Human habitats on Mars could become a reality much sooner than we think. Next month, expandable space rooms will be hand delivered by SpaceX. If it proves successful, they very well may be a precursor to living on the red planet.
BEAM HOMES COULD SOON BE ON MARS
The expandable homes known as BEAM, are gaining some notoriety these days. NASA has been researching various concepts for deep space missions. Exploration of Mars is, of course, one of these. With the success of BEAM on the ISS, NASA can determine if these habitats will be appropriate for astronauts in deep space. The Nevada-based module will be sent up to the ISS on April 8th, thanks to SpaceX.
SPACEX TO DELIVER SPACE HUTS
The anticipated SpaceX Dragon capsule is set to launch in a couple of days. April 8th to be exact. This isn’t just your average ISS resupply mission, though. SpaceX will be delivering a single, expandable pod to the ISS. The BEAM will stay up there for two years before coming back to Earth and burning up in the atmosphere. If all goes according to plan, however, that will hardly be the last we see of the BEAM. After some more tests, the BEAM could be used on the surface of Mars to house astronauts or maybe even someday, Mars tourist. Besides the BEAM, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will take 3,800 pounds of cargo to the station including 250 research experiments.
THE BEAM IN ACTION
On the ISS, Astronauts won’t actually be living in the BEAM. After it has been fully pressurized to the ISS, astronauts will fit the BEAM with sensors in order to evaluate it. Meantime back on Earth, NASA will look at the data to see how well it handles the stresses of space throughout the next two years. With radiation, space debris and a wealth of other dangers, it’s safe to say the BEAM will have it’s hands full. If it does happen to hold up, it very well could become a Mars habitat in the near future.
