Living in space: Purdue researchers examine ways to live outside Earth

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) -A team at Purdue is thinking outside the box — and this world.

Last year, the New Horizons grant was launched by Purdue University to create new academic areas. The first recipients of the grant are proposing to create a program in extraterrestrial habitat engineering.

Professor Antonio Bobet said the team will be “looking at potential settlements outside Earth” and Purdue has the expertise to do so.

Bobet is one of the principal investigators of the program. He will work with three other professors, including distinguished professor Jay Melosh.

“We’re gonna build the hotels and the gas stations,” Melosh said. “Figure out how to do that. That will allow humans to really occupy space,” Melosh continued.

Melosh said NASA has focused on the vehicles to get to space. His team will provide the infrastructure to live out there and identify risks and hazards.

“There’s no air; there’s low gravity; there’s radiation; there’s meteorite impacts,” Melosh said. “There are wild temperature changes. How do you deal with all that?”

The investigators will work to modify and develop technologies and systems.

“How do we modify a Caterpillar tractor to work on Mars instead of on the Earth?” Melosh said.

Melosh expects many people will get involved from Purdue, including undergraduates, graduate students and post-doctoral researchers.

“In fact, we’re already talking to other people – not only in engineering – but also in the sciences, in the social sciences. There’s a sociological aspect too,” Melosh said.

Bobet is excited that Purdue is putting so much trust in extraterrestrial habitat engineering.

“I think that there is a great opportunity for the … entire university, also for the U.S., to be a leader on this,” Bobet said.

The team will present its vision for the initiative at 9 a.m. Jan. 27. The seminar will be inside the Neil Armstrong Hall on Purdue’s campus.