Project Objectives

Architecture and exploration are intrinsically connected wherever human presence expands beyond Earth. With ESA’s Argonaut and NASA’s Artemis programmes, human settlement on the Moon and Mars is no longer speculative but an operational objective. Permanent outposts are essential to ensure sustainable exploration, requiring innovative approaches in design, technology, and resource management.

Current architectural efforts have rarely integrated the environmental and geological context of extraterrestrial sites. ArchiSpace addresses this gap by connecting leading European and Moroccan institutions in planetary sciences and space architecture to design, test, and validate habitat subsystems within planetary analogue environments. The project represents the first coordinated attempt to define architectural constraints directly from geological and environmental settings.

Construction on planetary surfaces demands low-impact, low-cost, lightweight operations using in situ resources (ISRU). This “planetary green” approach has terrestrial applications, promoting sustainable development even in resource-limited regions. The close interdependence between the subsurface and human infrastructure is crucial for both extraterrestrial and terrestrial contexts, ensuring resource availability, environmental protection, and risk minimization.

A human-focused design philosophy is central to ArchiSpace, emphasizing astronaut well-being, safety, and adaptability. The synergy between geologists and architects enables the integration of subsurface knowledge—essential for selecting landing sites, exploiting local materials, and ensuring structural safety—into habitat design. This interdisciplinary approach advances the sustainable management of planetary and terrestrial environments alike.

The ArchiSpace project aims to conceive, develop, and validate innovative, human-centered, and environmentally sustainable habitat subsystems for lunar and Martian settlements. The consortium unites leading European teams in space architecture and exploration to:

1. Design executable prototypes of habitat subsystems through cross-disciplinary collaboration;

2. Construct and validate physical and virtual prototypes within terrestrial analogue sites.

Three analogue field campaigns (Collocations) in desert and volcanic regions will support prototype testing under realistic conditions. The outcomes will contribute to defining construction methodologies, environmental interactions, and design standards applicable to both space and Earth.

Ultimately, ArchiSpace pioneers an intersectoral European framework integrating geology, architecture, and engineering for sustainable extraterrestrial habitation. Its terrestrial implications align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly regarding sustainable infrastructures, resource efficiency, and climate resilience.