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SpaceHabs: One man's architectural vision for colonizing Mars


April 8, 2014

On Earth, every aspect of our homes has been an evolving process for generations whereas o...

On Earth, every aspect of our homes has been an evolving process for generations whereas on Mars everything will be new and untested (Image: Bryan Versteeg /

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With a projected settlement date of 2025, the Mars One project has received over 200,000 applications for the one way trip to the Red Planet. But creating a living, sustainable community on the distant planet for the select inhabitants will require not only unique technological and engineering solutions, but also novel architectural systems. Bryan Versteeg is a conceptual designer who’s been working with the Mars One team in anticipation of the planet’s eventual colonization.

Versteeg is the founder of, which launched in 2011 in order to focus on the conceptual visualization for space exploration after he was approached by the founders of the Mars One Foundation.

Versteeg took time away from his Martian renderings to speak with Gizmag about the project’s unique challenges and the inspirations behind his futuristic SpaceHab projects.

Gizmag: Mars One has received countless amounts of attention from both the media and persons looking for a literal one way trip to the red planet. Where do your designs fit into the project as a whole and what kind of earth-bound influences and empirical experiences were included in the process?

Versteeg: I started working with Mars One over 2 years ago, well before the entire project was announced. The plan is to design and build and ship parts of the infrastructure required to help people live on Mars, then send 4 people at a time to grow a (eventually) self sustaining settlement.

My job is to communicate what it could look like and help to identify some of the necessary parts required. At the front end of this project, my job is purely conceptual, creating images and animations that help people to relate to the mission. As we move forward however, the tasks involved are gigantic. Trying to identify the necessary building blocks of technology, industry, agriculture and society that would enable an isolated group of people to live long, healthy, happy lives is a monumental task. What excites me most is that the building blocks of a self sustaining infrastructure are something that can be used where ever people live. So much of what we learn in the development process can be used immediately here on earth. Projects like this help to identify and spur innovation in areas that could ultimately add to the quality of life. The sustainable and efficient growing of food is one of the most exciting examples of how innovation can potentially help everyone, whether they live in an isolated community, urban center, or Mars.

Mars One living spaces are designed to be comfortable but minimalist since shipping of onl...

Gizmag: What specific challenges do you foresee in designing habitats for life on Mars?

Versteeg: Designing habitats for space or other planets presents many challenges that are unique to their specific environment. We don't have the benefit of being able to use the precedents available and the lessons learned from a millennium of home design here on Earth. On Earth, every aspect of our homes has been an evolving process for generations. When designing a new home for here on Earth, you can easily choose from an endless number of variations, styles and details to customize your space, using parts and techniques you know will work. But things like doors, windows, life support systems, etc. for other planets, however, require an extensive amount of research and creativity to work in application in that world’s specific environment. Unfortunately, we don't have a significant library to choose from on the subject, so innovation in almost every aspect is required.

Versteeg's Halo like Kalpana One project comes complete with golf courses, football fields...

Gizmag: In terms of adapting to Mars' extreme climate, what ideas or requirements do you foresee when it comes to creating Martian habitats and how do you see that affecting Earth-based materials?

Versteeg: Environment in this case can be a very difficult variable to design for. In space, equipment exposed to the Sun on certain planets can bake at 250° C (482° F) but once in the shadows, the temperature can plummet below -160°C (-256° F). These temperatures will not only cause certain materials to melt or become brittle, but a 410° C (782° F) temperature fluctuation could significantly affect structural members as a result of extreme expansion or contraction.

Environment can be a very difficult variable to design for. In space, the equipment exposed to the sun can bake at 250C but once it is in shadow, can plummet below -160C. The temperature can make some materials melt or become extremely brittle and the resulting expansion and contracting can cause a lot of stress to structural members. On Mars, there is less of a temperature variable but a different environmental factor like dust that has to be taken into account. Dust can cause extra wear to small moving parts and clog filters as well as be a health hazard to the astronauts.

Gizmag: As oxygen will be a precious commodity on Mars, what engineering and architectural requirements are needed to ensure the inhabitants' safety?

Versteeg: One of the larger engineering challenges involved in working with structures for off world use is containing the atmospheric pressure required for human life. This is a critical part of life support, and as such the structural integrity of the habitat is something that cannot be compromised. Of course there are a couple of systems that are non-negotiable such as the ability to filter carbon dioxide out of the air and the security of the water filtration system.

