Beautiful new images of space settlement Kalpana One

Lava tubes are a great idea for habitats on the moon. I wonder if such might be available on large asteroids. On the other hand, the exhaust from a nuclear light bulb thruster runs around 20,000 kelvins, which would work quite well to drill whatever size tunnels you want on Luna or any other rock and the walls should be glass smooth and air tight.
I expect that a tunnel 30 meters high would be just fine for us. One way to find the limits of such habitation might be to get a bunch of people to live for an extended time in a mall, something on the size of the Galleria. Their ceilings are about that tall and the feeling of spaciousness should be adequate for humans.
Gary 7

> I'm thinking this could be a great alternative for underground habitats.

Yes, it solves a lot of problems with, say, living in a lunar lava tube.
Cover the roof of the tube with LED panels, treat it like the sky, and
build buildings (and plant trees, etc.) under it, and you'd have a nice
outdoorsy feel, while being fully protected from the hazards of space.

Best,
- Joe

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