Category Archives: Space Settlement

Space settlement roundup – May.16.2019

A sampling of recent articles, videos, and images related to human settlements in the solar system:

** Jeff Bezos plans to develop technologies that will enable the building of enormous in-space habitats according to his statements in last week’s presentation, which included the unveiling of the Blue Moon lunar lander. The habitats would rotate to provide spin gravity and would ultimately be large enough for cities, rivers, and forests.

Large Habitat - Blue Origin
An imaginative rendering of a future in-space rotating habitat. Credits: Blue Origin

** A call to young people to help make space settlements happen: Club for the Future powered by Blue Origin

This club is a way to connect young people who love our home planet, who believe in the power of human ingenuity and the abundance of space, and who are unshakably optimistic about the future. We welcome students, educators, and fans of the future to join a worldwide community of dreamers sponsored by Blue Origin, builders of reusable rockets and roads to space.

Club For The Future Logo

** SSI 50: The Space Settlement Enterprise will be held on September 9-10 at The Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington. The meeting is sponsored by the Space Studies Institute (SSI), which was founded by Gerard O’Neill, the late Princeton professor of physics cited by Jeff Bezos as an inspiration for his space ambitions.

O’Neill promoted large in-space habitats as alternatives to settlements on the surface of planets and moons. In 1974, SSI initiated a series of conferences that examined the methods and technologies needed to make such enormous structures a reality. Here is the latest information on registration, speakers, and agenda for the next SSI conference: SSI 50 Conference Update

SSI 50 marks the kickoff for a new SSI project, the Space Settlement Enterprise. This multi-year project will reexamine the original High Frontier vision created by Professor Gerard O’Neill, bringing his ideas up to date with new technology, new discoveries, and new space ventures. This year’s conference will lay the groundwork that project, helping to determine the questions that need to be addressed. Our panel format is designed to allow for plenty of Q&A and audience interaction. There will be no passive lectures. We need your ideas.

** A recent update on SSI’s proposed G-Lab rotating space station and other Institute projects:

Enabling Permanent Human Settlement On The High Frontier. February 27th 2017 Space Studies Institute President Gary C Hudson spoke at the Silicon Valley Space Center/AIAA Tech Talk meeting in Santa Clara, California about two important SSI programs: G-Lab, the free flying reduced gravity spinner co-orbited with ISS and EPI, supporting fundamental R&D for true “Space Drives.”

** Gerard O’Neill and Isaac Asimov discussed in-space colonies on an interview program in 1975:

** Enabling the first equatorial low earth orbit rotating habitat is the subject of a new paper by Al Globus: Near Term Policy and Research Priorities to Enable the First Space Settlement, Al Globus  (pdf)

We present a number of preliminary policy options and research directions intended to enable construction of the first space settlement starting in two or three decades. Most of the necessary technology development can be driven by either Earth­bound applications or the construction and operation of a series of ever more capable space hotels as space hotel requirements are very similar to those of space settlements.

This paper examines policy options for the necessary development that will not be catalyzed by terrestrial needs or space hotels. The options include making space settlement an official goal for the relevant agencies, developing launchers a factor of 20 or more less expensive than today, and debris cleanup.We will also describe an applied research program to better understand the Equatorial Low Earth Orbit (ELEO) radiation environment, space farms, psycho ­social issues, and unique settlement construction and operation issues.

Globus, an engineer at NASA Ames, has written extensively about starting space settlement with modest-sized rotating habitats in equatorial earth orbit where radiation levels are quite low. See Free Space Settlement for links to several papers on the concept.

In addition, check out The High Frontier: An Easier Way by Globus and Tom Marotta. The book describes the ELEO rotating habitat concept for a general audience.

** Underground colonies on the Moon are the opposite approach to the ELEO habitats but might happen sooner: Lunar tunnel engineers excited by boring Moon colonies – ATF/Phys.org

“So every plan for having a habitat on the moon involves making a trench, creating a structure and covering it with some sort of regolith, which is the soil on the moon.

“Our idea is to actually start underground, using a mechanism we already use on the earth, a tunnel boring machine, to make a continuous opening to create habitats or connect the colonies together,” he added.

Analysis of images of the lunar surface show lava tubes capable of housing large cities underground, said Rostami, director of the Earth Mechanics Institute at the US Colorado School of Mines.

