Interstellar Lab, a Parisian research group, is looking to simulate building and living conditions on Mars in the Mojave Desert. The group’s founder and CEO, Barbara Belvisi, believes that the extreme sustainability issues astronauts will face on Mars are like those that many scientists believe are required to help solve sustainability issues we face here on Earth. Belvisi states that “what we need to bring on Mars for life is what we need to protect Earth right now.”
Their aim is to create a “closed-loop, environment-controlled village” that will feature systems required for life on Mars. These systems include “water treatment, waste management, and food production” (designbloom.com), and the goal of the design is to create a truly net-zero village.
The village will serve two primary functions. During one half of the year, the village will be a dedicated research facility, where researchers focus on how we can inhabit other planets. The other half of the year, the village will be monetized and open to tourists who are interested in an “extreme sustainability lifestyle.”
Interstellar Lab hopes to begin construction in 2021.