Part 1 of 3 Parts
Decades after the end of space missions to land men on the moon, major spacefaring nations are now drafting plans for the return of manned lunar missions. One of the new goals is the creation of a permanent manned settlement on the Moon.
“Skidmore, Owings & Merri (SOM) is a global architectural, urban planning and engineering firm. It is one of the most significant architectural firms in the world. SOM has designed some of the world's most significant architectural and urban projects including several of the tallest buildings in the world. SOM's multidisciplinary practice works across a range of scales and project types, providing services in Architecture, Building Services/MEP Engineering, Digital Design, Graphics, Interior Design, Structural Engineering, Civil Engineering, Sustainable Design and Urban Design & Planning.” Wikipedia
SOM is currently working on a design for a habitat for a future Moon Village. The European Space Agency (ESA) has thoroughly reviewed the SOM proposal at their mission-evaluating Concurrent Design Facility (CDF). Some issues were raised with the design but none of them were serious enough to call the whole project into question. This means that the SOM four-person semi-inflatable habitat may be built on the lunar surface someday.
SOM consulted with staff at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the ESA as they developed their habitat design. ESA Director General Jan Wörner provided the original idea of an international Moon Village that would be designed and constructed by a consortium of private and public, space and non-space partners.
SOM began working on their design study in 2018. This year the habitat’s design blueprint was subjected to a six-session study at the ESA’s CDF. The Facility is located in Noordwijk, the Netherlands. It brings together a network of space specialists tasked with evaluation of novel space mission concepts to create workable blueprints.
Daniel Inocente is the study leader at SOM. He said, “The value of these CDF sessions is that they can run our design past every expert that's needed in real time," says Daniel Inocente, study leader at SOM. "It's been a great experience because we've been able to discover the limiting factors involved in designing for the moon within a short time, take those on board and identify potential responses.”
Advenit Makaya is the study leader at ESA. He said, “This study is clearly looking into the future, beyond the horizon of currently planned lunar exploration activities," explains Advenit Makaya, study leader at ESA. "But it has been a very interesting exercise for the various ESA experts, to collaborate with architecture experts, to identify and address the drivers and ways in which this innovative design could be deployed on the moon.”
Isabelle Duvaux-Béchon is with the ESA's Policy and Programs Coordination Department. She said, “The collaboration on this project, combining best ideas and expertise from the SOM and the ESA experts, is a very good example of how ESA wishes not only to develop future programs, but also to be an enabler for other initiatives contributing to the common good.”
Please read Part 2 next