Image provided by XArc: Lunar Settlement Concept designed by XArc with Artist: Vanghan

BENEATH THE MOON

Designing lunar habitats for protection & permanence

Based on an interview with

Sam Ximenes
Founder and Space Architect
Exploration Architecture Corporation (XArc)and Astroport Space Technologies

The future lunar base may not sit entirely on the surface. It may extend below it.

As plans for sustained lunar operations continue to evolve, engineers and architects are looking beneath the Moon’s surface for solutions to some of the harshest challenges of living beyond Earth. Lava tubes, massive underground tunnels formed by ancient volcanic activity, are emerging as one of the most promising environments for long-term lunar habitation.

The path to permanent lunar presence begins with infrastructure. Landing pads, power systems, excavation tools, and construction technologies all serve as the foundation for what eventually becomes a functioning lunar settlement.

BUILDING BEFORE LIVING

Before humans can live on the Moon long term, the environment itself must be prepared.

Astroport has spent the last several years developing technologies that use lunar regolith to create construction materials directly on the Moon. Using local resources reduces the need to launch massive amounts of building material from Earth while helping establish the infrastructure required for future operations.

One of the company’s primary focuses is the creation of lunar bricks used to construct landing pads and foundational surfaces. These systems are designed to address one of the Moon’s most persistent hazards: regolith plume ejecta.

When spacecraft land on untreated lunar surfaces, rocket exhaust can blast sharp, abrasive lunar dust across large distances. Without landing pads, that material could damage habitats, rovers, power systems, and other critical infrastructure.

As lunar activity increases, protecting infrastructure becomes just as important as building it.

Shown: Marius Hill Pit, skylight entrance to a lunar lava tube.
Image credit is NASA.

THE CASE FOR LAVA TUBES

While surface infrastructure remains essential, long-term habitation may ultimately move underground.

Lava tubes provide natural shielding from radiation, micrometeorites, and the extreme temperature swings that occur on the lunar surface. Some underground environments may remain at relatively stable temperatures compared to the severe lunar day-night cycle above.

That stability could dramatically improve survivability for future habitats, equipment, and long-duration human missions.

The concept begins with naturally occurring openings called skylights, which serve as entrances into the underground tunnels. These massive caverns may eventually support larger living volumes than traditional surface habitat modules while reducing exposure to the hostile lunar environment.

POWERING A PERMANENT PRESENCE

Power remains one of the central challenges of a lunar settlement.

Solar energy is valuable, but the Moon’s 14-day lunar night creates major limitations for continuous operations. Maintaining batteries and systems through those extended cold periods becomes increasingly difficult. According to Ximenes, nuclear systems will likely play a critical role in supporting long-term lunar infrastructure.

That infrastructure-first approach shapes how future lunar bases may evolve. Landing pads, power generation, excavation systems, transportation routes, and underground habitats all become interconnected pieces of a larger operational environment.

The Moon is steadily transitioning from exploration toward permanence.

Future settlements may still rely on the surface for transportation, logistics, storage, and industry, but some of humanity’s safest and most enduring lunar habitats could ultimately exist beneath it.

ABOUT XARC

XArc is a network of skilled professionals at the forefront of the new revolution in commercial spaceflight, pushing the frontiers of human settlement for space exploration.

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