This course examines the architectural and mission design challenges associated with the first human expedition to Mars. It explores how built environments can support survival, enable scientific discovery, and foster international collaboration in one of the most extreme and resource-constrained contexts ever faced by humankind.
Participants will work in teams to analyse and develop concepts for mission architecture that address the entire timeline of a crewed Mars mission:
- Transit Phase: 6–9 months of deep-space travel
- Surface Phase: Approximately 500 days of scientific operations on the Martian surface
- Return Phase: Safe transit back to Earth
Each team will formulate a mission scenario and produce a conceptual architectural design for either:
- a spacecraft to support the full crew during interplanetary transit, or
- a Martian habitat enabling life, work, and research during the extended surface stay.
The course emphasizes systems thinking, cultural and operational integration, and architectural strategies to address life-support, human factors, resource-oriented thinking and sustainability in long-duration spaceflight.
There are no prerequisite courses required. Below are some literature recommendations:
Mars Exploration & Mission Studies
NASA (2009): Human Exploration of Mars Design Reference Architecture (DRA) 5.0
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/373665main_nasa-sp-2009-566.pdf
Robert Zubrin (2011): The Case for Mars
Scott Hubbard (2019): Exploring Mars: Chronicles from a Decade of Discovery
Books & Academic Publications from our Library
Haeuplik-Meusburger, S., & Bishop, S. (2021). Space Habitats and Habitability: Designing for Isolated and Confined Environments on Earth and Space. Springer.
E: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-69740-2
D: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-25492-5
Haeuplik-Meusburger, S., & Bannova, O. (2016). Space Architecture Education for Engineers and Architects. Springer.
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-19279-6
Haeuplik-Meusburger, S. (2011). Architecture for Astronauts: An Activity-Based Approach. Springer.
https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-7091-0667-9
Online Books, Reports and Videos
Booklets from previous design studios: https://www.yumpu.com/user/emergingfields
Lectures on ‚Extreme Architecture‘ from the module ‚Emerging Fields in Architecture‘: https://www.youtube.com/@EmergingFieldsinArchitecture
Science Fiction References
Clarke, A.C. (1973). Rendezvous with Rama.
Schrattmayer, K. (2021). The Exodus Incident. Springer.
Some More Useful USEFUL LINKS
A NASA Archive of Technical Research Reports and Papers:
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/
An Online Bibliography of Past Papers and Reports by Space Architects:
Vortragende Personen