Versteeg's 'Kalpana One' Space Station, named after Space Shuttle Columbia astronaut Kalpa...

Gizmag: What are the logistical challenges around transporting and building habitats on Mars?

Versteeg: Establishing a community that is isolated from our Earth-bound infrastructure of resources is going to be extremely difficult and challenging. That being said, I believe it is absolutely inevitable. Colonies in free space will get to a point where they can supply all of their energy and materials necessary from the Sun and mining nearby asteroids. In fact, the space stations of our dreams will only be possible by using materials processed from asteroids. The main imports for these settlements at that point will be people and unique items like seeds to help with bio-diversity of the ecosystems established within the large structures.

Establishing communities on Mars will have different difficulties than settlements in free space. Mars has a "gravity well" that complicates most aspects of delivery in either direction. Both landing and taking off require a huge amount of energy that is not easily accounted for. Another problem that further complicates the issue is Mars' distance from Earth. Only once every 26 months is there a travel window where Earth and Mars are close enough to make trips viable.

Versteeg also works with Deep Space Industries on concepts related to asteroids mining as ...

Gizmag: What are the priorities for the first inhabitants and how will their mission differ from previous extraterrestrial outings?

Versteeg: Building a settlement is a lot different than an exploration mission. To "settle" suggests that the intention is to live there indefinitely. The equipment required for settlement and the purpose and activities of a mission like this are quite different. The primary work is setting up the infrastructure that will keep the settlers alive. Establishing the systems that will replenish the life supporting supplies is paramount. The sooner that all of the food, water and air is grown, mined or produced on site from in situ resources, the safer the settlement will be. At that point, the production of larger and better shelters becomes a priority, again, using local resources to further expand development.

Gizmag: We’ve seen hundreds of thousands of people apply to become first inhabitants through the Mars One program. What kind of skill sets, personality traits, backgrounds, etc. will be best suited to adapt and survive in this unique environment?

Versteeg: The first settlers for off world development will have to be a diverse set of people with a varied set of abilities. A combination of carpenters, farmers, electricians, pipe fitters, programmers and doctors would ideally round out a functional working team. In this scenario where you have a limited number of people available for support, it’s important that everyone is able to multitask and take on a variety of duties when called upon.

Temperatures on Mars will prove to be a challenge but dust could prove to be an even bigge...

Gizmag: How important will it be to populate these habitats with persons possessing creative mindsets?

Versteeg: The importance of a creative mindset cannot be understated. When facing a challenge no one has ever faced, the ability to be innovative and produce unique solutions will be the difference between life and death. The problems being solved will have trickle down effects that can ripple throughout the Mars based populations. In space exploration, almost everything is a new experience so creative minds are a must.

Gizmag: Since there are no Martian architectural publications to rely on for inspiration, what Earth-based examples do you use in designing the MarsHab spaces?

Versteeg: I find a lot of inspiration for certain spaces from designs here on Earth. There are wonderful examples of large interior atrium's full of gardens of plants that could be analog versions of what could be built on Mars. Inflatable structures that house entire football fields also give a glimpse of the potential for larger enclosed environments.

Gizmag: What experiences and knowledge can we bring to Mars that will increase the likelihood of survival?

Versteeg: Living on any part of planet Earth requires an assortment of tools and experience to survive. In some areas, the equipment necessary for living may only be a set of gardening tools but in other regions it may require an entire network of infrastructure, equipment and community. For example, a person dropped in to the Arctic without proper equipment, experience or support will not survive, yet the Inuit people have lived for thousands of years in the region with little more than a flint, a knife and a spear. Sure Mars is more forbidding than the high Arctic, but we also have more tools than flint, a knife and a spear to work with. There is no limit to the number of tools and systems we can develop that will assist us in inhabiting and ultimately surviving on Mars.

Kalpana One was the result of a study done to improve on the existing concepts of large sc...

Gizmag: Anyone familiar with Halo will notice certain urban design similarities to the famous XBox series in your Kalpana One project. Can you tell us more about the finely manicured space station and where some of the design inspirations came from?

