The race to build on the Moon is on, and the world’s leading architecture firms have their master plans for lunar colonies ready.
While Mars is still a distant dream, colonizing the Moon now appears within reach, with countries unveiling increasingly specific plans to make it happen.
Chinese officials suggested earlier this week that Beijing may be considering building a nuclear plant on the Moon to power its planned lunar base, developed in partnership with Russia.
In a presentation in Shanghai on April 23rd, officials showed that the base could rely on “large-scale solar arrays, and pipelines and cables for heating and electricity,” according to Reuters.
China aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030 and expects to build a “basic model” of its International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) – currently backed by 17 countries and organizations – by 2035.
Meanwhile, NASA plans to send astronauts to the lunar surface next year as part of its Artemis program, which includes the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) among its partners.
NASA’s longer-term goal is to establish a basic lunar camp in the 2030s, with full-fledged colonies for research and tourism further down the line. Both NASA and ESA have enlisted some of the world’s top architecture firms to imagine what life on the Moon could look like.
Lunar Master Plan, Hassell
In a project commissioned by the European Space Agency (ESA), Australian architecture firm Hassell envisions a scalable, modular moon base designed to accommodate up to 144 people, including scientists and, potentially, tourists.
Developed in collaboration with ESA and Cranfield University in the UK, the concept also drew on insights from anthropologists, psychologists, roboticists, and astronauts to imagine what a lunar settlement would need “not only to survive but to thrive.”
Called the Lunar Master Plan, the design features inflatable living modules that are shielded by 3D-printed, hexapod-shaped components made from lunar regolith – dust and rock found on the Moon’s surface.
“Inflatable habitats on the Moon might sound like science fiction, but these types of membranes are already being tested on the International Space Station,” said Xavier De Kestelier, head of innovation at Hassell.
The interlocking shell is intended to protect against radiation and extreme temperatures. The base is designed for long-term adaptability and expansion, with space for restaurants, sports arenas, and greenhouses to support life and well-being.
Located near the Moon’s south pole, close to Shackleton Crater, the proposed site offers near-continuous sunlight – hence the sail-like solar panels – and potential access to frozen water.
The design was unveiled in 2024.
Moon Village, SOM
The Moon Village concept was developed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) – the American architecture firm behind the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper in Dubai – in collaboration with ESA and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
This design also features modular, three-to-four-story semi-inflatable habitats that can be compactly transported and then expanded upon arrival. Like the concept developed by Hassell, SOM’s master plan places the settlement near the Moon’s south pole.
The concept for the Moon Village was first laid out on paper in 2019 and then showcased at the Venice Biennale of Architecture biennale in 2021. It envisions the base as a self-sufficient colony with thermal insulation and protection from radiation.
According to SOM, each habitat module includes living quarters, workspaces, and environmental control systems, designed with human factors in mind to ensure comfort and functionality.
The interiors are adaptable, allowing for reconfiguration as mission needs evolve. The settlement's infrastructure is planned to support not only scientific research but also potential commercial and tourism activities.
Lunar Habitation, Foster + Partners
Lunar Habitation is another moon base project for ESA, this one developed by British architecture studio Foster + Partners in 2013.
The structure can house four people and was developed by the studio as part of a larger ESA-led consortium set up to explore how 3D printing could enable construction on the Moon.
The design unfolds from a tubular module, expands into an inflatable dome, and also uses lunar regolith to encase the base in a protective shell using robot-operated 3D printers.
“As a practice, we are used to designing for extreme climates on Earth and exploiting the environmental benefits of using local, sustainable materials – our lunar habitation follows a similar logic,” the studio said at the time.
More recently, Foster + Partners revealed a concept for a solar energy tower designed to power future lunar missions, an alternative to the more commonly discussed nuclear reactors.
The 3D-printed structure would stand 50 meters (167 feet) tall, roughly the height of the Statue of Liberty. It would deploy sail-like solar panels to capture near-constant sunlight at the Moon’s south pole, generating renewable energy for habitats and on-site construction.
Project Olympus, BIG
Project Olympus was developed for NASA by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), a Danish architecture firm, in collaboration with Texas-based 3D printing company ICON and SEArch+, a New York-based design studio.
Conceived of as “the first human foray into extra-terrestrial construction,” the lunar base was designed under the auspices of NASA’s Artemis program. The project’s goal is to build the first human structures on the Moon from local materials, specifically, 3D printing them from lunar regolith.
The design features doughnut-shaped habitats insulated from outside elements, radiation, and extreme temperature fluctuations.
In 2022, ICON received a $57 million contract from NASA to further develop the base concept, which would also include landing pads and other infrastructure on the Moon’s south pole.
Bjarke Ingels, founder of BIG, said the construction work could start as early as 2032 if everything goes according to plan and described the project as “pioneering new frontiers – materially, technologically, and environmentally.”
A 3D-printed data center developed by BIG and Texas company Lonestar Data Holdings was launched to the Moon earlier this year.
Called Freedom, the solar-powered device was designed to test data storage capabilities on the Moon and is shaped to resemble the silhouette of US astronauts Charlie Duke and Nicole Stott.
Project Olympus is BIG’s second project for outer space, following its Mars Science City, a prototype Martian habitat designed for the United Arab Emirates.
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