As NASA prepares to send astronauts back to the moon in 2027, the US space agency is already thinking about how lunar resources could be exploited for commercial purposes, architecture strategist Nujoud Merancy reveals in this interview.

Merancy is deputy associate administrator for strategy and architecture at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Working in the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, she describes her work as focusing on "the big picture view of the future" – setting out the early stages of the agency's longer-term programmes.

NASA's immediate focus for lunar missions is scientific research, with its Artemis programme set to land astronauts on the moon in 2027 for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.

But as the agency plans for longer-term residency on the moon, Merancy sees the potential for commercial opportunities.

"One of the big questions around the moon is the business case of building out permanent habitation," Merancy told Dezeen.

"Looking longer term, some of the questions turn into: are we there to do mining or some sort of profitable thing, in which case the commercial industry would take the lead more, or is it more of a science-type platform like Antarctica?"

"That's what we're trying to answer – what can we do at the moon?" she continued. "Hopefully within the next few decades, we're looking at more permanent commercial infrastructure, and that's what we call sustained lunar evolution."

"We're starting to see tourism in low-Earth orbit. The possibilities are endless at the moment, and it really depends on how much we can make this an accessible thing through science and technology exploration so that the business community can find those opportunities in the future."

Moon could be similar to Antarctic architecture

Merancy sees parallels between plans for building structures on the moon and the developments seen in the harsh conditions of Antarctica.

Buildings for scientists on the polar continent started emerging around the early 20th century as simple hut-like structures, but after the 1959 Antarctic Treaty established Antarctica as a continent for research, countries began building their own permanent architect-designed research centres, including the USA's McMurdo Station.

"Antarctica and the McMurdo Station and all the developments that happen there is where I see us in the next couple of decades," said Merancy.

"The nearer-term vision is an international scientific and technological endeavour, and then longer term, I hope to see more people travelling to the moon," she continued.

"It was decades before Antarctica had permanent habitation – that's the type of build-out scheme that we're probably going to use."

However, the first lunar structures are not likely to look like buildings we are used to seeing on Earth.

According to Merancy, pressurised rovers that astronauts can live in and use to explore the lunar surface will be developed first.

Then, small habitats will be built with designs that can be extended into larger settlements.

"The word 'buildings' conjures up in people's minds multi-storey type things – we're really looking at how do we get a foothold with small pressurised elements," she said.

"Our immediate goal is to get enough infrastructure to support a crew for 30 days, which is looking accomplishable in the next decade, and from there, start building out."

"Permanent habitation is probably still way off in the future because of the challenge of sustaining the systems and the power levels during the lunar nights, which are many days in length at the south pole and two weeks long at the equator," Merancy continued.

The first habitats to be built on the moon are likely to have a cylindrical shape, similar to space stations and rockets, but inflatable elements could be added as the habitats grow.

"Cylinders are the best structures to build for pressurised elements, so you're looking at the cylindrical modules we're familiar with, but building in airlocks and sustainable crew living systems – toilets, beds, hammocks, things like that," said Merancy.

"Over time, as we deploy systems, we'll hopefully be able to build out larger systems that could include inflatable habitats, as they give you a lot of volume for the same mass."

Merancy explained that while in-situ 3D printing offers some potential for building on the moon, it is unlikely to be used for pressurised modules. Instead, it could be used for making landing pads and protective walls.

"Radiation is a problem out there, so you could use it to build up protective berms around your habitats with the lunar regolith," she said.

"You could build up shielding so that when the rockets land, you can land them closer to your habitats because you've got a break to keep the plume impingement of kicking rocks up on your habitat."

"If you look back at Apollo, everything was truly Spartan"

A lot of what gets built on the moon will stay there, according to Merancy. Because of this, she is considering the sustainability of permanent structures and their impact on the lunar landscape.

"As we understand the benefits of in-situ resource utilisation, whether it's the regolith or water ice, do we need to set up special zones to protect certain areas and basically have national parks on the moon?" she said.

"There are so many policy questions around what we're doing for that reason, and what it means to be sustainable is a big question that can cover a variety of aspects, including the ability to keep visiting and the preservation of certain parts of the moon."

Merancy hopes that what does get built on the moon exceeds lunar designs from past missions, going beyond what is merely functional to also have an element of beauty.

"If you look back at Apollo, everything was truly Spartan – the functionality of it trumped any design aspect," said Merancy.

"We're threading the needle of how we make things functional, but because we want them to be sustainable and longer lasting, we need more comforts for the crew for their psychological benefit," she continued.

"We are very limited and performance-challenged with what's taken to the moon – every kilogram that gets added to the vehicle takes away from oxygen or water that could have been delivered, so performance challenge is a big driver in the design," Merancy added.

"I would love to get to the point that adding features for the beauty of it can be a much bigger consideration."

Dezeen recently spoke with experts in space architecture, who are using their Earth-based experience to design habitats in preparation for NASA's return to the moon.

The images are courtesy of NASA.

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