NASA pioneers leisure space for astronauts with launch of expandable habitats
POSTED 05 Apr 2016 . BY Kim Megson
The inflatable Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) will be attached to the International Space Station for testing, and could be the leisure space of the future Credit: Bigelow Aerospace
US space agency NASA is preparing to explore the feasibility of expandable habitats, or inflatable ‘space houses’, in a new mission that launches this Friday (8 April).
A spacecraft supplying the International Space Station (ISS) will take off at 4.43pm ET from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, loaded with research, hardware, supplies and a Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which will be thoroughly tested over the coming years.
The module – which will be filled with air and attached to ISS for a two-year test period – could be a means of providing valuable extra space for astronauts to kick back, relax and enjoy some leisure time during missions which take them further into space than ever before.
Expandable habitats greatly decrease the amount of transport volume for future space missions, as they are lightweight and require minimal payload volume on a rocket. Once they are deployed they can create a comfortable areas protected from solar and cosmic radiation, space debris, atomic oxygen, ultraviolet radiation and other elements of the harsh space environment.
The technology is likely to play an important role in future missions to Mars, as NASA seeks cost-effective and sustainable ways to bring an astronaut onto the surface of the Red Planet.
In a statement, the agency said: “NASA is looking at expandable habitats as one of the potential concepts for habitation capability in cis-lunar space. A successful BEAM demonstration on ISS will certainly be a giant stepping stone to understanding the role expandable structures could have for future space habitats.”
The concept has been funded through public-private partnerships with US industry and is co-sponsored by NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Division and Bigelow Aerospace, which pioneers innovative approaches to develop prototype systems for future human exploration missions.
If testing is successful, the BEAM could catch the interest of designers and developers determined to bring the leisure realm to the final frontier.
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NASA pioneers leisure space for astronauts with launch of expandable habitats
POSTED 05 Apr 2016 . BY Kim Megson
The inflatable Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) will be attached to the International Space Station for testing, and could be the leisure space of the future Credit: Bigelow Aerospace
US space agency NASA is preparing to explore the feasibility of expandable habitats, or inflatable ‘space houses’, in a new mission that launches this Friday (8 April).
A spacecraft supplying the International Space Station (ISS) will take off at 4.43pm ET from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, loaded with research, hardware, supplies and a Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), which will be thoroughly tested over the coming years.
The module – which will be filled with air and attached to ISS for a two-year test period – could be a means of providing valuable extra space for astronauts to kick back, relax and enjoy some leisure time during missions which take them further into space than ever before.
Expandable habitats greatly decrease the amount of transport volume for future space missions, as they are lightweight and require minimal payload volume on a rocket. Once they are deployed they can create a comfortable areas protected from solar and cosmic radiation, space debris, atomic oxygen, ultraviolet radiation and other elements of the harsh space environment.
The technology is likely to play an important role in future missions to Mars, as NASA seeks cost-effective and sustainable ways to bring an astronaut onto the surface of the Red Planet.
In a statement, the agency said: “NASA is looking at expandable habitats as one of the potential concepts for habitation capability in cis-lunar space. A successful BEAM demonstration on ISS will certainly be a giant stepping stone to understanding the role expandable structures could have for future space habitats.”
The concept has been funded through public-private partnerships with US industry and is co-sponsored by NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Division and Bigelow Aerospace, which pioneers innovative approaches to develop prototype systems for future human exploration missions.
If testing is successful, the BEAM could catch the interest of designers and developers determined to bring the leisure realm to the final frontier.
Ohio planetarium gets NASA funding to develop free-to-share content for planetariums worldwide POSTED 01 Apr 2016. BY Tom Anstey The Ward Beecher Planetarium at Youngstown State
University (YSU) in Ohio, US, has
been awarded US$650,000 (€584,600, £455,300) in
funding by NASA to support
development of 3D animation and fulldome visual
materials to be distributed for free to
planetariums worldwide.
US Astronaut Hall of Fame closes ahead of move to Kennedy Space Center POSTED 02 Nov 2015. BY Tom Anstey The Astronaut Hall of Fame at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US, has closed its
doors 25 years after it first opened to the public, with the standalone attraction being
incorporated into the new Heroes and Legends exhibit.
Russian Space Agency plans on sending tourists to ISS by 2018 POSTED 26 Mar 2015. BY Tom Anstey The Russian Space Agency is planning on taking tourists to the International Space
Station (ISS) to cover a funding deficit, which will be made when Nasa stops paying
Russia to carry astronauts to the orbiting satellite.
Anna Bjurstam has left her role as Wellness Pioneer at Six Senses Hotels and Resorts and
launched a new wellness, longevity and “consciousness consultancy” called Wahayla.
Fairmont Cheshire, The Mere, has opened today (10 July) in the Northwest of England with a
1,715sq m Fairmont Spa that has been designed using a ‘Wellness without Walls’ concept.
Wellness hotels generating less than US$1 million (€932,700, £785,200) – or 10 per cent of
total revenue from wellness and leisure – recorded the strongest RevPAR and TRevPAR growth
in 2025 across categories when compared with 2024, according to the latest Wellness Real
Estate Report by RLA Global, produced in partnership with P and L benchmarking firm HotStats.
Lefay Resorts, the portfolio of two luxury wellness properties in Italy, has added emotional
dance classes and group cold plunge sessions in response to market demand for social
connection.
The MSpa Oslo series is a perennial bestseller in global markets. With innovative
engineering and premium performance, this completely portable spa line-up is expertly
designed to meet the needs of customers worldwide. [more...]
Contrast therapy, based on the alternation of hot and cold rituals, has become one of the
most valued practices in the fields of wellness and recovery. [more...]
+ More featured suppliers
COMPANY PROFILES
Subtle Energies With 30 years of clinical research, Subtle Energies is widely recognised for its
authentic wellness [more...]
