Lockheed Martin Offers First Glimpse of its Deep Space Habitat

A massive cylindrical habitat that will allow humans to live on Mars and other deep space destinations were unveiled Thursday at the Kennedy Space Center. The potential habitat will provide a safe place for humans in hostile conditions of space and will accommodate four individuals so they can achieve NASA’s human exploration goals. Lockheed Martin only shared one image of the new deep space habitat after the presentation at the Kennedy Space Center.

NASA recently awarded Lockheed Martin and other five contractors a total of $65 million to build a habitat prototype by the end of the year. The agency will then review the proposals to get a better understanding of each system. As NASA wants to extend human presence in deep space, it will need a reliable, life-supporting system for future missions to space.

The design of Lockheed Martin's system is based on Donatello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module’s design that was once destined to deliver tons of supplies and equipment to the International Space Station. But it was never sent into space.

The cylindrical module of Lockheed Martin is approximately 22 feet long and 15 feet in diameter and will be able to support a crew of four people for 30 to 60 days. It will serve both as a home and a place where astronauts will conduct experiments.

"You think of it as an RV in deep space," said Bill Pratt, the program's manager. "When you're in an RV, your table becomes your bed and things are always moving around, so you have to be really efficient with space. That's a lot of what we are testing here."

The module is part of NASA’s Deep Space Gateway, a platform that will orbit the moon and provide the foundation for human exploration deeper into the solar system.

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