** The Inflatable Lunar/Mars Analog Habitat project at the University of North Dakota recently carried out the seventh simulated space mission. The ILMAH Mission VII began on April 25th and lasted till May 7th with a three-member crew consisting of Space Studies grad students Jared Peick and Peter Henson (Mission Specialists), and Stefan Tomovic (Mission Commander). Reports on the mission can be found at

For example, Mission 7 Crew Juggles EVA, Plant Care and Cognitive Space Research – UND.. blog

The three-member Mission-VII crew completed their first Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA-1) on Friday (04/26/19). Saturday (04/27/19) was a science-packed day for the crew members. The team conducted research with an electroencephalogram (EEG) study, practiced emergency responses with simulation software and took care of the plants in the habitat’s Plant Production Module (PPM).
The habitat residents conducted EVA1 with Commander Stefan Tomović and Mission Specialist Peter Henson going out on EVA, and Mission Specialist Jared Peick serving as CAPCOM for EVA1. EVA1 lasted an hour and ten minutes with the objectives of inspecting the habitat, collecting water from a resupply drop, and gathering geological samples…

** Space base simulations are also underway in China:

** Space habitat studies at Purdue: How would you survive on Mars? – Purdue University News

The Resilient ExtraTerrestrial Habitats Institute is working to ensure that the first long-term settlement on other planetary bodies are safe from hazards such as a meteoroid colliding with the moon or violent sandstorms on Mars.

Shirley Dyke, head of Purdue University’s RETH Institute, said she noticed that the habitats on other planets portrayed on TV don’t look realistic. In order to keep occupants alive, a habitat system on another planet would have to be much more sophisticated, even smart.

** The SpaceFund’s Habitats Database is the third element of the

SpaceFund Reality (SFR) rating, focused on space habitats. With this rating we begin to move into areas that are more obviously related to the SpaceFund mission of supporting “frontier enabling” technologies. While the launch database showed a field that is over crowded, many other critical sectors of the space economy are not, and some are frankly, wide open. 

Our research has showed that this sector, space habitats, is still underdeveloped and represents a potential opportunity for investors and entrepreneurs. If one is to believe what Musk, Bezos and governments such as the US and UAE are saying about their plans to both dramatically lower the cost of space access and enable a permanent human presence in space, within a few years we may see a ‘housing shortage’ on the frontier.

** Japan’s iSpace is building rovers to explore the Moon and has over $90M and engineers like Akane Imamura to do the job: Meet The Engineer Dreaming of a Lunar City

After a decades-long lull, interest in the moon is back — this time led by startups, including Tokyo-based ispace Inc., which is hoping to land two of its miniature rovers on the lunar surface in 2021. Akane Imamura is part of ispace’s team racing to make that deadline, and their ultimate goal is nothing short of making the moon not only habitable, but home to an ecosystem of thriving businesses. Bloomberg Technology’s Aki Ito joins Imamura’s team as they test their most recent prototypes at a lunar simulation facility run by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

** Transastra Corp‘s developing affordable lunar ice mining: Lunar-Polar Propellant Mining Outpost (LPMO) | NASA

The Lunar Polar Gas-Dynamic Mining Outpost (LGMO) (see quad chart graphic [below]) is a breakthrough mission architecture that promises to greatly reduce the cost of human exploration and industrialization of the Moon. LGMO is based on two new innovations that together solve the problem of affordable lunar polar ice mining for propellant production.

The first innovation is based on a new insight into lunar topography: our analysis suggests that there are large (hundreds of meters) landing areas in small (0.5-1.5 km) nearpolar craters on which the surface is permafrost in perpetual darkness but with perpetual sunlight available at altitudes of only 10s to 100s of meters. In these prospective landing sites, deployable solar arrays held vertically on masts 100 m or so in length (lightweight and feasible in lunar gravity) can provide nearly continuous power. This means that a large lander, such as the Blue Moon vehicle proposed by Blue Origin, a BFR; or a modestly sized lunar ice mining outpost could sit on mineable permafrost with solar arrays in perpetual sunlight on masts providing affordable electric power without the need to separate power supply from the load.

Lunar Polar Gas-Dynamic Mining Outpost
Lunar Polar Gas-Dynamic Mining Outpost

The second enabling innovation for LGMO is Radiant Gas Dynamic (RGD) mining. RGD mining is a new Patent Pending technology invented by TransAstra to solve the problem of economically and reliably prospecting and extracting large quantities (1,000s of tons per year) of volatile materials from lunar regolith using landed packages of just a few tons each. To obviate the problems of mechanical digging and excavation, RGD mining uses a combination of radio frequency, microwave, and infrared radiation to heat permafrost and other types of ice deposits with a depth-controlled heating profile….

