Lunar living inside giant glass bubbles — NASA's plan to grow habitats from Moon dust
NASA has unveiled a bold plan to send astronauts to live on the Moon inside large glass bubbles grown from the Moon’s own dust. The concept is being researched under NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, with a focus on in-situ construction to cut the cost of shipping materials from Earth. Tiny pieces of lunar glass—the glass that forms part of the Moon's regolith—would be collected on the lunar surface and melted using a 'smart microwave furnace' to blow a bubble that solidifies into a transparent habitat. A U.S. space engineering company, Skyeports, has already demonstrated that glass spheres can be blown from lunar dust. The goal is to scale those tests from inches to hundreds or thousands of feet in diameter, creating usable homes for crews.
From lunar regolith to shelter: how the bubbles would be built
Lunar regolith is rich in silicates—up to 60% of the dust. The plan envisions melting this material on the Moon to form glass using a 'smart microwave furnace.' The molten glass would be blown into concentric bubbles to build the shell of a large lunar habitat. Enormous gas pipes would blow the melted glass and would later be repurposed to form the entrance once the bubble is created. The target size for a full habitat is between about 1,000 and 1,600 feet in diameter. Interior fittings could be 3D-printed using materials gathered from the Moon, and metals such as titanium, magnesium, and calcium would be mixed into the raw compound to strengthen the structure. The glass is a polymer-based material that can reorganise itself after breaks caused by micrometeoroids or moonquakes. Layers of bubbles could also allow condensation, enabling plants to grow and to produce oxygen, while solar panels would generate power for the system.
A future of glass cities on the Moon — and beyond
The concept is part of the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, with tests planned in a thermal vacuum chamber in January, then in a microgravity environment, and eventually on the International Space Station—before trials on the Moon within the next few years. Skyeports’ founder, Dr. Martin Bermudez, envisions entire cities of glass spheres connected by glass bridges, possibly extending into orbit one day. He has long been interested in space and wants to use his architecture background to create habitats on the Moon or Mars. The Moon habitats would be designed to be self-sustaining, with interior fittings 3D-printed from lunar materials, and a system that could produce oxygen through plant life and harvest solar energy. Artemis timelines place a return to the Moon under Artemis III by 2027, with a longer-term goal of a lunar village by 2035. Bermudez says, “You will never replicate Earth, but this is something that gets pretty close, and we could even put them into orbit one day.” The study sits alongside other research, such as proposals to build on the Moon using bricks made from lunar dust when zapped with lasers, and highlights how in-situ melting of lunar glass could transform future space exploration and habitation.
