About Us

The overall aim of ArchiSpace is to create comfortable subsystems prototype (settlement and part of it, such as walls, roof, rooms, etc) for humans to live in Space, with the minimum impact possible in the Moon and Mars context and environment.

The first part will be devoted to the planning of the executable project of subsystems prototypes (e.g., living space, rooms, roof, walls) integrating cross-disciplinary know-how and field activities.

The second part will be concentrated on the construction and validation of sub systems prototype in the field and a 3D virtual habitat. This will also improve the methodology for well-defined settlements at extreme Earth locations and specific geological landing site definition.

The sub-team composed by UCBL, IRSPS, UdA and CSFK has a long and intensive experience on defining landing site geological constraints in the Moroccan Sahara, that will be also do with the contribution of the Moroccan University Cady Ayyad in Marrakech. The subsystems prototype construction and validation will be organized in three different field campaigns at three joint collocations, lasting one month during the first three years including preparation, construction, and validation.

Approaches to reach the goals by geologists, astronomers, engineers (IRSPS, UCBL, UdA, UCAM, CSFK), and architects (UPT, TUD, Vertico) will be shaped according to:

• Three joint field activities (Collocations), one each year during the first three years in three different Martian and lunar analogue sites, two sedimentary and one volcanic environment, to define technical requirements for both surface and infrastructure, to produce concept, preliminary design, project sketches. This activity will be led by IRSPS in collaboration with the Moroccan partner (UCAM) based on a detailed geological survey, nature of the surface, geomorphological features collected in advanced.
  All the members of the project will participate to field work that will last for an entire month. After the field activity of the first year the partners will start to build sub-systems prototype for human settlement in “real” and “analog” planetary environmental conditions.
• Apply site specific green solutions, and with a minimum impact, the best design for extreme environments, to gain starting parameters, avoiding artificial materials or transported materials from Earth (evaluate raw material properties by jointly using remote and on-site data, grain sizes, regolith thickness, mechanical durability, comparison such parameters to architectural requirements, with numerical parameter ranges), to be developed by UPT and will require exchange of staff between UPT, TUD, Vertico and IRSPS.
• The design of appropriate space architectural parameters and habitat design aspects for human environmental and working needs plus comfort in Space. Staff exchange will support to develop ergonomic evaluation of “planetary” parameters, linking the expected space-based needs to those in Earth based architecture, harmonize human space missions related working methodology to habitat structure (laboratories, cleanness aspects, planetary protection, energy conserving design regarding heat loss, storing, radiant shielding etc. aspects.
• The identification of the most appropriate possibilities for earthen architecture and construction using the (i) identified parameters and (ii) comparative evaluation. The staff exchange will support the synergy to mature design and building methodology, validation of basic methodology by the preparation of the local soils that will be used for construction.
• The development of various possibilities and models to apply earthen technological construction on Moon and Mars. This activity will identify and compare the different technical scenarios to select the ideal and realistic ones to be made in.
• Following the selection of one of potential building possibilities, and due to the expertise of TU Delft, a specific 3D printing construction of sub-systems prototype will be addressed. This will be developed by TU Delft, and will require exchange between TU Delft, UPT, Vertico and IRSPS.