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NASA’s Inflatable Space House Heads to the ISS

The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module will be ferried to the space station this spring.

NASA is hoping a new expandable habitat might one day give astronauts a little more alone time. The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, will be ferried to the ISS later this spring for a series of tests expected to last several years. Once attached, it will be expanded and pressurized so the crew can install sensors to monitor BEAM’s performance in space.

The experiments will help determine the viability of expandable habitats, which weigh less and occupy less space on a rocket, as laboratories and living quarters for future deep-space missions.