Hassell brings us one step closer to setting foot on Mars with its designed human habitats for the first brave explorers

We’ve come closer than ever to se ing foot on the Red Planet, and Hassell has designed human habitats for the first brave explorers going there

DONALD TRUMP MAY have made a multitude of questionable decisions since becoming POTUS, but we are in consensus with one: his commitment to space exploration and landing a human on Mars. To this end, NASA has held a competition seeking sustainable inter-planetary housing solutions. Design firm Hassell is one of 10 entrants who have moved on to the finals. We chat with its head of design, Xavier De Kestelier.

What were the challenges in designing a human habitat on Mars?

The harsh environment. There are micrometeorites, extremely cold temperatures and storms lasting for months. There are also high radiation levels, which Earth’s magnetic field normally shields us from. What’s more, Mars is between 50 and 300 million kilometres away and will take around a year to reach.

Tell us more about the pods and how they work. There are two aspects to the design of the habitat: the outer shield for environmental protection, and the internal space beneath it.

The shield is made of local materials, such as Martian dust, and is akin to a cave that offers protection from radiation, extreme temperatures and micrometeorites. This shell structure will be 3D printed by robots sent to Mars prior to human arrival.

Beneath this dome will be a structure made up of prefabricated components sent from Earth. Once on Mars, the astronauts go underneath the shield, unpack the components and assemble them to construct the liveable pods, which will be pressurised to create an Earth-like environment.

Our belief is that you should be able to have all of the comforts that you are used to on Earth while in space. Our interior design focuses on the astronauts by taking a more human-centric approach to complement the engineering side of things. We spent a lot of time speaking to astronauts such as Frank De Winne, previously the commander of the International Space Station. They provided great insights into what life could be like on Mars. We got to understand that anyone there would be very disconnected from the world, as it’s impossible to physically reach it for eight months of the year. So, it is important to make sure that it’s a comfortable and enjoyable place to live in. What is the most important design consideration? Space in space is precious because it’s so expensive to build there. This was an important design factor. We have to be conscious and clever about how we use every bit of space. The pods that we designed are multi-functional and compactable. We’ve created a system where you can open things up when you need and close them down again when you don’t. AM

“WHEN PEOPLE GO TO MARS, THEY WILL SPEND UP TO THREE YEARS WITHOUT COMING BACK TO EARTH”