The “Happy Homesick” design instead embraces the “sense of place” that could be felt away from home and will now be featured at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Milan later this month.
It was created by a University of Western Sydney team including Eric Luan, Claire Basso, Robert Cameron and JD Otto in a challenge run by the University of Adelaide.
“Our concept investigates what a truly lunar or Martian architecture might look like, and whether a human born in space could feel at home there,” the team said.
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“Most visions of future space habitation simulate a controlled version of Earth to shelter from the harshness of space.
“Happy Homesick chronicles an alternative approach to lunar habitation, working with the moon as a staging ground for Mars and beyond.
“We wanted to focus on the everyday experience of future lunar settlers and cultivate a ‘sense of place’ unique to the lunar landscape.”
The inaugural Australian Space Architecture Challenge (ASAC) offered prizes including 6,000 in cash and was also supported by the Australian Space Agency and South Australian Space Industry Centre.
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The University of Adelaide’s Dr Amit Srivastava said, “Space architecture is an interdisciplinary endeavour, which brings together capabilities across the entire range of STEM fields, as well as creativity and culture.
“The competition aims to gather the emerging talent across this wide range of fields and highlight the importance of a collaborative effort in imagining our future in space. It aims to increase national capacity and inspire the next generation of the space workforce.
“We challenged students to play at the boundaries of reality and imagination and contribute a vision of the future of human habitation on the moon in 2069.”
Second prize went to Bowen Yang, Yichan Wei from University of Queensland for their concept, Lunar Urbanism, which the team see as a eulogy against minimalist mindset and the practice of asceticism.
From the University of Technology Sydney, Ihab Shamseldin and Samer El Sayary won third prize for their concept, Lunarium, which is the moon’s version of the Earth’s terrarium.
Do Dang Quang Nguyen from the University of Adelaide was given an honourable mention for Alteon VII, a concept that supports long-term living and research to fuel the “human dream”.
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
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