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About SAGA
| Project | FLEXhab |
| Designer and Builder | SAGA |
| Containers | 1x 40ft HC |
| Area | 28 sqm (300 sqft) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Location | Denmark |
Set to operate fully in 2026, LUNA — the European Space Agency’s lunar training facility at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany — will simulate the harsh and unfamiliar conditions of the Moon here on Earth. Alongside it will stand a unique and fitting companion: the FLEXhab, a mobile, prefabricated living habitat designed to mimic what astronauts will experience during multi-day missions on the lunar surface.
A Scaled Lunar Living Environment
The FLEXhab serves as a near full-scale living quarter for up to four astronauts. It allows crews to train for essential routines — sleeping, eating, working, and maintaining daily functions — under conditions similar to those they will face during real lunar expeditions. While LUNA focuses on scientific and operational exercises, the FLEXhab prepares astronauts for the lived realities of life on the Moon.
Prefab Design Based on a Modified Shipping Container
The FLEXhab is constructed from a modified high-cube 40-foot shipping container, providing approximately 300 square feet of internal living space. Its exterior features a 3D-printed façade made from glass fibre reinforced polymer, coated for added weather resistance. The shape and structure echo what a lunar living unit might look like when deployed on the Moon’s surface.
Designed by SAGA, a Copenhagen-based studio known for forward-thinking spatial concepts, the FLEXhab brings together modularity, durability, and experiential simulation within a compact, movable structure.
Functional Interior for Long-Duration Training
The interior layout is intentionally compact, supporting up to four astronauts for extended stays. Inside, the habitat includes:
- Four small bedroom pods with padded berths
- A kitchenette for food preparation
- A central cabin with an airlock-style wet unit containing the toilet, sink, and shower
- A small laboratory for work and research activities
- A shared living room where crew can meet, plan, and decompress
Temperature within the FLEXhab is regulated by a pair of split AC units to maintain a stable environment regardless of external activity or heat from equipment.
Materials, Equipment, and Daily Living
The habitat incorporates natural materials like cork for interior surfaces, creating a warmer and more comfortable micro-environment. Workspaces are equipped with desks, computers, communications devices, circadian lighting, and storage systems for food, tools, and mission essentials.
Adjacent to the kitchen is a fold-away dinette that can be reconfigured to make space for a compact exercise machine — an essential element of astronaut health and conditioning. Although compact, the FLEXhab offers thoughtful design touches, including a window at the dinette that provides a view of a simulated lunar landscape.
A Glimpse Into Future Lunar Habitats
Though space is limited, the FLEXhab demonstrates how modular, container-based systems can serve as realistic training platforms for astronauts. By replicating the constraints, functions, and routines of lunar living, this prefabricated structure helps prepare crews for the practical and psychological demands of future Moon missions.
FLEXHab represents a new frontier in analog space living—a meticulously engineered habitat designed to train astronauts for the European Space Agency’s Artemis mission preparation programs. Developed for use at the European Astronaut Centre and the German Aerospace Center, the FLEXHab enables medium- to long-duration analog missions for crews of four, bringing state-of-the-art environmental systems, research capability, and human-centered design into a compact, transportable structure. Every element—light, texture, sound, temperature, materiality—is orchestrated to simulate the psychological and physical demands of lunar habitation.
Inside, the habitat feels surprisingly warm and alive. Its stimulating interior features circadian lighting integrated throughout, smart monitoring systems, and high-performance textiles that soften the precision of its engineering. Portions of the furnishings are 3D-printed from upcycled waste wood, merging sustainability with future-forward fabrication. Designed to operate in both closed-loop and non-closed-loop modes, the FLEXHab emphasizes resilience, ease of maintenance, and long-term durability—qualities essential for future off-world living.
The laboratory anchors the habitat’s scientific mission. It includes a primary workstation for hands-on experiments, a permanent computer station, and communications hardware supporting mission-control interaction. Modular thinking drives the layout: a dedicated bay for future ISPR modules, a placeholder unit delivering immediate usability, and a foldable, height-adjustable desk that tucks away entirely when not needed. Storage throughout the lab keeps tools, supplies, and experiment materials accessible yet unobtrusive, supporting a clutter-free environment crucial in confined analog habitats.
The air- and watertight airlock is a hybrid zone combining hygiene functions with EVA preparation. Designed as a full wet room, it includes a dry toilet, sink, suitport station, and hose-down capability to eliminate dust contamination between simulated surface excursions. It is engineered for both compression and decompression workflows, reflecting the exacting requirements astronauts experience during lunar missions.
Four sleeping cabins offer refuge and restoration. Each is acoustically insulated, ventilated, and outfitted with ECHOJAZZ acoustic panels to reduce noise in the compact habitat. Sliding doors maintain privacy while allowing rapid emergency egress. Thoughtful storage solutions keep personal items organized without encroaching on limited floor space, crafting a sense of calm despite the small footprint.
