A model residence where people can live inflating like a balloon in space, the Space Colonies Research Center of the Tokyo University of Sciences and the main general contractor Shimizu Construction, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXAJaxa) made a prototype and they launched it on the 30th at the Onoda Campus (Noda City, Chiba Prefecture).
The model housing is made of polyester fiber fabric and folds up to 1 meter long and 50 centimeters thick so that it can be easily launched with a rocket before use. When it is inflated with air, it becomes a habitable space shaped like a kamaboko that is approximately 8 meters long, 5 meters wide and 2.5 meters high.
The interior is now empty, but in the future, experiments such as vegetable cultivation and water purification will be carried out. In the future, participants from other universities and private companies will be invited to establish new technologies such as energy supply and food production.
Chiaki Mukai, director of the research center and astronaut, said: “It is difficult to compete with Russia, the United States and China with rockets and satellites, but I think Japan can win in the field of clothing, food and housing.” Was.