** Using “biology to build a better, more sustainable universe” is the goal of The Synthetic Biology Innovation Network or SynBioBeta. And BetaSpace is the sector in charge of developing an  innovation ecosystem for space settlements –

Recently, innovators like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have taken extraordinary steps toward getting humans to other worlds cheaply and safely. But the challenge remains: How will we sustain ourselves when we get there? Just as important, what are the planetary technologies we need today to ensure our home planet remains healthy long enough for future generations to fully realize our dream of space exploration?

BetaSpace aims to build a tech industry to solve this challenge. It will bring together companies in earth-based industries to explore how to accelerate the technologies and products to sustain human life here and off-planet. Just as SynBioBeta has done for the synthetic biology industry, BetaSpace will be the innovation ecosystem for building a better, sustainable world wherever humans may live.

Here is an article about a recent BetaSpace event: As Coachella raged, the L.A. tech world made plans to live on Mars – Los Angeles Times

One hundred miles to the southeast, masses of festival heads were gathering in the desert for Coachella’s first April weekend. But this small crew of space scientists, synthetic biologists, investors, entrepreneurs and one partygoer with flamethrower had higher ambitions.

By jet, bus and more than a few Teslas, they came to this desolate valley for Betaspace: a one-night, invite-only confab for the not-quite-yet-burgeoning space settlement industry.

Through sheer force of festive networking, its organizers hoped to spawn the companies and concepts that could allow humanity to establish bases on Mars (or maybe the moon), or “terraform,” as they say, our nearest neighbors into habitable worlds and spin off technologies for us earthbound humans in the process.

To the brains behind the operation, this was also the first step on a new path for the L.A. tech scene. Once a dominant player, back when tech and aerospace were synonymous, the Southland fell from prominence as silicon, software and start-ups concentrated in the Bay Area. Should space colonization actually become a thing, however, Southern California could capitalize thanks to its long history in rocketry and its lively biotech sector.

** Living above the arctic circle has some similarities to the first space settlements. Here is a story of one man’s pursuit of self-sustaining agriculture in the arctic circle village of Longyearbyen, Norway: Trying to grow food in the Arctic – BBC News

BTW: I would certainly feel safer living in a lunar or Martian colony with today’s technology than in the first arctic settlements with the technology of many centuries ago.

====

The Case for Space:
How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up
a Future of Limitless Possibility

Two teams 3D-printed prototype Mars habitats in battle for $700k from NASA

Here is an account of the Mars habitat printing contest held last week in Illinois between teams from Penn State and the New York-based design agency AI SpaceFactory in the final phase of NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge competition: AI SpaceFactory Wins NASA’s 3D-Printed Extraterrestrial Habitats Challenge – IEEE Spectrum

In a cavernous arena outside of Peoria, Illinois, two industrial robots worked against the clock last weekend to finish their tasks. Each had been converted into a towering 3-D printer and programmed to build one-third-scale models of extraterrestrial habitats. For 30 hours over three days, generators chugged and hydraulics hissed as robotic arms moved in patterns, stacking long beads of thick “ink” into layers. Gradually, familiar forms began to emerge from the facility’s dirt floor: a gray, igloo-like dwelling and a tall, maroon egg.

Humanity’s future on Mars was taking shape.

AI SpaceFactory took first place and $500k while the Penn State team came in second and got $200k.

An overview of the contest from Caterpillar, one of the co-sponsors of the competition:

Here is a video from the AI SpaceFactory showing the construction and testing of their habitat structure:

A release from NASA on the awards

Teams 3D Print Planetary Habitats, Awarded $700K in NASA Challenge

After 30 hours of 3D printing over four days of head-to-head competition, NASA and partner Bradley University of Peoria, Illinois, have awarded $700,000 to two teams in the final round of the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge. The top prize of $500,000 was awarded to New York based AI. SpaceFactory. Second-place and $200,000 was awarded to Pennsylvania State University of University Park.

The two teams faced off May 1-4 at Caterpillar’s Edwards Demonstration & Learning Center in Edwards, Illinois, creating subscale shelters out of recyclables and materials that could be found on deep-space destinations, like the Moon and Mars. The size of the structures had to be a one-third scale version of their architectural designs. Each team employed robotic construction techniques that allowed minimal human intervention. Such technologies will enable more sustainable and autonomous exploration missions.

