Home Away From Home May Be Destined For Lunar Surface

It's official -- the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will use Antarctica's harsh environment to test a new tent-like architecture for astronaut housing on the moon, according to the NSF.

NASA's Constellation Program is working to put men back to the moon by 2020. After initial experiments, the astronauts will set up a lunar outpost for long-duration stays, and they'll need a place to live.

Scientists watched as the new home-away-from-home was inflated one last time at a site in Frederica, DE before it was packed and shipped to McMurdo Station, NSF's logistical hub in Antarctica. The NSF operates three year-round stations in Antarctica in its role as manager of the US Antarctic Program.

NSF and NASA are partners with ILC Dover, the company that manufactured the prototype habitat structure that will be tested for 13 months. The inflatable habitat is one of several concepts being considered for astronaut housing on the moon.

"Testing the inflatable habitat in one of the harshest, most remote sites on Earth gives us the opportunity to see what it would be like to use for lunar exploration," said Paul Lockhart, director of Constellation Systems for NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate.

The inflatable structure is insulated and heated, has electrical power, and is pressurized. Habitat offers 384 square feet of living space and has, at its highest point, an eight-foot ceiling.

NSF is interested in lighter, easier-to-assemble housing for use in the field in Antarctica. The NSF currently uses a 50-year-old design known as a Jamesway hut that is bulky and complex, in comparison to the habitat being tested.

Modern variations on the Jamesway are lighter, but rigid and difficult to ship, with limited insulation.

During the test of the new inflatable habitat, NSF will study improvements in packing, transportation and set up, as well as power consumption and damage tolerance, fitted with sensors, for this newest variation of the concept.

The agency is developing concepts for habitation modules that not only provide protection for the astronauts, but also are easy transport and set-up while on lunar surface.

"To land one pound of supplies on the lunar surface, it'll require us to launch 125 pounds of hardware and fuel to get it there," Lockhart said. "So our habitation concepts have to be lightweight as well as durable. This prototype inflatable habitat can be taken down and redeployed multiple times, and it only takes a crew of four a few hours to set up, permitting exploration beyond the initial landing area."

To further lunar exploration, the Constellation Program is developing a new fleet of spacecraft and rockets, as well as transportation and power systems for use on the surface of the moon.

(Images courtesy of NSF's Peter West)

FMI: www.ilcdover.com, www.nsf.gov, www.nasa.gov