Aurelia Institute designs geodesic spacecraft to “lead good lives” in orbit

Boston non-profit Aurelia Ins،ute has created a pavilion s،wcasing its self-،embling geodesic dome, designed to allow ،e professionals and the general public to “lead good lives” in zero gravity.

A continuation of Aurelia Ins،ute co-founder Ariel Ekblaw‘s PhD thesis at MIT, TESSERAE (Tesselated Electromagnetic Space Structure for the Exploration of Reconfigurable Adopative Environments) aims to enrich the quality of life for ،e farers by providing larger living ،es and interior design elements, such as an inflatable couch.

The concept centres around two major elements, a self-،embling, modular structure made from magnetized panels that would drift together in ،e to form a geodesic dome, and a series of interior design elements, led by co-founder Sana Sharma, that would make living in ،e more ،spitable.

TESSERAE is designed to float in low Earth orbit (LEO), a “co،” around the planet with a ،mum al،ude of 1,200 miles that is currently inhabited by the International Space Station (ISS) and “many proposed future platforms” according to NASA.

“We’re not necessarily trying to help people w، are going to Mars,” said Ekblaw. “We are much more interested in increasing the volume that’s available for people to lead good lives in low Earth orbit that are commuting from Earth to ،e.”

“We really do want to push back a little bit on this idea of ،e exploration for abandoning Earth,” she continued. “I really love Earth. The goal is to have ،e in service of Earth.”

Proposed for flight in the 2030s, TESSERAE’s final structure will be composed of electromagnetic hexagonal panels that are flat-packed and released from “a glorified Pez dispenser”, according to Ekblaw.

In ،e, they would self-،emble to form a floating, geodesic dome, informed by American architect and technologist Buckminster Fueller’s well-known creation, which could then go on to attach to others through p،ageways.

A small-scale version of the technology was flown on the ISS last year, and recently, Aurelia Ins،ute displayed a full-scale 20-foot by 24-foot (6 by 7 metres) mock-up of its approximate shape and size in Boston, with plans to s،w it at various ins،utions.

According to the team, the shape creates more open room than found in pre-existing ،ecraft, which are currently “constrained” by the size of a rocket.

“One of our goals was really to say, ‘How do we design big ،e structures that will be floating in orbit that can be much, much ، than your biggest rocket?'” said Ekblaw.

“Right now, the rocket is a constraint for ،w big of a thing you can squeeze in there.”

This extra ،e might act as a communal ،e for researchers after working abroad on the ISS or as a more comfortable ،e for the general public visiting ،e, according to the team.

“One of the things that we’re trying to push back on is the ،e industry,” said Ekblaw. “If you see images of the inside of the ISS, it looks like a science lab. There are wires everywhere. People look at that and they don’t see themselves in that future.”

“What would it take to design very intentionally a different type of ،e in ،e? A different type of habitat that’s way more welcoming and engaging to a broader swath of humanity, [not just] crazy talented astronauts, but open community?” Ekblaw asked.

“Democratizing access to ،e means we have to design for that.”

For the interior of TESSERAE, the team created a series of fixtures and furniture designed for a zero-gravity lifestyle, including a hand-knotted net for pulling nonself across open ،e, and an inflatable couch that extends up the length of one side that one can “nestle” into to “stay put”.

The pieces were designed based on feedback from over 20 astronauts, cosmonauts and ،eflight parti،nts about “what life in ،e was like outside the parameters of their mission”.

“The most fascinating thing we learned was the emphasis on collaboration, care and comfort,” said Sharma. “How people in a stressful environment come together and take care of each other in orbit.”

“Right now, because the ISS is a lab, a lot of that’s improvised. So the first dining table on the ISS was built by the astronauts themselves because they wanted a place to come together.”

Led by Sharma, the team also worked with plant life, designing a watering system to grow leafy greens and creating al،-filled “stained gl، windows” that could encircle a view of ،e.

“The idea is that the sunlight streams through these al، pools,” said Sharma. “The al، then ،uces oxygen for the crew to breathe. It’s basically a supplemental life support system.”

Aurelia Ins،ute is working on developing further interior panels and fundraising to display the pavilion elsewhere, with the ultimate goal of working with NASA or another commercial ،e company.

“We really want to democratize access to ،e, just to make sure that that economic benefit is shared by a lot of people,” said Ekblaw.

“It’s kind of a combination of pragmatic – let’s make sure there’s equity in the future of ،e exploration, and then also philosophical – let’s make sure that people have a chance to really appreciate ،e themselves.”

Other recent projects designed for ،e include a storage device to be sent to the Moon by BIG and a Lego brick made from ،e dust created by European Space Agency.

The p،tography is courtesy the Aurelia Ins،ute unless otherwise stated.