A Chinese architectural office has unveiled designs for a tiny shelter that could one day house astronauts on Mars.
The so-called MARS shell has a minimalist structure, which has the shape of a light bulb, with a square base and an inflatable "living bubble".
With purely conceptual renderings, the designs could serve as a helpful basis if humans ever populate the red planet.
A Chinese architectural office has unveiled designs for a tiny shelter that could one day house astronauts on Mars. The MARS case is a minimalist structure with a "living bubble".
WHAT IS THE MARS CASE?
It is a compact, self-sufficient habitat with a length of only 7.8 feet, a width of 7.8 feet and a height of 6.5 feet.
A "living bubble" attached to the base can be inflated, folded and folded in, "like packing and unpacking a suitcase."
Inside, there is a main living area that seems to have a bathroom, a desk, a few chairs and a storage room.
Smartphones, such as those from Xiaomi, can be used to control devices and other features, such as: B. lighting, to be used in the house.
There are even windows on the bubble-like structure that would pop out during inflation.
The MARS case was developed by the Beijing-based design firm Open Architecture in partnership with Chinese technology group Xiaomi.
Open Architecture said it was inspired by Henry David Thoreau's famous novel Walden while designing the structure.
In Walden, Thoreau moves to a cabin in the woods of Massachusetts, where he spends his time without traditional comfort. Instead, he decides to simply live and stay away from society.
"Two hundred years ago, Henry David Thoreau retired from society and moved alone to Walden to reflect on the nature of simple life," said Open Architecture.
"If we live in a world of consumer and environmental crises today and get lost, what are our basic needs?
"MARS Case represents a vision of this ideal home, blending technology, product design and architecture seamlessly," the company added.
The structure is portable and transferable.
Open Architecture wanted to make sure that the structure does not affect the environment, so they are very careful to integrate it into the ecosystem.
"Imagine that humanity has to settle on Mars, our distant lonely planetary neighbor," said Open Architecture.
Mars has become the next big step for humanity's exploration of space.
But before humans come to the red planet, astronauts will take a series of small steps by returning to the moon for a one-year mission.
Details of a mission in lunar orbit were revealed as part of a timeline of events that led to missions to Mars in the 2030s.
In May 2017, Greg Williams, Associate Associate Administrator of Policy and Plans at NASA, outlined the space agency's four-stage plan, which he hopes will one day visit Mars, and the expected timetable.
Phase one and two Several trips are made to the lunar space to facilitate the construction of a habitat that serves as a staging area for the journey.
The last hardware delivered would be the actual Deep Space Transport vehicle, with which later a crew was transported to Mars.
A one-year simulation of life on Mars will be conducted in 2027.
Phases three and four start after 2030 and involve constant occupation of the crew into the Mar system and the Martian surface.
"There we can not rely on natural resources because we have become so used to Earth.
"There is nothing left for us to do but to reduce the excessive consumption of our previous lifestyles and only a minimum of We will survive only through recycling.
"If we let go of the extra, we will think about our lives in a simplified environment," the company added.
According to Open Architecture, the MARS case is able to use and recycle heat, waste gases, condensation and "feed it back into this integrated ecosystem".
"In other words, energy, water and air are fully recycled in the system, minimizing resource consumption," the company said.
They say that it is completely wasteful.
Many scientists and experts have devised their own designs for what human civilization might look like on Mars.
At a recent NASA competition, teams had to submit 3D printed habitats that they believe could be used to colonize the red planet over the next few decades.