Lockheed Martin's Deep-Space Habitat Close Up

Lockheed Martin is one of seven U.S. companies at work on deep-space habitat concepts that would link to Orion to house four astronauts on missions to lunar orbit lasting up to 60 days, perhaps on a 180-day voyage to an asteroid and eventually on a 2-3-year roundtrip journey to Mars.

The mockup, which outwardly resembles the U.S. segment of the International Space Station with its 6.5-meter-long (21.3-ft.), 4.5-meter-dia. aluminum alloy, is a far tighter squeeze. It has space for just four crew: 25 cu. meters (883 cu. ft.) of living space compared with the 400 cu. meters accessible to the station's six-member crews.

In addition to living space, the lower compartment provides space for food and water. Food, and the packaging around it, will provide a shield of sorts against radiation in space, according to Bill Pratt, Lockheed's NextSTEP habitat program manager. 

Where would astronauts sleep in this habitat? In sleeping bags, of course, strapped to the walls with bungee cords.

A drawing depicts the inside of the Orion crew capsule.

Here is the list of supplies necessary to equip a four-person, 30-day mission to cislunar space.

The mockup includes computer workstations that could be used to command robots conducting missions on the Moon or Mars.

Exercise is critical for maintaining the health of space travelers. Depending on the orientation, this treadmill is positioned on the floor—or the ceiling.