Promising “an eco-retreat unlike any other”, AI Spacefactory is bringing a version of its 3D-printed Mars habitat concept to Earth this spring, for guests wanting a taste of what it would be like to live on another planet. Emily Eastman reports
AI Spacefactory, a “multi-planetary architectural and technology design agency”, won US$500,000 from NASA for its ground-breaking design for a 3D-printed habitat called MARSHA that could be built on the moon or Mars, and sustain human life.
But the company says that while it was designing homes for Mars, it realised the product could provide sustainable buildings on Earth, too.
Known as TERA, the world’s first 3D-printed Martian eco-retreat will be “nestled in the woods of Upstate New York with sweeping views of the Hudson River,” according to AI Spacefactory. Stays will cost between US$175 and US$500 a night.
AI Spacefactory describes the habitat as a “high-tech, luxe, green eco-home that’s unlike any other”. And it will be available on a nightly basis for anyone wanting a glimpse into the future of sustainable living.
The company says TERA-1, its first iteration, is the “juncture where the lessons we learned through MARSHA meet the energy of the land along the Hudson River in Upstate New York”.
“At several points, the exterior shell celebrates its intersection with both the natural environment and its hidden, interior structure.”
“Each TERA will build on what we learn from the last until we achieve highly autonomous structurally performing human-rated habitats,” it says. “This knowledge will inform sustainable construction on Earth and also feed back into our extraterrestrial design and construction – ultimately enabling human life on Mars.”
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