The galley is both a gathering space and a multifunctional core of daily life. Outfitted with Alcantara Vegan Suede bench seating, a stowable dining table, integrated storage, and a compact but fully equipped kitchen, the area transitions seamlessly from communal meals to quiet downtime. A built-in cupola with hidden screens can simulate the shifting lunar landscape, immersing the crew in mission-like views. When needed, the galley transforms into a workout area, with exercise equipment stored discreetly until use. Dual AC units maintain climate control and can be individually operated, giving crew members direct agency over comfort.
At the center of its technological ecosystem is ODIN, SAGA’s integrated habitat operating system. Running on the main computer, ODIN connects all internal devices and systems, logs operational data, communicates with mission control, and provides intuitive dashboards for crew interaction. It supports alerts, automations, and environmental controls, forming the digital backbone of the habitat.
Material choices throughout the FLEXHab counter the sterility often associated with space interiors. Natural textures—such as cork and advanced soft-touch textiles—bring tactile richness, warmth, and psychological comfort. These elements, combined with controlled lighting and acoustic strategies, help reduce sensory fatigue and monotony during long-duration missions.
A highlight of FLEXHab’s human-centered engineering is its advanced circadian lighting. Since sleep deprivation remains one of the greatest challenges in spaceflight, the lighting system is designed to regulate circadian rhythms through carefully timed spectrums and intensities of light. Embedded into the 3D-printed roof, the system wakes the crew with a sunrise effect, transitions through daylight-mimicking cycles, and shifts to calmer wavelengths in the evening. These subtle modulations help maintain alertness, emotional balance, and the sense of day and night that is so often disrupted away from Earth.
Through its automated lighting behavior, material comfort, operational flexibility, and modular laboratory systems, the FLEXHab creates a living environment that is both realistic and restorative. It is not merely a training vessel—it is an architectural and technological rehearsal for humanity’s return to the Moon, demonstrating how small, intelligently designed habitats can sustain life, research, and well-being far beyond Earth.
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About SAGA
At the intersection of imagination and practicality lies our vision of architecture—turning dreams into reality through a meticulous balance of art and data. Our commitment is to shape environments that inspire, connect, and elevate human well-being.
Space Architecture
Our space architecture is grounded in human well-being. We adapt Earth-centric design principles to make extraterrestrial environments feel familiar, safe, and intuitive—placing human evolutionary needs at the forefront. Every habitat, module, and structure is designed to nurture people living far from home.
Earth Architecture
We design for planet Earth with an ambition to enhance everyday life. By integrating insights from space research, technological innovation, and the character of local environments, we push the boundaries of conventional forms. Our architecture strives to be both refined and resilient—built for the present and prepared for the future.
SAGA Labs
Our labs develop the technologies that transform ideas into reality. Through hardware, firmware, and software development, we prototype, test, and refine tools that support our architectural visions. Exploration and innovation are the foundations of our work.
Workshop & Fabrication
At the heart of our office lies an expansive workshop directly connected to our design studio—a dynamic environment where creativity becomes tangible. From rough plywood mockups to flight-proven space hardware, this is where concepts evolve into physical prototypes.
The metal workshop supports comprehensive metal fabrication, while the machine shop—equipped with a full-bed CNC and laser cutter—enables the creation of full-scale mockups and structural components.
Our 3D-printing lab houses five Prusa printers used for architectural models, component housings, and rapid prototyping. The electronics workshop brings technological functionality to life through testing and development.
This fusion of traditional craft and advanced manufacturing defines our DNA. Every sketch, model, and idea receives the opportunity to become a tested, validated reality—allowing us to continuously push the boundaries of architecture and design.
Method
Our design philosophy is called Terra-Tech. “Terra,” meaning Earth, and “tech,” referring to technology, express our belief that technology can lead to solutions as elegant and functional as those found in nature. We employ tools such as topology optimization, generative design, 3D-printing, and holographic assembly—yet we remain anchored in our biological, social, and cultural foundations.
Technology supports our creativity, but nature guides it. Millions of years of evolution provide a design reference unmatched in intelligence and efficiency.
Why Outer Space
Space habitation is essential to human progress. To stop exploring is to halt advancement. Our work focuses on human-centric space exploration, integrating mental health, community dynamics, and social sustainability into the life-support systems of future habitats.
Tabula Rasa
We begin every project with a blank slate—discarding assumptions about what architecture should be. Our objective is to uncover the essential truths of design. By prioritizing material authenticity, cultural sustainability, and human needs, we aim to create architecture that allows people not only to survive, but to thrive.
Sustainability
To us, sustainability is not a limitation but a catalyst. It opens possibilities for richer and more stimulating environments. It is an opportunity to rethink and rebuild the way we live with our planet.
Creating the architecture of the future requires challenging the status quo and pushing past conventional boundaries. Our approach combines natural intelligence with cutting-edge advancements—digital fabrication, material science, generative design—to create structures that are environmentally efficient, socially responsive, and economically viable.
The future we envision is one where sustainable living is not a burden but a compelling, intuitive, and joyful choice.
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SAGA Studio ApS
Bådehavnsgade 38 port 1
2450 Copenhagen
Denmark
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Vietnam
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https://www.dlr.de/en/blog/archive/2025/the-flexhab-space-habitat-moon-living-on-earth
https://www.saga.dk/projects/flexhab