Space Homes Will Be Built Out of What’s Already There

(Bloomberg) -- Mankind has long been fascinated by the prospect of living in space. Now, companies are trying to make that aspiration a reality.

In episode two of Giant Leap, a Bloomberg Originals series, you can learn about the businesses working in partnership with the International Space Station to get people on Mars. A manmade marvel, the ISS serves as the linchpin for the businesses looking to push the boundaries of human living beyond Earth—while also trying to cash in.

“It’s the one and only non-terrestrial human outpost,” says Dr. Richard Leach, the chief strategy officer of the ISS. “We’ve had a constant human footprint in orbit for almost 20 years because of the International Space Station.”

However, federal funding for the ISS is slated to run out in 2025, which is where private companies looking to capitalize come into the picture. “Transferring to a more commercial model is allowing industry to take over many of those areas that NASA has traditionally been responsible for,” says Sam Scimemi, the director for the ISS. “The most exciting part I think is new opportunities and new innovations.”

For David Malott, chief executive of AI Space Factory, constructing buildings and homes on Mars is his life’s mission. He was inspired by billionaire Elon Musk’s work to land rockets on platforms floating in the ocean: “It’s always been my dream,” says Malott, “to put a building on the moon or Mars.”

His company’s strategy is to use materials already in space to then build habitats for humans. Trying to bring materials from Earth “would be so exorbitantly expensive—you would never be able to build in the first place.”

See Giant Leap, episode one: The Race Is On to Corner the Satellite Launch Market
See Giant Leap, episode three: Space Manufacturing May Soon Remake the Planet Below

To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Rovella at drovella@bloomberg.net

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