Introduction

Man must rise above the Earth - to the top of the atmosphere and beyond for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.

Socrates

Let us begin with a simple question which has probably crossed our minds at some point in time. Why should mankind spend time and money – both immensely valuable resources – sending people in space? Why shouldn't the government be building schools and hospitals instead of making a new telescope? Although Socrates is probably right, how can we expect to understand the world surrounding us if we do not fix what is wrong on Earth first?

Some argue that space exploration is part of our duty to our innate curiosity. Others correctly point out that space research has made our everyday life easier through inventions such as solar panels and ribbed swimsuits. However, in our humble opinion, the most compelling answer is the fact that Earth, as we know it, is not built to accommodate the human race forever. Sea levels are rising [3], climate change is wreaking havoc in areas all around the globe [4], water pollution may be at an all-time high and the population is slowly – but steadily – rising. As far as we know, our race is unique in the Universe. Therefore, we owe it to ourselves to survive and see where this journey takes us. Space colonization is one way of doing just that. At this point in time, space exploration stops being a choice and, in the words of astronaut Michael Collins, becomes an imperative.

Building a settlement capable of providing home for tens of thousands of people is definitely not an easy task. To accomplish this, we have decided on building a m in im alistic, su stain ab le, h ig h ly u p g r ad e ab le, m o d u lar spacecraft inspired by nature, while keeping both the cost of production and the waiting time as low as possible. Moreover, the settlement should act as an out-of-Earth observatory, providing all the necessary means for studying the world and furthering mankind’s knowledge of space.

The Honeycomb Space Settlement is only the first step towards an extended colony, spread all across the solar system. Although this idea is beyond the scope of this project, it will be discussed briefly towards the end of the document, in an attempt to find out what the future holds for us in terms of space exploration.