Microalgae and Water-filled ETFE Panel System for Lunar Structures and Life Support: a Conceptual Design

ANNA POLOMSKA

2026.79.0194

DOI https://doi.org/10.59332/jbis-079-06-0194

Establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon requires innovative solutions to address various challenges. These include transporting or utilising available resources, generating energy, providing life support, and creating structures that can withstand extreme environments. Within the field of space architecture, these challenges extend beyond engineering efficiency to questions of how we could utilise biomaterials to propose biological and structural systems that could be integrated into design. Microalgae, for instance, present unique abilities, such as recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen, making them valuable for developing closed-loop bioregenerative life support systems (BLSS), as well as supplemental and bioenergy sources. This research introduces a conceptual architectural design that incorporates microalgae with water-filled Ethylene Tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) panels, reimagining habitat structures as transparent, multifunctional bioreactors. This idea serves as a structural element as well as a component of BLSS, offering new perspectives for long-duration missions towards bio-habitats. The methodology is based on a review of existing literature and analysis of microalgae cultivation experiments. Based on that, the study highlights the benefits of using microalgae, and evaluates how their integration with water-filled ETFE panels can serve lunar habitation through carbon dioxide sequestration, oxygen production, biomass generation, and potential radiation shielding provided by the water medium. The transparency, flexibility, and durable properties of ETFE, enable to create enclosed bioreactor environments within structural elements – advantages that surpass traditional glassin terms of impact resistance, thermal behaviour, and mass efficiency. This conceptual design demonstrates how biological components can be used in lunar habitats, and explores a different approach to space habitation that pushes for a more sustainable and human-centred vision. Further research should focus on prototyping and testing the system under simulated lunar conditions to assess feasibility and refine performance.
Keywords: Space architecture, Lunar Habitat, Bio-habitat, ETFE, Microalgae, Life Support System, Bioregenerative System, Speculative Design, Design for Lunar Lava Tube.

Keywords: Space architecture, Lunar Habitat, Bio-habitat, ETFE, Microalgae, Life Support System, Bioregenerative System, Speculative Design, Design for Lunar Lava Tube