Versteeg: Kalpana One was the result of a study that was done to improve on the existing concepts of large scale space stations. Some of the existing concepts had problems of inherent rotational instability around their own axis. We also wanted to find a shape that would create the most "one G" living space and habitable volume per shielding and structural mass. Because of the dimensions of our design, it would take very little correction to prevent it from wobbling and also has much more habitable volume than previous designs.

I spent a lot of time working on the interior because that is ultimately where everyone would be spending their time. I wanted to create a feel of a small town that had all the amenities of a larger city. The people living farthest from the axis would have the feeling of earth gravity because of the speed of the rotation of the structure. This would enable their bones and muscles to develop like they would here on earth. This would also help a lot of the manufacturing and agricultural practices that have been refined here on earth for centuries to be used in space.

The DSI Harvester is designed to attach to nearby asteroids and subsequently mine and harv...

Gizmag: Tell us more about the vision of space harvesting being pursued by Deep Space Industries?

Versteeg: Deep Space Industries is a company I started with a group of like minded people in the space industry who wanted to explore the possibilities of utilizing unlimited resources found in space. The team is an extremely smart and versatile group of experts from around the world who collaborate in the design of vehicles for prospecting, harvesting and designing mission plans. My job is to create images that show the potential of the projects, both short term and long term. It is a difficult topic to understand so my ability to communicate our intentions to the public is a wonderful challenge.

This is one of the most exciting initiatives that I have been able to work on because of the possibilities. When human kind has access to the trillions of dollars of resources found in asteroids, the real exploration and utilization of space will begin. It will enable the building and creation of the space stations and settlements of our dreams. There will be a day when there are more people living off of the Earth than on it, and asteroid mining will be a forebearer to that expansion.

Images courtesy of Bryan Versteeg /

About the Author

The problem will always be radiation exposure. No matter how you slice the apple, the lack of a protection against the sun will limit any such fanciful ideas.

Which is not to limit imagination, but I feel even in these fine designs one should expect to see some kind of physical shielding or the hint of a energy barrier.

I suppose the idea of it would be less appealing if people had to be in perpetual darkness in order to live out their days.

Makes you appreciate living on Earth all the more.

8th April, 2014 @ 02:08 am PDT

Most plans call for these habs to be covered in regolith by robots. Once that is done, radiation is similar to living on Earth. There is nothing preventing people from typically spending hours every day outside, so, again, in that respect its not much different than Earth where most people spend most of their time in darkness or artificial lighting.

At one time, most Europeans were very thankful not not have to live in colonies up and down the Americas because were not considered fit for civilized people. Thank goodness people went anyway or the internet wouldn't be here for us to discuss it.

Philip McRell
8th April, 2014 @ 07:36 am PDT

The closed experimental environment in Arizona was intended as a safe dry run for off planet colonization. In narrow terms it failed but the failure itself is instructive and useful and since closing the idea has been revisited. Also keep in mind bad engineering issues like the ongoing issues GM has had with ignition locks and their stoic refusal to acknowledge the casualties until just recently. Any design has flaws. However being on another planet that only comes close enough, sort of, every 26 months makes getting there and back safely unlikely at best to remove crews, add new & improved gear etc. Any plan to get there in ELEVEN years is truly a death sentence. In the end the One Way Trip part is pretty much a deal breaker.

8th April, 2014 @ 10:27 am PDT

I am a Mars One candidate. Ultimately, this trek to Mars needs to be done by someone. It may be in our generation or the next, but eventually the equipment/supplies will need to tested. The human body is part of the "equipment". To a rocket scientist and to en engineer, the human body is the problem. The body is the most irritating and most limiting piece of the equation. It, too, needs to be tested. I am one of the 1058 currently on the list of Mars One candidates (Google O’Rear Mars). I liken this to any other explorer’s trip....Christopher Columbus, Ponce de Leon, Lewis and Clark, etc. They, too, set off for a new place, knowing the dangers. Many in their parties did not survive. Those who came after learned from their mistakes. The Mars One mission is not a suicide mission, as some have said. We are not attempting to kill ourselves. We are ALL on our way to death. I am not going there to die, I am going there to live. Just like everyone else, I will attempt to survive as long as possible. I am not doing this to be famous. I have a family that loves me, just like any other explorer in history. I am a child of science, and always have been. If they will have me, I will go.

