Copenhagen design studio SAGA has completed FLEXhab, an astronaut training habitat designed to stimulate life on the moon. It’s a pre-fabricated 40-foot shipping container with roughly 300 sq. ft. of living area, modified to mimic how a living unit would look on the moon’s surface.
Outside, the structure features 3D-printed skeletal shell that demonstrates the full scale of the habitat when installed on the moon. Inside the 28-meter-square unit are functional spaces. These include a bunk area with four sealable sleeping cabins and an entrance surrounded by solid walls to simulate the airlock system used to enter and exit the habitat. This area also hosts the “hygiene room” which has a toilet and shower.
Meanwhile, at the center of FLEXhab is the work or lab area equipped with individual desks for each member. It has cork lining on the wall and 3D-printed soffits along the ceiling to conceal lighting. Then at the end is the kitchen and dining area. A stowable dining table easily converts this area into a lounge/workout space.
Moreover, ventilation and airflow were optimized in the construction for a comfortable living environment. SAGA also created a lighting system that mimics the 24-hour passage of the sun and installed a large screen along the wall that simulates a “window” and displays a video of space or the moon’s surface.
FLEXhab was recently installed at the Luna Analog Facility (Luna) in Cologne, Germany, a facility created by the European Space Agency (ESA) and German Aerospace Center (DLR) that hosts a recreation of the moon’s surface for research as part of NASA’s Artemis missions, which aim to make the moon hospitable. American and European astronauts will live and work in the pod for several weeks to stimulate life on the moon.
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Images courtesy of SAGA
