04
EXTREME HABITATION:
ON THE HIGHER FRONTIER
A Guide on Symbiotic Habitat with Regenerative Life Support System
Year Fall, Spring 2023
Location Extraterrestrial / Unknown
Advisor Ariel Ekblaw, Cody Paige, Joe Paradiso, Jeff Hoffman (MIT)
Daekwon Park, Nina Sharifi, Yutaka Sho, Bess Krietemeyer (Syracuse University)
Team Junye Zhong
Exhibition Extreme Habitation: On the Higher Frontier
Publication MIT Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative(︎) Syracuse University SOA Archive (︎)
Awards Britton Memorial Awards Thesis Prize (Citation for Excellence); SOURCE Research Fellowship
Location Extraterrestrial / Unknown
Advisor Ariel Ekblaw, Cody Paige, Joe Paradiso, Jeff Hoffman (MIT)
Daekwon Park, Nina Sharifi, Yutaka Sho, Bess Krietemeyer (Syracuse University)
Team Junye Zhong
Exhibition Extreme Habitation: On the Higher Frontier
Publication MIT Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative(︎) Syracuse University SOA Archive (︎)
Awards Britton Memorial Awards Thesis Prize (Citation for Excellence); SOURCE Research Fellowship
Mankind is by nature inquisitive and driven to explore the unknown, expand new frontiers, and advance scientific and technical limits through our own ingenuity. We belong to a long continuum of human progress perpetuated by the desire to innovate and adapt to changing habitats. In anticipation of making humanity multi-planetary, NASA has been challenged to develop infrastructure and technology that supports human habitation beyond Earth’s protective atmosphere and resources. NASA’s ARTEMIS mission and the Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover were tasked to survey the climate and geology on Mars in preparation for the next great leap in human space exploration, the Martian habitat. Yet, the current design for space colonization is confined to prioritizing practical needs with maximum efficiency while lacking consideration for spatial experiences.
In search of an opportunity for the long-term survival of human civilization, habitation on the higher frontier demands a critical re-evaluation of existing standards for extraterrestrial living. The development of space colonization could lead to advancements in architectural design, discovering alternative integration of ecology into the regenerative life support system, and furthermore developing technocentric resilience strategies that are essential for human survival.
To say mankind will one day inhabit Mars is to challenge architecture’s ability to contend with extreme surface conditions like oxygen-less air, extreme cold, and high radiation levels. This thesis reimagines the Mars habitat through the design of mobile architecture, which resembles the human drive for exploration while allowing architects to explore new potentials of enclosed habitable spaces, supporting mankind’s survival in the most hostile conditions of space.
In search of an opportunity for the long-term survival of human civilization, habitation on the higher frontier demands a critical re-evaluation of existing standards for extraterrestrial living. The development of space colonization could lead to advancements in architectural design, discovering alternative integration of ecology into the regenerative life support system, and furthermore developing technocentric resilience strategies that are essential for human survival.
To say mankind will one day inhabit Mars is to challenge architecture’s ability to contend with extreme surface conditions like oxygen-less air, extreme cold, and high radiation levels. This thesis reimagines the Mars habitat through the design of mobile architecture, which resembles the human drive for exploration while allowing architects to explore new potentials of enclosed habitable spaces, supporting mankind’s survival in the most hostile conditions of space.
Prototype Demonstration Video
Inflatable Pneumatic Structure : Demonstration Process
Prototype Assembly & Testing Process
Mars Exploration Timeline
Habitat Conditions: Earth vs. Mars
Mars Habitat Landing Procedure
Object in Motion: Pneumatic Rotation Techtonic
Pneumatic Layer
Extreme Habitation: Matian Colony