“The final milestone of this competition is a culmination of extremely hard work by bright, inventive minds who are helping us advance the technologies we need for a sustainable human presence on the Moon, and then on Mars,” said Monsi Roman, program manager for NASA’s Centennial Challenges. “We celebrate their vision, dedication and innovation in developing concepts that will not only further NASA’s deep-space goals, but also provide viable housing solutions right here on Earth.”

The habitats were constructed in 10-hour increments in front of a panel of judges. Once printing was complete, the structures were subjected to several tests and evaluated for material mix, leakage, durability and strength.

Beginning in 2015, the multi-year, multi-phase competition challenged teams to demonstrate many different additive manufacturing technologies, from design to software modeling to physical construction. The unique challenge was competed in three phases: design, structural member and on-site habitat construction. The challenge structure allowed NASA to task the teams to address many facets of 3D construction, and to involve a broader range of teams with various expertise. Throughout the competition, more than 60 teams have participated, and NASA awarded over $2 million in prize money.

“It is an impressive achievement for these two teams to demonstrate this disruptive and terrific 3D-printing technology at such a large scale,” said Lex Akers, dean of Bradley’s Caterpillar College of Engineering and Technology. “By teaming up with NASA and Caterpillar, we are proud to bring these teams together in an environment where they can innovate, create and challenge our vision of what’s possible. Congratulations to both teams for their accomplishments.”

The 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge is managed through a partnership with NASA’s Centennial Challenges program and Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. Bradley has partnered with sponsors Caterpillar, Bechtel, Brick & Mortar Ventures and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to administer the competition. NASA’s Centennial Challenges program is part of the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, and is managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

For more information about the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/3DPHab

====

Moon Rush: The New Space Race

Space settlement roundup – Mar.30.2019

A sampling of items that I’ve come across related to space settlement:

** 3 private teams share a $100,000 award from NASA for their Mars habitat design submissions in the agency’s 3-D Printed Habitat Challenge:

Teams competing in NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge completed the latest level of the competition – complete virtual construction – and the top three were awarded a share of the $100,000 prize purse. This stage of the challenge required teams to create a full-scale habitat design, using modeling software. This level built upon an earlier stage that also required virtual modeling.

Team SEArch+/Apis Cor won first place in the Phase 3: Level 4 software modeling stage of NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge. The unique shape of their habitat allows for continuous reinforcement of the structure. Light enters through trough-shaped ports on the sides and top. Credits: Team SEArch+/Apis Cor

Eleven team entries were scored and awarded points based on architectural layout, programming, efficient use of interior space, and the 3D-printing scalability and constructability of the habitat. Teams also prepared short videos providing insight into their designs as well as miniature 3D-printed models that came apart to showcase the interior design. Points were also awarded for aesthetic representation and realism. After evaluation by a panel of judges, NASA and challenge partner Bradley University of Peoria, Illinois, awarded the following teams:

    1. SEArch+/Apis Cor – New York – $33,954.11
    2. Zopherus – Rogers, Arkansas – $33,422.01
    3. Mars Incubator – New Haven, Connecticut – $32,623.88

The 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge will culminate with a head-to-head subscale structure print May 1-4, 2019, and the awarding of an $800,000 prize purse. Media and the public will be invited to attend the event in Peoria, Illinois.

This video describes the top scoring Team SEArch+/Apis Cor Mars habitat design:

In February, Team SEArch+/Apis Cor Mars and three others shared $300,000 after their 3D printing samples withstood a series of tests:

Four teams will share a $300,000 prize for successful completion of the seal test stage of the 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, a competition to create sustainable shelters suitable for the Moon, Mars or beyond using resources available on site in these locations. For this level of the competition, teams submitted 3D-printed samples that were tested for their ability to hold a seal, for strength and for durability in temperature extremes.

Team Zopherus won second place in the Phase 3: Level 4 software modeling stage of NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge. The team’s design would be constructed by an autonomous roving printer that prints a structure and then moves on to the next site. Credits: Zopherus.
Watch their virtual video model here.
The virtual design from team Mars Incubator won third place in the Phase 3: Level 4 software modeling stage of NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge. The team is a collection of engineers and artists.  Credits: Mars Incubator
Watch their virtual video model here.

