System Study of Proposed Inflatable Moon Base
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
Pneumocell, a company specializing in inflatable structures, submitted a study to the European Space Agency laying out the concept for an inflatable lunar habitat.
A vision of a future moon settlement is assembled from semi-buried inflatable habitats. Sited beside the lunar poles in regions of near-perpetual solar illumination, mirrors positioned above each habitat would reflect sunlight into greenhouses within the doughnut-shaped habitats.
Once inflated, these habitats would be buried under 4-5 m of lunar regolith for radiation and micrometeorite protection. Above each habitat a truss holding a mirror membrane would be erected, designed to rotate to follow the sun through the sky. Sunlight from the mirror would be directed down through an artificial crater, from which another cone-shaped mirror reflects it into the surrounding greenhouse.
A slicker and more marketable version of their concept can be found on their website.
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