Innovative habitat concepts for surface and orbital human missions: integrated structural design and digital simulation

Future human space exploration missions, including long-duration stays in orbit and the establishment of permanent outposts on planetary surfaces, require habitat systems capable of ensuring safety, adaptability, and enhanced living volume within strict mass and launch constraints. As exploration architectures evolve toward sustained lunar and Martian operations, as well as advanced orbital infrastructures, habitat design must move beyond traditional rigid modules and embrace innovative structural concepts that maximize usable volume while maintaining structural integrity and feasibility. Within the framework of the Italian national project Space IT UP!, this work presents an integrated approach to the conceptual design and feasibility assessment of next-generation space habitats, addressing both orbital and surface applications. The research investigates deployable and expandable structural concepts aimed at increasing habitable space for astronauts while minimizing launch volume and mass. Structural efficiency, deployment reliability, and adaptability to diverse mission scenarios constitute the core design principles guiding the study. The methodology integrates advanced modeling tools to evaluate deployment behavior and structural performance under operational conditions. These analyses support the identification of robust geometric configurations and structural layouts capable of ensuring stability throughout the habitat lifecycle. Particular attention is devoted to innovative structural strategies, including auxetic and architected metamaterial-inspired solutions, which enable controlled expansion mechanisms and provide the potential for increased usable volume without excessive mechanical complexity. The study further addresses protection against micrometeoroid and orbital debris impacts through the development of advanced shielding concepts. Refined numerical approaches, including formulations based on the Carrera Unified Formulation, are employed to assess the effectiveness of multilayered structural configurations in mitigating impact damage. Long-term integrity and operational safety are enhanced through the integration of structural health monitoring technologies, with embedded sensing strategies enabling continuous assessment of structural conditions in both orbital and planetary surface environments. Finally, advanced immersive and virtual reality techniques are used to investigate human-habitat interaction. Digital twin environments support the simulation of operational scenarios, ergonomic assessment, spatial organization analysis, and optimization of crew workflows, fostering a human-centered design process. In conclusion, the presented approach offers a multidisciplinary framework for assessing innovative solutions and supporting the development of future human space habitats.