** Dennis Wingo talk at at NASA Ames on March 6th, 2019 in which he lays out the “direction and steps to the Industrialization of the Moon”:

 

** Some space settlement related conferences upcoming this year:

**** International Space Development Conference 2019 (ISDC 2019), June 6-9, Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel, Arlington, Virginia.

The National Space Society‘s annual conference always has many Space Settlement Sessions on the agenda.

**** SSI 50: The Space Settlement Enterprise | Space Studies Institute (SSI) –  Sept 9-10, Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington.

A renewal of the Space Studies Institute‘s series of conferences:

The Space Settlement Enterprise will be an exciting two-day event featuring some of the space industry’s top thinkers. Nestled alongside history-making exhibits, experts will seek to identify the technological and economic obstacles to space settlement. Panel discussions will cover six major areas:

    • Habitats and Facilities: What do we want to build?
    • Construction: How do we build it?
    • Resources: Where and how do we get the materials?
    • Transport: How do we get there?
    • Life in Space: How do we survive there?
    • Economics: How do we pay for it?

We have structured the event to allow plenty of time for questions and audience interaction. The questions developed at this conference will inform SSI’s research programs over the next few years.

On a recent episode of The Space ShowEd Wright previewed SSI:50 The Space Settlement Enterprise:

**** New Worlds 2019 Space Settlement Conference, Austin, Texas, Nov.15-16, 2019

The annual meeting sponsored by The Earthlight Foundation (ELF) , which is

a non-profit, non-partisan organization founded and incorporated in 2012 to support the expansion of life and humanity beyond the Earth by providing vision, leadership and credibility.

The organization is run by a small core team encompassing broad field expertise relevant to space exploration, settlement, engineering and communications. ELF is minimalist in management structure to remain flexible and drive effective execution.

The Foundation’s mission is to support

the expansion of life and humanity beyond the Earth by creating, catalyzing and managing projects and activities that lead to public inspiration, education and action relating to space exploration and settlement – and to protect and expand the domain of life and humanity on this world by returning and applying the knowledge thus gained.

** Space based solar power has often been cited as a possible economic driver for in-space settlements. Here is a talk by Prof. Sergio Pellegrino of CalTech on the latest results of a multi-year project to develop a plan for space based solar power:

In 1968, Peter Glaser, the father of space solar power, envisaged kilometer-scale space systems comprising solar collectors and transmitting antennas that would beam power to the earth from geostationary orbit, but that dream has remained elusive. Until now. In his talk, Sergio Pellegrino will discuss the Caltech Space Solar Power Project’s pursuit to conceive, design, and demonstrate a scalable vision for a constellation of ultralight, modular spacecraft that collect sunlight, transform it into electrical power, and wirelessly beam that electricity to the earth. The basic module of this future solar power system is a giant coilable structure that elastically deploys after launch into orbit, and is made of paper-thin materials of high stiffness.

Sergio Pellegrino is the Joyce and Kent Kressa Professor of Aerospace and Civil Engineering at Caltech in the Division of Engineering and Applied Science; Jet Propulsion Laboratory Senior Research Scientist; and Co-Director of the Space-Based Solar Power Project.

** A rotating habitat structure in space can provide “spin gravity” to simulate the mass gravity force on earth. Ideally the whole habitat spins and provides an earth-like environment along the inside wall of the structure.

A Bernal Sphere design for an in-space habitat. The structure rotates around the long axis to provide 1g spin gravity. Credits NASA Ames

In a small spacecraft such as a transport ship to Mars, it would not be practical to spin the structure beyond what could provide a small fraction of earth’s 1g. One possible way around this would be for the crew members to periodically undergo rides on a spin table. Detrimental health effects similar to those caused by long term exposure to weightlessness have been seen in subjects undergoing extended bed rest. ESA and NASA are sponsoring a new bed-rest study to test whether periodic rides on a spin table will ameliorate the negative consequences of lying horizontally for months at a time: Testing the value of artificial gravity for astronaut health – ESA

Once a day, a selection of the study’s participants will lie in DLR’s short-arm centrifuge. There they will be spun to encourage blood to flow back towards their feet and allow researchers to understand the potential of artificial gravity in combating the effects of weightlessness.

The intensity of the centrifugal force is able to be adapted to each person according to their size. DLR can also adjust the centre of spin so that subjects are spun around their heads or their chests. Changing the position in this way could have far-reaching consequences for rehabilitation but, as this is a new domain, these consequences are currently unknown.

