Popular Mechanics - USA (2019-04)

@PopularMechanics _ April 2019 65

A hotel on another
planet has to do more
than keep you physically
comfortable: It also has to
address the psychological
challenges of leaving home
and then being stuck
indoors. Researchers on
Earth call these isolated,
confined, and extreme
(ICE) environments.
They’re Tristan Bassing-
thwaighte’s specialty. For
his dissertation—which
he worked on while living
out of a room “the size of
Harry Potter’s closet” in a

yearlong HI-SEAS

Mars simulation—he

designed a habitat that

would work on the Red

Planet (or farther out).

Large underground sections

provide shelter from small

meteors or solar flares;

sealed off from another

planet’s inhospitable

atmosphere, they’d also

make it possible to create an

ecological system and grow

plants for food and visual

stimulation. To combat

the sense of confinement,

there are digital windows

where real windows aren’t

possible. And expect your

terrestrial sense of what

constitutes an amenity to

change: Since venturing

outdoors would be a

complex, risky prospect,

aspace hotel will prioritize

the gym, both to maintain

fitness and stave off cabin

fever. Electricity, though?

That’ll mostly be reserved

for heating, lighting, and

sending experimental data

back home; don’t expect

hot tubs or minibars in your

intergalactic suite.

Whether on a planetary surface or in a floating habitat,
lodging will be nothing like a typical hotel. Or Airbnb.

W HERE TO STAY

Do you have

to be fit to go

into space?

Being in space doesn’t

require any particular level of

fitness. Long trips, however,

will likely require some

preparation. For example,

long stays in space accelerate

bone deterioration—and part

of the remedy, per NASA,

is resistance training. So

starting a gym routine before

departure can help develop a

routine you’ll need in space.

Will I need

vaccinations?

No, but you may

undergo a pre-trip quarantine

to keep terrestrial bugs from

spreading in space, where

medical resources are limited.

Can I bring

a service

animal?

No. They take up precious

resources and the poor

things would probably hate

microgravity. Plus think

about the bathroom situation.

What kind

of food can

Iexpect?

Bite-size snacks to reduce

floating crumbs. Freeze-dried

or pouched entrées. (Fresh

food is a logistical nightmare.)

No eggs—they’re hard to make

shelf-stable, often turning

green in the process. And lots

of hot sauce, which Kimberly

Glaus Läte of Johnson Space

Center says astronauts love,

because you can taste it even

when microgravity keeps

fluid from draining from your

nasal cavities, which makes

it harder to perceive flavor.

FA Q

SPACE

ROSCOSMOS

The Russian agency’s
20-ton, 15.5-meter-long
luxury space hotel module
for the ISS will provide 92
cubic meters of pressur-
ized space. Lodging for a
two-week trip? $40 mil-
lion. A longer stay is $60
million, but they throw in a
spacewalk.

BIGELOW AEROSPACE

This trailblazing U.S. com-
pany has had its BEAM

IN SPACE

With all the commercial spacecraft being designed, entrepreneurs are creating destinations
for space tourists. “I’m upbeat about space hotels,” says Eric Stallmer of the Commercial
Spaceflight Federation. “I don’t see it in 2019, but maybe in 2021.” —Joe Pappalardo

ON LAND

inflatable module docked

with the ISS since 2016.

Its B330 project, planned

for the early 2020s, will

increase the station’s

pressurized volume by

over a third. Commercial

space stations and hotels

could be next.

AXIOM SPACE

Helmed by a former NASA

space station program

manager, Axiom is offering

rooms for rent on the ISS

in 2020—$55 million

for a seven- to ten-day

trip—and is planning to

build its own wing, which

would one day detach and

operate independently.

ORION SPAN

This company’s proposed

Aurora Station will offer lux-

urious 12-day stays, in some

cases subsidized by micro-

gravity research that will

be carried out by guests.

$80,000 reserves a room.