What will life look like for humans on the moon? Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has an idea. The architecture, urban planning, and engineering firm has just released a first look at their conceptual designs for what they're calling "Moon Village," the first permanent settlement for human life on the moon , which will be planned, designed, and engineered entirely by SOM (though the entire operation is a joint collaboration with the European Space Agency and MIT). The project will need to provide resources for human life to survive long-term on the lunar surface, which raises hurdles that don't come into question with life on Earth, including "radiation protection, pressure differentials, and how to provide breathable air,” says Colin Koop, one of the project's design partners, in a press statement. He also states that resiliency and self-sufficiency are essential. It's unclear how many people the project can accommodate.

An interior view of a hangar.

Comprised of a series of three-to-four story modules that are individually pressurized, the structures will inflate and expand to allow for future growth. The modules will house essential spaces like living quarters and workstations, as well as environmental controls and life-support systems. The proposed design places the structure on the rim of the Shackleton Crater, which will allow it to receive continuous daylight year-round. The sunlight is essential to harness energy and fuel experiments, as well as generate food and other essentials to sustain human life; water collected from the areas permanently shadowed will create breathable air and rocket fuel. Each of the modules will be clustered together to allow for continuous movement between sections.

A drawing of how the modules fit together.

"We’re coming to grips with the reality that there’s a finite set of resources on this planet. It can’t hold all of the capacity of the human population forever — especially as we live longer and find new ways to extend the healthy portions of our life," says Koop in a Medium post from SOM. "The obvious next step is to find a way to expand the human footprint beyond planet Earth."