A number of different experiments will be carried out over the course of the study, looking at cardiovascular function, balance and muscle strength, metabolism and cognitive performance among other factors. Seven of these experiments will be conducted by European-led research groups, with a view to validating the findings on the International Space Station during future missions.

The short-arm centrifuge at the German Aerospace Center’s (DLR) :envihab facility in Cologne, Germany will be used during the first joint long-term bedrest rest study commissioned by ESA and US space agency NASA to investigate the potential of artificial gravity in mitigating the effects of spaceflight. The study begins on 25 March 2019 and will run for 89 days. Test subjects will need remain in beds with the head end tilted 6 degrees below horizontal for 60 of these days to simulate the microgravity of space.

====

The High Frontier: An Easier Way

Space settlement roundup – Feb.22.2019

A sampling of items related to human settlements off earth:

** Cylindrical homes on Mars created via 3D printing from local materials have made the AI SpaceFactory team a finalist in NASA’s 3-D Printed Habitat Challenge competition to design viable habitats for living on Mars: AI SpaceFactory builds 3D printed Mars habitat prototype, green-lighted by NASA for final phase – SpaceFactory

Using state of the art robotics and their proprietary polymer, AI SpaceFactory is contending for the final top prize of $500,000 given to the highest scoring team to print a sub-scale habitat in the third and final phase of the construction competition. The 1:3 scale prototype will be printed in front of a live audience at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, from April 29 to May 4.

AI SpaceFactory was one of only four teams awarded among six who submitted entries, placing 2nd overall on the basis of 3D-printed samples that were tested for strength, impact resistance, and durability in extreme temperatures. In contrast to other teams, which used concrete as their construction material, AI SpaceFactory formulated their own material – a “Martian polymer” that can be made from matter found or grown on Mars. The polymer was validated by a third-party lab and proven to outperform concrete in every important way: superior tensile and compressive strength, extreme durability in freeze-thaw cycles, and enhanced ductility. The polymer also provides superior cosmic radiation absorption and thermal resistance (insulation) and can be made without water: essential characteristics in the construction of off-world habitats

In five weeks, AI SpaceFactory progressed from basic tests to an autonomously-printed large-area slab validated by NASA in November 2018. Four weeks later the team successfully printed, in only 24 hours, a large cylinder designed to hold twelve-hundred gallons of water complete with prefabricated wall penetrations robotically placed and sealed “on the fly”.

AI SpaceFactory describes MARHSA as a first-principles rethinking of what a Martian habitat could be — not another low-lying dome or confined half-buried structure, but an airy, multi-level environment filled with diffuse light. This innovation challenges the conventional image of “space age” architecture by focusing on the creation of highly habitable spaces tuned to the demands of a Mars mission. 

The MARSHA approach could work well with SpaceX’s Mars settlement goals: 3D-printed Mars habitat could be a perfect fit for early SpaceX Starship colonies – Teslarati.

You can follow AI Factory and other finalists in the contest at Latest Updates from NASA on 3D-Printed Habitat Competition | NASA.

** Lavatube caves on the Moon and Mars could be excellent locales for early settlements. Bob Zimmerman writes about an opening that appears at the top of a long canyon: The location for a future Martian colony? | Behind The Black

My first reaction was, “Whoa! That tiny pit is at the head of an increasingly growing canyon!” To a caver on Earth, this instantly implies that water has flowed out of that pit and down the canyon, carving it out as it flowed. It also implied that the possible underground passage under the pit’s north rim might conceivably be extensive.

Reinforcing this first impression were the numerous dark streaks flowing down the canyon’s cliff walls to the south. They all seemed to originate at about the same elevation as the pit itself, suggesting they all come from the same contact between two geological layers, a contact where water tends to gather. On Earth, when water seeps downward through water-soluble limestone and then gets blocked at a contact of more resistant material, it then starts to flow horizontally, creating a cave at that contact. The Martian dark streaks and pit in the image to the right suggest a similar process is occurring here.

Bob goes on to discuss the region around the above canyon and what role water may have played in forming the features there.

Nonetheless, the data illustrated by these images makes that tiny pit most enticing. It not only appears to be relatively easy to access its interior, there is visual evidence that suggests the presence of water.

