NASA has plans to build another space station, but it won’t be situtated in a close orbit around Earth. Instead, within the last year, NASA has begun planning for a much smaller astronaut outpost in orbit around the moon, dubbed the Gateway. The space residence will be a fraction of the size of the International Space Station and will serve as a place for astronauts to live and train for excursions to and from the lunar surface, writes The Verge.
NASA has asked six companies to figure out what exactly it takes to build a habitat for deep space. Companies like Boeing and Bigelow Aerospace are creating and executing their own designs.
Lockheed Martin, a longtime contractor for NASA, is also working on a tiny home. Lockheed is currently designing a cylindrical deep-space habitat that will provide about 882 cubic feet of livable space. This is about the size of a bedroom. Up to four astronauts are expected to be able to roam around in it. Lockheed has had to get creative with storage, and has made it so every bit of exposed wall serves a different purpose.
The habitat will also include a workstation, sleeping bags and storage for food and other essential living equipment. Check out the video below to see more.
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