Space Habitats & Safety
There is no doubt that the next ambitious space program, to which the global scientific and technical community will contribute, is the development of space habitats for long-term use. Therefore, we have to design experimental setups to develop and test aspects that contribute to such a livable space habitat.
Designing space habitats on Earth faces at least five fundamental challenges for long-term space exploration: simulation of artificial gravity, development of efficient radiation protection, design of sustainable nutrition, development of infrastructure on-site with (scarce) available resources under extreme environmental conditions and finding cost-efficient solutions.
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Outer space meets underground space
Underground space offers conditions that closely resemble key aspects of extraterrestrial environments. Shielded from radiation, weather and external disturbances, it provides a stable, confined and controllable setting — ideal for simulating isolation, autonomy and long-term operation.
At The Underground Future Lab, underground space is used as a real-scale analogue environment for space habitat research. This allows technologies, materials and systems to be tested over extended periods, under realistic operational constraints, before deployment in space or other extreme environments.
By bringing space research underground, complex systems can be validated safely, efficiently and cost-effectively — accelerating innovation while reducing risk.
Projects at The Underground Future Lab
The Underground Future Lab allows simulating conditions to test and develop solutions for all five fundamental challenges on different scales.
Examples include:
- the creation of centrifugal effects for artificial gravity
- textile tests to prove radiation protection
- underground farming for sustainable nutrition
- and providing test fields for robots for space habitat exploration
Inflatable Space Habitat
A recent highlight is the collaboration with the ONA – Orbital Nation Association and AkashaLabdhi Pvt. Ltd., including the demonstration of an inflatable space habitat. These activities explore how adaptable habitat concepts can support future missions in orbit or on planetary surfaces.
Mars Habitat Challenge
The Hagerbach Test Gallery seeks innovative startups to create solutions for the ambitious concept of habitation on Mars or other celestial bodies.
Solutions encompass products/services facilitating sustainable living conditions on Mars, spanning construction, energy, environmental management, health, transportation, food production, and communication.
The overarching objective is to establish a self-sufficient habitat guided by circular economy principles.
Mission Earth First
The Hagerbach Test Gallery serves as a founding partner of Mission Earth First, an initiative focused on bridging underground and outer space environments. Mission Earth First boasts a robust multi-disciplinary partner network, collectively embodying expertise in innovation, inspiration, and the demonstration of underground spaces.
Collaborating with new partners from the space industry, our goal is to discover innovative approaches to enhance the resilience, sustainability, and future readiness of life on Earth and future space missions.
ESA BIC Switzerland
The Hagerbach Test Gallery is a testing ground and one of the partners of a broad network who help supporting ESA BIC Switzerland. The ESA Business Incubation Centre Switzerland (ESA BIC CH) is a nationwide initiative powered by the European Space Agency (ESA) and one of the world’s leading universities: ETH Zurich.
Underground Green Farming
The SCAUT project 'Underground Green Farming' and the ongoing Innosuisse project address the development challenge of food security by growing food underground. Utilizing underground spaces ensures stable climate conditions, eliminating the need for extensive cooling or heating.
Additionally, sustainable closed-loop technologies enable efficient water recycling, resulting in a significantly lower CO2 footprint compared to conventional farming methods above ground or in greenhouses.
Robotics
Robotic technologies, like remote-controlled vehicles or autonomous devices, have great potential for use in real-world situations, especially in surveillance and post-disaster scenarios. These technologies can assist rescue workers by providing effective solutions while reducing their risks. However, developing robots suitable for rescue work requires meeting specific criteria such as durability, speed, versatility, and ease of use, which current robots may not fully address.
Hagerbach provides the infrastructure and controlled environment to support the development of robots in a near-real-scale setting. The Hagerbach Test Gallery offers space for, e.g., ground and indoor aerial robots, marine systems, and testing human-robot interfaces, evaluating how well they meet the needs of extreme conditions."
Example of a current Robotics test: Together with ETH Zurich, ANYbotics used their four-legged robots ANYmal to autonomously explore our tunnel system. It made a significant contribution to the CERBERUS team winning first place in the Darpa Subterranean Challenge!
other key research areas:
