Life Beyond Earth: Venice Biennale lunar habitat

A detailed concept for a lunar habitat, created by one of the worlds leading architectural firms with ESA technical support, is currently on show at the Biennale in Venice. Skidmore, Owings Merrill, originator of many of the worlds tallest skyscrapers, worked with ESA on a semiinflatable habitat design which could be part of a longterm vision for an international Moon settlement. The resulting design is on show at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (BiennaleChannel). While the theme of the overall exhibition is How will we live together , the SOM installation is called Life Beyond Earth, peering beyond our postCOVID19 planet to show how human life can be sustained in the hostile space environment. The installation encompasses two largescale, physical models and this film, bringing Biennale visitors on a journey from Earth to the Moons surface. SOM designed a semiinflatable shell structure to offer the highest possible volume to mass ratio. Once inflated