LOON—An Exploration of Lunar-Native Urban Planning

• Published in: Earth and Space 2021
• Main Authors: Montes, Jeffrey, Hudgins, Ethan, Cannon, Kevin M., Lordos, George, van Susante, Paul, Cohen, Lindsey
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech 2021
• Subjects: Urban and regional development; Space construction; Moon; Building information modeling; Construction management; Construction engineering; Aerospace engineering; Architectural engineering; Antarctica; Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics; Mechanical Engineering; McMurdo Station; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/15795; https://doi.org/10.1061/9780784483374.105

Intentionally or not, Earth’s Moon will serve as a competitive laboratory for extreme settlement technology, policy, planning, and design. Loon explores the influence of building information models (BIM) as an approach to lunar urban planning and aims to add insights from experiences and practices on Earth including McMurdo Station in Antarctica and construction management and development planning best practices. Rather than a specific town plan, Loon attempts the development of a three-dimensional BIM—a tool that informs decision making in design and planning by “encoding” geometry with environmental, programmatic, and performative information.