The Design Brief

Designs must respect physical dimensions, spatial relationships, structural plausibility, human scale, and the laws of physics. Visuals must accurately reflect the geometry and scale of the proposed habitat.

Emerging or speculative technologies may be proposed, but established technology must be clearly distinguished from technology requiring future development. Critical habitat functions may not depend on unexplained or physically unsupported technologies.

The habitat must be designed for four crew members simultaneously, with no more than four accommodated at any time.

Total pressurized, crew-accessible volume shall not exceed 100 m³. Structural voids, unpressurized service spaces, external equipment, and permanently inaccessible volumes are excluded. The airlock counts towards the 100 m³.

Every submission must explicitly specify: the anticipated medical risks of long-duration exposure to lunar gravity plus at least one architectural, mechanical, operational, or physiological countermeasure (with its expected benefit, limitations, and operational requirements); approximate location on the Moon; primary power source; primary materials used.

Due 16 October 2026. Team name, team members, preliminary habitat concept, proposed lunar location, primary power source, primary materials, the three chosen subsystem domains, a preliminary gravity countermeasure, and a 1–2 page technical/architectural proposal (11-point font, double-spaced).

A cover section stating the team's name, school, and full names of all team members. The body details purpose, design philosophy, methodology, and how everything complements each other — the ideology behind the approach, factors considered, the number of flights needed (if applicable), well-defined assumptions, and room for margin.

Four renders total: one “hero” macro image showing how everything fits together holistically and how it feels to live there, plus three small renders highlighting each of the three chosen subsystems and how those systems work.

People's Choice is determined by conference attendees based on the exhibited submission, including renders, drawings, models, and supporting materials.