If I was a future settler of Mars, I would give this pit a very high priority for exploration. In fact, I think someone (maybe Elon Musk?) should already be considering a probe to delve its depths.

** Rotating in-space habitats can provide artificial gravity and don’t require that space transports go in and out of deep gravity wells. The Gateway Foundation initiative aims to develop a wheel-shaped station as the first large in-space habitat. This video lays out some of the design features: SpaceX Starship and The Von Braun Rotating Space Station

Scott Manley gives a brief critique of the Gateway group’s approach: A Realistic Look At The Gateway Foundation & Von Braun Station –

Manley emphasizes that funding is the biggest challenge. I agree and believe that the only viable financial approach to such an orbital facility is one that allows for incremental growth. That is, devise a design that can start small and simple and grows step-by-step, just as happened with most towns on earth. For example, start with two Bigelow habitats connected with a tether and rotating. Prove that this works technically and then show it works commercially by attracting a constant stream of paying visitors. This will then provide the basis to attract more investment to expand to more modules and a more elaborate structure.

====

The High Frontier: An Easier Way

Conference announcement – “SSI 50: The Space Settlement Enterprise”

Here is an announcement from the Space Studies Institute on their conference this summer (see also the recent announcement for the Space Access Society‘s upcoming meeting):

SSI 50: The Space Settlement Enterprise

(Seattle, WA) The Space Studies Institute (SSI) is pleased to announce the date and location for its 2019 conference. Make your plans now to attend SSI 50: The Space Settlement Enterprise July 15 and 16 at the renowned Museum of Flight in Seattle.

Tickets are on sale now at https://ssi50.eventbrite.com, Super Early Bird tickets are already sold out, but a limited number of discount Early Bird tickets are still available.

“This year marks the 50th anniversary of Professor Gerard O’Neill’s High Frontier concept and the start of a new era for the Space Studies Institute,” said SSI senior researcher and conference chairman Edward Wright. “We’re about to embark on a multi-year effort to update the High Frontier vision, incorporating new technology, new knowledge of the solar system, and new commercial space ventures.”

The conference dates were chosen to coincide with another historic anniversary. The Apollo 11 lunar mission launched from Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969, Conference attendees will be able to view museum exhibits including the Apollo 11 command module and other historic artifacts on loan from the Smithsonian Institution.

“The Space Settlement Enterprise is not about the past, however,” Wright said. “This will be a working conference where some of the space industry’s top thinkers put their minds together to help identify the technological and economic obstacles to space settlement”

Panel discussions will cover six major areas:

Habitat Design: What do we want to build?
Construction: How do we build it?
Resources: Where and how do we get the materials?
Transport: How do we get there?
Life in Space: How do we survive there?
Economics: How do we pay for it?

The conference is structured to allow plenty of time for questions and audience interaction,

“The questions developed at this conference will inform SSI’s research programs over the next several years,” Wright said.

“We’ve also planned two gourmet luncheons catered by McCormick and Schmick’s. These luncheons will provide a great opportunity for networking and informal discussion of the day’s topics. Luncheon tickets are limited, however, due to the size of the dining room. We strongly recommend that conference attendees take advantage of the luncheon option, but the museum has two excellent cafes that are available if luncheon tickets sell out.”

About SSI: In 1969, while Apollo was preparing to land on the Moon, Professor Gerard O’Neill was teaching a physics seminar at Princeton University. As a class project, O’Neill asked his students to examine a question: “Is the surface of a planet the best place for an expanding technological civilization?”

A Bernal Sphere design for an in-space habitat.

Over the course of the semester, Professor O’Neill and his students came to a remarkable conclusion: It was possible to build large space habitats, each one housing millions of people, using materials readily available from the Moon or asteroids. A fleet of such habitats could house more people than are currently living on the surface of the Earth.

As a first step, O’Neill conceived a smaller habitat, called Island One, capable of housing 10,000 people. The residents of the Island One habitat could build solar power stations that would supply clean electrical power to the surface of the Earth.

Professor O’Neill authored a best-selling book, The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space, which was published in 1977. To promote and develop his High Frontier vision, O’Neill created the Space Studies Institute (SSI).

SSI continues in its dedication to the High Frontier Vision. As we approach the 50th anniversary of this vision, the Space Studies Institute is preparing for a dramatic reboot of Professor O’Neill’s research program. Everyone interested in space settlement is invited to support our research by becoming a Supporting Member or Senior Associate. For more information, visit www.ssi.org.