Architecture and planning firm SOM has signed a memorandum of collaboration (MOC) with the European Space Agency to expand the scope of their joint research into creating a village for long-term habitation on the Moon
Client: European Space Agency
Project team: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
Completion: Ongoing
Since 2018, SOM and the ESA have been working with faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to develop the concept of a Moon Village, a large-scale, integrated development envisioned near the lunar South Pole.
Moon Village features
The Moon Village would feature habitation modules with a rigid composite frame and an inflatable structural shell placed on the rim of the Shackleton Crater. The pressurised, four-level modules would house four to six people and feature environmental controls and life support systems, logistics management and scientific workstations.
The settlement is designed to withstand the extreme conditions of the lunar environment, with a focus on self-sufficiency and resiliency. The site at the South Pole receives near-continuous daylight throughout the lunar year and there are nearby water-ice deposits that could be used to produce breathable air and rocket propellant for transportation and industrial activities.
Concurrent Design Facility study
The new MOC will build on the existing partnership by introducing a new study within the ESA’s Concurrent Design Facility to focus on the development of the habitation modules. Upon completion, the study will be made public with the goal of inspiring technological developments relating to the long-term and sustainable exploration of the lunar and Martian surfaces.
