Tag: mars | ArchDaily

9 m³ of Survival: Inside the Orion Spacecraft and the Architecture of Space Travel

Moises Carrasco — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 08:30:00 +0000

It was July 1969, and people on planet Earth were about to witness a historical moment for humanity: the first time a human being stepped on the surface of the Moon aboard the Apollo 11 mission. After this event, NASA landed five more times on the lunar surface, with the last one being Apollo 17 in 1972. Since then, humans have not attempted to return to the Moon until this year, 2026, when they will launch the Orion spacecraft as part of the Artemis II Mission. Planned to set off between February and April 2026, Orion will not yet land people on the Moon, instead it will make a flyby, in order to allow testing of the software and systems. This will set the base for an actual human landing on the Moon's South Pole as part of Artemis III sometime between 2027 and 2028, eventually opening a brand new era in Extraterrestrial architectural design.

From Martian Hydrospheres to Forest-Like Cities: 6 Radical Urban Visions Unveiled at the Venice 2025 Architecture Biennale

Nour Fakharany — Fri, 04 Jul 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Cities today are being reimagined as living, evolving organisms, combining digital intelligence, ecological systems, and new materials to shape radical futures. At Carlo Ratti's "Intelligens. Natural. Artificial. Collective." biennial, over 750 participants challenge established boundaries between architecture, landscape, and technology. Several conceptual projects showcased in the main exhibition challenge conventional boundaries between architecture, landscape, and technology. From bio-adaptive urban systems and Martian water-based settlements to immersive symphonies of satellite data, these works collectively envision new models for cohabitation, resilience, and planetary awareness.

From the Hills of Athens to the Craters of Mars, Discover 8 Award-Winning Competition Proposals from the ArchDaily Community

Nour Fakharany — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 04:00:00 +0000

Architectural competitions have long offered a space for experimentation: platforms where ideas can be tested, typologies reimagined, and critical questions addressed through design. Freed from some of the constraints of commercial commissions, competition entries often reflect ambitious visions for how architecture can respond to environmental, cultural, and social challenges. Whether focused on future habitats, public institutions, or small-scale community infrastructure, these proposals give shape to the values and priorities driving architectural thinking today.

Designing for Two Worlds: How Space Exploration is Shaping the Future of Architecture on Earth

Diogo Borges Ferreira — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 04:00:00 +0000

Space exploration isn’t merely a testament to human ambition or a quest for new territories and resources. Our ventures beyond Earth’s atmosphere are driven by a deeper purpose: to understand better our place in the cosmos and to pioneer innovations that can transform life on our home planet.

Hassell Unveils Lunar Habitat Masterplan, Aiming to Revolutionize Interstellar Living

Nour Fakharany — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 05:30:00 +0000

Last week, Hassell revealed the Lunar Habitat Masterplan, a modular concept for a moon base. Developed in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and Cranfield University, the project aims to contribute to the formation of the first permanent human settlement on the moon. Various renowned architects have previously contributed to space exploration through architecture. From Buckminster Fuller to Foster + Partners, BIG, and SOM, the architectural catalog in outer space has seen many advancements. Representing a significant set forward in interstellar exploration, this masterplan by Hassell hopes to support the development of a community on the moon.

How Architecture and Design on Earth Helps to Plan For Life on Mars

James Wormald — Wed, 10 May 2023 04:00:00 +0000

SpaceX founder and science-fiction fan Elon Musk is attempting to make the fiction of space travel a scientific reality. ‘In order to safeguard the existence of humanity,’ he explains, ‘we need to become a multi-planetary civilization.’ Musk says he’s laser-focused on ensuring we make a second home elsewhere in space, and has his sights set on Mars. He’s not alone, of course. NASA’s recently-released Moon to Mars Architecture Concept Review is a ‘study of the hardware and operations needed for human missions to the Moon and Mars,’ leading to long-term scientific discovery and human habitation in deep space.

How is Architecture Supporting the Exploration of the Moon and Mars?

Paula Cano — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 04:30:00 +0000

From inflatable and 3D-printed structures to entire habitats, architecture plays an unprecedented role in space exploration missions. As NASA plans for long-term human exploration of the Moon and Mars under Artemis and CHAPEA missions, new technologies are required to meet the unique challenges of living and working in another world. In response, figures like Buckminster Fuller, Foster + Partners, SOM, and BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, in collaboration with emerging businesses such as ICON and SEArch+, have nourished the architectural catalog in outer space.

The Cyprus Pavilion Examines Social Sustainability and Space Exploration at La Biennale di Venezia 2023

Nour Fakharany — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 05:30:00 +0000

The Cyprus Pavilion at the International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia has announced its exhibition. The pavilion will explore the first early settlements of the Cyprus Aceramic Neolitih Khirokitia, using these communities as a springboard to discuss social sustainability challenges in a humanistic and cultural framework. The display, curated by Petros Lapithis, Lia Lapithi, Nikos Kouroussis, and Ioanna Ioannou Xiari, is based on a foundation for a newly constructed environment that will be established on Mars.

