is teaming up with NASA and the company that manufactured the inflatable lunar habitat. All three outfits will share the data that will come from this test, which will run from January 2008 through February 2009.
During the 13 month process data will be collected on how the structure fairs in the extreme cold as well as every detail of the process of shipping, packaging, set up and more. Due to the flexibility of the inflatable structure, which takes only a few hours for a four man team to assemble, the structure may be moved multiple times during the test period and set up over and over again, as this is one of the strengths of this type of building mentioned by NASA.
Light and Flexible
It takes more than 120 pounds of fuel and equipment to land just one pound of equipment on the moon, so the benefits of lightweight and scalable equipment are exponential. The ability to inflate a structure that will reach eight feet in ceiling height and offers more than 380 square feet of living space. It will be pressurized and heated, providing power, light and air for the astronauts who will be living there.
Should this inflatable habitat test be successful, it may still not result in a permanent solution to housing astronauts on the moon, however. The new NASA Constellation Program, which plans on getting men to the moon by 2020, will likely use it for initial missions that last no more than 7 days. These missions will include exploration as well as constructing a more permanent lunar habitation for 180 day missions. The flexibility of the inflatable structure, however, may be ideal for these initial missions. Should 'feet on the ground' data prove that initial landing sights are unstable or not as useful as others, the entire structure could be deflated and redeployed in a matter of hours.
Final Thoughts
The current model of lunar architecture is some five decades old and is based on something called a Jamesway hut. While sufficient for providing the kind of shelter needed on lunar exploration, the comparative bulk and inflexibility of the Jamesway hut has prompted NASA to look for new alternatives. Lunar architects are prepared to remain flexible in their designs, understanding that what they plan for now could be very different ten years from now.
Related Articles in the 'The Moon' Category...
- All About Lunar Architecture
- Moon Exploration
- Moon Formation
- NASA's Constellation Program
- The Moon Crater's
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