Space Startup Looks to Make Space Habitable with Inflatable Module

Aldohn Domingo, Tech Times 10 April 2024, 08:04 pm

Inflatable space habitats are reportedly the next biggest venture by startup Max Space, hoping to make the Moon and Mars habitable for humanity. Max Space's habitats are reportedly the largest modules in history.

The first of several expandable modules that Max Space is building is slated to reportedly launch on a SpaceX rideshare mission in 2025.

The Max Space 20 module is the largest expandable module flown to date; it is compacted into a volume of two cubic meters for launch and expands to 20 cubic meters after deployment.

According to the company's statement, innovative expandable space habitats by Max Space provide great volume at minimal expense, significantly increasing the volume of usable space on the Moon, Mars, cislunar space, and Low-Earth Orbit (LEO).

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Maxim de Jong and Aaron Kemmer founded the business. Aaron is reportedly a trailblazing space tech entrepreneur who co-founded Made In Space, the first in-space manufacturing company, and saw the need for affordable volume production in space to advance space exploration and commercialization.

Maxim de Long is acknowledged as a leader in the field of space inflatable technology engineering. His company, Thin Red Line Aerospace, designed and built the pressure hulls of the Genesis I and II inflatable habitats, which are still in orbit today. He has also participated in numerous NASA programs centered on space living.

Inflatable Space Modules

In an interview, Aaron Kemmer stated that his interest in expandable modules sprang from his time working at the space manufacturing business Made In Space, which created 3-D printers that were utilized on the International Space Station. Citing a machine that was modified for use on the International Space Station, he states that experience has led him to believe that expandable homes are the way of the future.

Expandable modules are not a novel idea. Technology played a major role in the ambitions of the former Bigelow Aerospace, which constructed the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) currently housed on the International Space Station (ISS) and launched the Genesis 1 and 2 spacecraft. Businesses like Lockheed Martin and Sierra Space have conducted inflatable module tests on the ground, but they have not yet been flown.

Habitable Super Earth

NASA continues to look at various planets for possible human habitation, the organization revealed in February that a "super-Earth" known as TOI-715 b had been found orbiting a small, reddish star only 137 light-years from Earth.

Because of its special qualities, this recently discovered exoplanet, which may be the center of a double planetary system, begs to be explored. The largest of the two possible stars, TOI-715 b, is about 1.5 times wider than Earth. Its location within the "conservative" habitable zone surrounding its stellar parent star only serves to increase its attraction.

Written by Aldohn Domingo