'PNEUMOPLANET' INFLATABLE MOON HABITAT COULD HOUSE 32 ASTRONAUTS

Humanity is going back to the Moon to stay, and we might have a way to live there long term

- Laurence Tognetti

Recently, NASA established potential landing sites near the south pole of the Moon for upcoming crewed missions of its Artemis program. But how will astronauts survive and thrive in the harsh lunar environment? One new proposal could help. Austrian company Pneumocell has developed the PneumoPlanet inflatable habitat concept for the Moon, which could contain up to 16 greenhouses and house up to 32 astronauts. “PneumoPlanet is an ultra-light inflatable structure covered by regolith that will operate self-sufficiently by producing and recycling its own oxygen and food using solar power,” said Philipp Gläser, a postdoctoral researcher at Berlin Technical University and a co-researcher on a study outlining the PneumoPlanet concept. “It can therefore serve as a permanent lunar outpost, enabling various future missions to use it as a base. The habitat protects against cosmic radiation and micrometeorites, keeping the crew safe and allowing for longer mission durations.”