Abstract
Before humans had even stepped foot on the lunar surface, the idea of establishing a base was discussed extensively, with design possibilities and environmental studies. The lunar environment presents numerous challenges to surface structural designs as well as human survival. This paper reviews concepts and challenges and proposes a new design concept based on a hybrid-inflatable framework.
•New hybrid inflatable concept shows promise as a lunar base.•Autonomously deployed transforming structure reduces human presence for base setup.•Hybrid concept shifts from a 5-bar linkage mechanism into 4-bar linkage.•Static analysis of hybrid concept shows strong performance under lunar environment.