Designs for adaptive, modular, and re-configurable space structures hold great promise for the evolving commercial space station market in LEO (Low Earth Orbit), for supporting Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway designs, and for facilitating the first human Mars missions. We propose an extensible self-assembly paradigm for in-orbit space habitat construction, discuss mission architectures uniquely facilitated by this approach to habitat design, and present a feasibility review and preliminary results from a proof-of-concept prototype. This paper details our habitat design and deployment planning around TESSERAE (Tessellated Electromagnetic Space Structures for the Exploration of Reconfigurable, Adaptive Environments). This technology demonstration mission explores several parameters for a self-assembling system (quasi-stochastic assembly, electro-mechanical bonding, clamping processes, responsive sensing and autonomous GNC, etc.) and includes a multi-year research effort to engineer and deploy test structures. The first prototype was successfully tested on a parabolic flight in November 2017 and is now scheduled for a second parabolic flight and initial sub-orbital launch in 2019.

The Moon is a geological history book, preserving information about the history of the Solar System, including the formation and early evolution of the terrestrial planets and their bombardment histories, as well as providing insight into other fundamental Solar System processes. These topics form the basis for science "of the Moon", but the lunar surface is also a platform for science "on the Moon" and "from the Moon"-including astronomical observations, fundamental physics, and life science investigations. Recently, the Moon has become a destination for technology research and development-in particular for developing in situ resources, human exploration, and habitation, and for its potential use as a waypoint for the human exploration of Mars. This paper, based on recommendations originally proposed in a White Paper for ESA's SciSpacE strategy, outlines key lunar science questions that may be addressed by future space exploration missions and makes recommendations for the next decades.

design for a Mars habitat, 2010s Lunar Gateway space station, 2020 NASA lunar outpost concept, 2006 NASA concept for crewed floating outpost on Venus, 2014 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program, as well as research in aeronautics and space. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NASA operates ten field centers across the US and is organized into three mission directorates: Human Spaceflight, Research and Technology, and Scien Since 2017, NASA's crewed spaceflight program has been the Artemis program, which involves the help of US commercial spaceflight companies and international partners such as ESA, JAXA, and Canadian Space Agency. Artemis would be the first step towards the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon, laying the foundation for companies to build a lunar economy, and eventually sending humans to Mars. The Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle was held over from the canceled Constellation program for Artemis. Artemis I was the uncrewed initial launch of Space Launch System (SLS) that would also send an Orion spacecraft on a Distant Retrograde Orbit. The first step toward returning astronauts to the Moon, Artemis II, briefly placed a crew of four into a lunar flyby in April 2026. Artemis III, planned for mid-2027, was originally planned to conduct the first crewed lunar landing since Apollo 17; in February 2026, the mission was changed to a low Earth orbit docking test of Orion. The landing was pushed to Artemis IV, planned for early 2028. In support of the Artemis missions, NASA has been funding private companies to land robotic probes on the lunar surface in a program known as the Commercial Lunar Payload Services. As of March 2022, NASA has awarded contracts for robotic lunar probes to companies such as Intuitive Machines, Firefly Space Systems, and Astrobotic. On April 16, 2021, NASA announced they had selected the SpaceX Lunar Starship as its Human Landing System. The agency's Space Launch System rocket will launch four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft for their multi-day journey to lunar orbit where they will transfer to SpaceX's Starship for the final leg of their journey to the surface of the Moon. Until 2026, NASA additionally planned the construction of the Lunar Gateway, a small space station in lunar orbit designed primarily for non-continuous human habitation. In March 2026, NASA canceled the project in favor of a Moon Base. In 2017, NASA was directed by the congressional NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017 to get humans to Mars-orbit (or to the Martian surface) by the 2030s. NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency…

An orbital station can support future space habitats, such as the Moon or Mars, as a training ground for partial-gravity adaptation as well as psychological training for staying away from home in isolation. This becomes especially important when we begin sending not only highly trained personnel but also people from different backgrounds for habitation, research, tourism, and many other activities. Bridging the gap between aerospace engineering constraints and human-centric spatial design, this review and conceptual paper presents “SpaceDestination”, a conceptual framework for rotating artificial-gravity gateway station positioned at 1,500 km altitude with a 23.4° inclination. To access trans-lunar and trans-Martian trajectories while offering training in multi-gravity scenarios, an optimum rotation rate of 3 RPM is selected. Through the lens of architectural space syntax and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) principles, spatial requirements are calculated to support 0 g, 0.37 g, and 1 g in different segmented parts of the rotational system. The conceptual framework is introduced through a series of schematic information diagrams that illustrate the spatial and functional organization of the station. The configuration begins with a central microgravity core intended for docking, research, and operational activities, and extends outward into rotating rings that generate partial and Earth-equivalent gravity environments. These rings are envisioned as modular inflatable habitats connected through rigid structural interfaces, allowing the system to expand incrementally. Drawing on existing aerospace literature and experimental precedents, the framework outlines how modular volumes, hybrid structural systems, and regenerative life-support concepts could be integrated to support sustained human habitation in a multi-gravity orbital environment. The objective of this research is to provide a data-informed, architectural conceptualization for future infrastructure, demonstrating how spatial optimization and human-system integration can enable continuous human activity beyond low Earth orbit.