Source: Sierra Nevada CorporationSierra Nevada Corporation, a United States Aerospace Company, has unveiled its full-scale prototype of an inflatable habitat that could one day accommodate astronauts in deep space.

Unveiled on August 21 at Johnson Space Center in Houston, the three-floor module is roughly 27 ft in diameter and 27 ft long with an estimated internal volume of 10,000 ft³. The module's first floor is designated for food and equipment storage while the second floor is a designated farming module where astronauts can grow food via an astrogarden, which is a wall of plants. Additionally, the second floor also offers storage for laboratory instruments to be used in experiments and the third floor is a designated sleeping and dining module.

At one-third the volume of the International Space Station, the inflatable module can be compressed, stored and transported in a single launch payload. The module is composed of vectron, which is a lightweight material used in the manufacturing of bulletproof vests. As such, the module can shrink down to roughly 10 ft and fit in the payload fairings of most standard heavy duty rockets. Once transported, the module can be deployed and inflated in just a matter of days, according to its developers.

In January of 2018, Sierra Nevada Corporation was one of just five companies tasked with creating a prototype of astronaut living quarters for NASA’s Lunar Gateway project, which will reportedly function as a platform for future deep space missions. However, NASA eventually awarded a contract to Northrup Grumman to build the modules for the gateway.

For now, it is unclear what will become of the inflatable prototype, but its developers believe that as the gateway grows, more habitats will be necessary.