NASA taps Bjarke Ingels, Icon to put homes on moon

Those discouraged about Earth’s housing market could eventually have an alternative.

NASA aims to put the first housing subdivision on the moon by 2040, the New York Times reported. Austin-based construction technology company Icon has received funding from the space agency to create a construction system, while architects at the Bjarke Ingels Group and SEArch+ are contributing concepts and designs.

To build on the moon, NASA envisions sending a 3-D printer there to build structures with lunar concrete formed from rock chips, mineral fragments and disturbed billows in poisonous clouds. While moon dust can be toxic to inhale, one scientist also posed it as a solution to construction dilemmas, much as soil from minerals on Earth can be used in the 3-D printing of homes here.

Last year, Icon won a $57.2 million contract with NASA to develop technology to help build lunar infrastructure, such as roads, habitats and landing pads. Building up the infrastructure on the moon will be critical for developing housing, as transporting materials back and forth from Earth won’t be financially sustainable.

Considering how long it’s been since NASA has been on the moon, some scientists are calling the agency’s timeline unrealistic. Others, however, think the goal is attainable so long as benchmarks are met along the way.

Artemis II, a mission with four crew members, is scheduled to circle the moon next November. One year later, Artemis III is expected to put humans back on the lunar surface.

Before planting a 3-D printer and more on the moon, NASA and the institutions contributing to its homebuilding mission will work towards a proof of concept on Earth. In February, Icon plans to lower its printer into a testing chamber to subject it to the radiation and thermal vacuum conditions it would encounter on the planet’s largest satellite.

It’s not clear what the housing market would be like on the moon and if prices will be astronomical, as they are on parts of Earth. Additionally, while the United States has international agreements regarding the moon with many nations, there are exceptions that may have something to say about the plan, including China and Russia.

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