FYI,

"NASA Tests Inflatable Lunar Shelters"
SPACE.com
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20070328/sc_space/nasatestsinflatablelun
arshelters

: NASA is preparing to test an inflatable structure that might one
: day be used to establish an outpost on the Moon.

: Created by NASA contractor ILC Dover LP, the pumped-up structure
: sits poised for tests at the agency's Langley Research Center in
: Virginia.

: "Right now it is a concept demonstrator," said Inflatable
: Structures Project Leader Karen Whitley. "We use it for publicity
: and tours and exhibits for senior staff. We've had several
: congressmen come here to see it."

: The inflatable structure is made of multilayer fabric and looks
: like an ungainly white robot with legs. The main unit is 12 feet in
: diameter and 18 feet tall. It has a volume of about 1,600 cubic
: feet and is connected to an airlock, also inflatable. The two
: spaces are essentially pressurized cylinders, connected by an
: airtight door.

: Judith Watson, the Structure Material Mechanism project lead at
: Langley, said her team is drawing plans to conduct structural tests
: on the prototype in the coming months.

: "We also want to look at logistics: how well this is actually going
: to package up, how much mass it actually has, how do you arrange
: the internal parts [to create] sleeping quarters, walls and
: floors," Watson told SPACE.com. "Those are some of the issues we're
: going to be tackling in the next year or two."

: Inflatable structures are just one of the construction types NASA
: is considering for an outpost on the Moon.

: "There are quite a few different options that they're looking at,"
: Watson said. "They're not restricting themselves to expandable
: structures."

: Whitley says the biggest advantage of expandable structures is they
: can be compressed into a small volume for launch.

: NASA envisions a lunar outpost as being a testing ground in
: preparation for a longer journey to Mars.

: "The idea behind us having an outpost on the Moon is to give us a
: chance to practice and learn before we go to Mars," Watson said.
: "The Moon is a lot closer...We have the ability to try out the
: technology in a safer environment before we send people on a three
: plus years mission to Mars, where they have no backup."

: NASA says testing of inflatable habitats on the Moon could begin in
: 2020. As currently envisioned, a lunar outpost would begin with
: four-person crews making several seven-day visits to the Moon until
: their power supplies, rovers and living quarters are operational.

: The mission would then be extended to two weeks, then two months
: and ultimately to 180 days.

: In a related development, NASA will team up with the National
: Science Foundation to begin field testing of a similar inflatable
: structure in Antarctica either later this year or early next year.

: NASA faces competition for setting up a lunar outpost from at least
: one private company. Austin's Stone Aerospace, Inc, in Texas
: recently announced plans tocreate a lunar mining station to
: prospect for frozen water and other resources by 2015.

: Another company, Bigelow Aerospace, plans to launch free-floating
: modules to create an orbital habitat that could support visiting
: crews of up to three people by the end of the decade.

Mark Reiff