The challenges of living on the Moon: from simulations towards an extraterrestrial base

Recent projections see ESA’s Moon Village inhabited before 2030. In order to provide shelter to the astronauts, the ZARM is developing the concept of a habitat protype: The Moon and Mars Base Analog (MaMBA) combines the engineering requirements of supporting human life in the lunar environment and architectural needs to create a livable, rather than “just” survivable home for astronauts. Last year, we built a mock-up of the first module and evaluated its usability during two test runs. 

Christiane Heinicke is head of the project Moon and Mars Base Analog (MaMBA). She joined the ZARM in 2017, after having lived in a simulated Mars base herself for one year as part of a NASA-funded project. Her background is in Physics (M.Sc.) and Engineering (Dr.-Ing.).