NASA and AI Space Factory Develop a 3D Printed Lunar Structure

Paula Cano — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 05:30:00 +0000

NASA and AI Space Factory developed LINA (Lunar Infrastructure Asset), an in-situ 3D-printed outpost to protect astronauts and critical missions on the Moon. The project is part of the Relevant Environment Additive Construction Technology (REACT), a multi-year collaboration to develop technologies for lunar surface constructions within the timeframe of the Artemis Mission: humankind’s return to the Moon. LINA is a step in the effort to expand civilization to Earth’s natural satellite and explore it in a sustainable way that minimizes human disturbance.

If Space Settlements Explained How to Live in Space, Space Forces Explains the Why

Jonathan Hilburg — Mon, 04 Apr 2022 03:30:00 +0000

As the world spins deeper into the third year of a global pandemic with no sign of abating, a new space race is forming over our heads. Entry is open to all, and the tickets are literal. The Architect's Newspaper's Jonathan Hilburg explores how the world's richest men are charting new paths for the human species, and how the public are reacting to the future of private space tourism.

15 Architecture Projects for Life in Space

Belén Maiztegui — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 07:30:00 +0000

The Apollo 11 Mission, departed Earth on July 16, 1969, and touched down on the moon 4 days later. This moment marked a milestone for humanity and, to this day, makes us reflect on how technological progress is bringing us ever closer to life beyond planet Earth.

BIG, NASA, and ICON Reveal 3D-Printed Research Habitats for Mars

Dima Stouhi — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 09:00:00 +0000

Bjarke Ingels Group has collaborated with NASA and ICON to create Mars Dune Alpha, a 3D-printed research habitat that will provide long duration habitation for astronauts on missions to Mars. The 1,700 sq.ft. structure, which is currently located at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, is designed by the award-winning architecture firm, 3D printed by construction developers ICON, and will soon be home to NASA's future crew.

Architecture on Mars: Projects for Life on the Red Planet

Belén Maiztegui — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 05:00:00 +0000

February 2021 has been a historical month for Mars exploration. While humans have been exploring the red planet for well over 50 years, first landing on its surface in 1971 and then launching the first successful rover in 1997, this year has seen several firsts, namely the first time that three countries (China, United States, and the UAE) have launched three simultaneous probes.

A Greenhouse City on Mars and a Dockside Tower in Dublin: 8 Unbuilt Projects Submitted by our Readers

Eric Baldwin — Tue, 24 Nov 2020 04:00:00 +0000

Architecture is defined by its context. This holds especially true when buildings are located in harsh climates and must respond to natural conditions. This week’s curated selection of the Best Unbuilt Architecture focuses on designs located at the intersection of nature and the built environment. Drawn from all over the world, they represent proposals submitted by our readers.

The Red Planet: Design on Our Race to Mars

Eric Baldwin — Tue, 03 Nov 2020 04:00:00 +0000

Space has long captured our imaginations. Looking to the ocean above us, writers, scientists and designers alike have continuously dreamed up new visions for a future on distant planets. Mars is at the center of this discourse, the most habitable planet in our solar system after Earth. Proposals for the red planet explore how we can create new realms of humanity in outer space.

The New Space Race: 6 Challenges for Extraterrestrial Architecture

Soledad Sambiasi — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 05:00:00 +0000

Up until now, space architecture has been mainly focused on engineering, centered on projects like orbital space stations or Martian exploration convoys, commissioned by world space agencies such as ESA (Europe) or NASA (USA). But in recent years, an increasingly broader spectrum of professionals (e.g. architects, sociologists) as well as entrepreneurs and investors (not all well intentioned) have joined the challenge of designing extraterrestrial built environments, the new space race of the 21st century.

7 Architectural Considerations that are Shaping Future Cities

Soledad Sambiasi — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 04:00:00 +0000

By 2050, the world’s population is expected to have exceeded 10 billion people, making overcrowded cities one of the most pressing issues of the present. Data analysis, machine learning, transportation developments, and the rapid development of new social technologies are increasingly changing the needs of people and communities, which will have a direct impact on the issue of overcrowding and on our built environment more largely.

TED Talk: Bjarke Ingels Explores Living and Building on Mars

Eric Baldwin — Mon, 28 Oct 2019 05:00:00 +0000

Bjarke Ingels Group has been working on the Mars Science City project after the United Arab Emirates announced the initiative in 2017. The $140 Million USD (AED 500 million) research city aims to serve as a “viable and realistic model” for the simulation of human occupation of the martian landscape. The project is designed with a team of Emirati scientists, engineers and designers from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center.