Louis O'Rear
9th April, 2014 @ 09:05 am PDT

There are potential avenues for mitigating radiation using metamaterials and other technologies as well as in vivo genetic repair techniques. It may be a larger near-term challenge than some anticipate but it is likely a smaller long-term challenge than we currently fear.

Snake Oil Baron
9th April, 2014 @ 03:19 pm PDT

Loius O'Rear, I wish you the best of luck. However, I have seen no evidence that Mars One has the money to do what they are claiming they will. Few countries could do what they are claiming. You might want to look at the Mars Homesteading Society's web site, if you haven't already. I followed it for many years and they have some detail in their plans. The Mars Society also has a lot of information, and Zubrin's book, 'The Case for Mars' outlines how to get there; at a low estimate of $20 billion.

10th April, 2014 @ 01:14 pm PDT

As Arthur C Clarke predicted in his 'RAMA' series, even incredibly advanced aliens will send out space vehicles in redundant groups of three, (or more).

Any attempt to colonize Mars or anywhere else will fail unless multiple, completely functional units are sent. This assumes a lot, including the ability to hit the same spot exactly. At a minimum a complete system would have to be sent and landed with some robot assembly, testing and maintenance. Next a manned super mission could follow with colonists and another separate complete habitat/tech system. Finally a third duplicate habitat/tech complex would have to follow, but ideally this third system should either also be on Mars or waiting in orbit - just in case. In case of what? Murphy and O'Toole.

Robert Walther
12th April, 2014 @ 06:21 pm PDT

I believe that the vast majority of human habitation in space will be in free rotating habitats in space versus the old notion of being built on planetary surfaces; an approach more along the lines described by the late Gerard K. O'Neill where conditions and centrifugally induced gravity can be optimized for human requirements. Once free rotating habitats, astroid and/or lunar mining and possibly solar-to-microwave-energy-transmissions to Earth are built into a functional and (hopefully) profitable symbiosis, humanity will then commence with a great phase of a truly sustainable civilization. As the Russian rocket scientist and astro-theoretician Konstantin Tsiolkovsky said, ”Earth is the cradle of Mankind, but one cannot stay in the cradle forever.” We on Earth would be wise to not keep all our eggs on just this increasingly exhausted and increasingly swarming planet.

Custom and designer habitats offer perfect or unique climates, plus simple job opportunities (maybe tax breaks), some which will and some which won't be unique to space will continue to draw people as long it it offers what segments of various societies want.

Still several major conundrums must be overcome—sufficient radiation shielding plus lowering the cost AND the pollution of escaping Earth’s gravity.

"The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space is a 1976 book by Gerard K. O'Neill, a road map for what the United States might do in outer space after the drive to place a man on the Moon. It envisions large manned colonies in the Earth-Moon system, especially near stable Lagrangian points. These would be constructed using raw materials from the lunar surface and from Near-Earth asteroids. The colonies are to spin for simulated gravity and be illuminated by the reflected light of the sun. Solar power satellites were also proposed as part of the overall infrastructure to be built." —Wikipedia

14th April, 2014 @ 06:44 am PDT

Should put a colony on Earth's Moon,Luna,first.

A colony or station,even automated,

on Phobos or Deimos (Mars' moons)

would be the logical next step.

They are TINY,

have almost no gravity or atmosphere

so they are very easy to come&go from.

Deimos has a radius of only about 3.9 miles.

Since they are also natural satellites,

they make excellent posts to more closely study the Red Planet.

To go from Earth's Moon to Deimos or Phobos and back again is the most logical approach to start with.

Only America has visited Luna-

and only barely.

No one has been back again for over 40 years.

We should really be taking the most efficient approach.

20th April, 2014 @ 05:04 pm PDT

Seriously. We've had the technology for every single aspect of the mars on mission for ten years, and thats a conservative amount of time. We can do all of it. What's really happening is bringing the tech way past good enough so it doesn't look like people sat on their asses for ten years. Which they did. Unfortunately this whole project isn't public enough, and just like other projects that would be purely ingenius only eccentric no-whats end up involved. Lording over ideas they can't see, holding people back, and putting the right idea to shame. Its gonna happen. Or should. If the Venus Project comes together here, it will pave the way for doing things like this right.

Chris Klingensmith
25th April, 2014 @ 01:52 pm PDT
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