Lockheed Martin is working on a “space RV” of sorts that could be used as a home for up to four astronauts on the surface of places like Mars or the moon.
The company was among six private companies that entered into a $65 million contract with NASA to build a prototype of the habitat this year, Inverse reports. All six companies will develop a prototype and then present it to NASA, which will ultimately select a “winner” to build a production model of the spacecraft.
Other companies in the running include Boeing, Sierra Nevada’s Space Systems, Orbital ATK, NanoRacks, and Bigelow Aerospace. Lockheed is the first to show off its prototype, which was unveiled last week at Kennedy Space Center.
Measuring just 22 feet long and 15 feet in diameter, it looks a lot like something that could be used for camping on earth. In addition to passengers, it will also feature life support machines, sleep stations, and exercise machines.
If approved, the structure would orbit the moon on the Deep Space Gateway space station that is to be used as a jumping off point to other destinations.