A Texas company that builds 3D printed houses is helping create NASA’s fake Martian habitat, where people will spend a year. Looked.

• NASA recently announced that it is looking for volunteers to spend a year on a fake Martian surface.

• The 3D printed structure of the habitat is built by Icon, a Texas construction technology company.

• Icon worked with BIG Architects, who designed the habitat to be a comfortable yet supportive space.

• See more stories on the Insider business page.

NASA is looking for volunteers to spend 12 months pretending to live on Mars.

The US agency will select four volunteers, who will be paid to participate in the simulated Martian exploration mission.

The structure, known as the Mars Dune Alpha, is a collaboration between Icon and the architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group.

Icon is a company that seamlessly constructs buildings on site without having to assemble individual units.

The company’s 3D printer, known as the Vulcan, will produce layers of cement to simulate a realistic Mars. The habitat aims to inform and support the health and performance of crews for future missions.

3D printed houses are more and more popular. They are quick to build and in some cases printing a house only takes a few hours.

In 2019, Icon partnered with New Story, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, to produce a small 350-square-foot house that took just 48 hours to build.

When fully built, Mars Dune Alpha will include a customizable part for each crew member.

“We wanted to develop the most faithful analog possible to help humanity dream of expanding into the stars,” said Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO of Icon.

Mars Dune Alpha will be a 1,700 square foot structure located at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

The Johnson Space Center is described as a hub of human spaceflight activity. The results of the analog ground missions taking place here help NASA prepare for the real challenges of space exploration.

The layout of the Martian surface will be organized in a gradient of intimacy.

Four private crew quarters will be located at one end of the structure, while a treatment room and robot station will be based at the other. A recreation area and kitchen will be in the middle.

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Lavacrete is used in construction. The material is a cement-based mixture usually comprising red sprayed lava rock, cement and water.

Dedicated workstations, medical stations and subsistence farming stations will be located within the habitat.

Mars Dune Alpha will have varying ceiling heights segmented vertically by an arched shell structure.

This is designed to accentuate the unique experience of each area and avoid spatial monotony and crew member fatigue.

There will be a mix of stationary and movable furniture.

This will allow the crew members to rearrange the habitat according to their daily needs.

The habitat will also include customizable lighting, temperature and sound control.

These features are intended to help regulate the daily routine, circadian rhythm, and general well-being of crew members.

“This is the highest fidelity simulated habitat ever built by humans,” said Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO of Icon.

The creation of the Martian habitat has shown that construction-scale 3D printing is an essential part of humanity’s toolkit on Earth, as well as going to the moon and Mars, added Ballard.

Candidates for the Martian mission must be between 30 and 55 years old and in good physical health.

They should not be prone to motion sickness. Candidates should also be prepared to eat the spaceflight-like diet provided during the analog mission.

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