Project Gradient: design of a dual occupancy lunar habitat for use with renewable propulsion systems

Focusing on the current developments in spacecraft aiming to send humans back to the moon, this paper outlines a two man lunar habitat to either be delivered by space tether transportation or be used alongside tethers when building larger habitations. This concept habitat aims to produce a design that can be built quickly and fully support the needs of it’s inhabitants without resupply, lending itself to applications such as an emergency shelter or a habitat to accompany the build of a larger lunar colony. Focus was placed on technologies with a high technology readiness level while considering developments that showed ability to increase operational efficiency such as the introduction of brine processing in water recycling systems. The final concept produced suggested feasibility of a single launch dual occupancy habitat, bridging a key gap in lunar development between initial landing and larger habitat designs.