UC Chile Architect Collaborates with NASA Working on the Design of Future Moon Bases
In a project resembling science fiction, space architect José Miguel Armijo works at the U.S. company Axiom Space, which collaborates with NASA. There, he creates components for the International Space Station and designs new habitats for humans beyond Earth. (Photo credit: César Dellepiane)
photo_camera José Miguel Armijo currently lives in Houston, Texas, near NASA’s facilities, and works to envision and design what human life in space will be like. In the photo, he shows a prototype of a component form a spacecraft’s propulsion system.
When José Miguel Armijo was studying architecture at UC Chile, he used the long bus ride between the Lo Contador Campus and his home in Maipú to draw. A straight line, a curved one, some traces here and there. From conventional buildings, he moved on to drawing spaceships and houses on the moon. He was passionate about architecture and design, but he also dreamed about space.
Over time, his career led him to a place where both interests could converge. Today, he is one of the few space architects working at Axiom Space, a private U.S. company that works with NASA on the design and implementation of space travel to the International Space Station (ISS). Currently, the company is working on developing a private space station and organizing private astronaut missions to the ISS.
Thinking about the design of future lunar settlements
During his childhood, José Miguel Armijo lived in the north of Chile, where skies are clearer for stargazing, and his father, a mining engineer, was an avid reader of science fiction. He believes that all this somehow influenced his interests.
After graduating from high school, he began studying the arts, but then he transferred to architecture at UC Chile. After graduating, he went on to complete a master’s in architecture at the same university, and then he enrolled in the Aerospace Engineering program at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
He says that during his time at Lo Contador, he learned to be rigorous and to dream of new ways of practicing architecture. In his thesis, he focused on parametric modeling and digital manufacturing, in addition to integrating structural algorithms and solar radiation control, which led him to the New York-based firm Perkins Eastman.
Today he lives in Houston, Texas, near NASA facilities, and works at Axiom Space, designing components for the International Space Station, and envisioning new environments that could support human life beyond Earth. This may seem right out of science fiction, but it is both real and necessary.
“At the Faculty of Architecture, Design, and Urban Studies, I was taught to be very precise and efficient in everything I do, and thanks to that I now work at Axiom Space with NASA, designing the next generations of the Space Station, the interiors of rockets, and future bases on the moon”, he stated.
Space architecture, the art of creating human habitats beyond Earth
Space architecture is the theory and practice of designing functional and safe human habitats beyond Earth. This ranges from spaceships to bases on other planets – a in other words, space houses. This area combines aerospace engineering with psychology, physiology, and sustainability to address extreme conditions such as radiation, microgravity, and the absence of an atmosphere.
In this context, space architects must work in multidisciplinary spaces, where specialists come together, such as space psychologists, to design spaces that promote mental health; designers; and even space lawyers, who are experts in agreements and laws governing outer space.
“Space architecture is exactly what it sounds like: architecture for space, for places beyond this planet. However, it also has applications in extreme environments, and Chile has many such environments: the desert, the mountain ranges, the oceans, etc. Everything I’ve seen, worked on and experimented with at Axiom Space, I can see having many applications in Chile, in water systems, energy generation systems, and ways to make environments more accessible for astronauts and also for the people of the country,” says the architect.
From engineers to psychologists and lawyers: There’s room for everyone in space
Armijo is optimistic about the possibilities opening up in this new space age for professionals in various fields. “I know we can think big, pursue the dream each one of us has, and embrace it wholeheartedly to contribute our knowledge and skills in this new phase of space exploration”, he reflects. “In terms of research in astronomy, engineering, and other fields at UC Chile, there have been many advances in space-related work. But of course, I’d love to see more.”
In this regard, he comments that “in Houston, I work with different types of professionals, and I believe that we should approach education in exactly the same way, in an integrated way. For example, organizing a workshop involving various professionals, to create a single product from components of advanced technology, which can also be used in everyone’s homes. That’s how I think that space-related work can be fostered for new professionals.”Matilde Gaete, a Chilean astronaut candidate and current UC Chile student of engineering, has a similar perspective: “Today there’s talk of a ‘new space’, which is characterized by the fact that private companies are leading the developments in the space industry; therefore, it is a more agile, accessible, and democratized ecosystem. It has also opened up to other disciplines, and today, for a space mission to be successful, it requires interdisciplinary work – we need space psychologists, space marketing, even space lawyers,” she adds.
The UC Chile student believes that UC Chile could play a key role in encouraging young Chileans to take an interest in building a national space program. “I believe that this is the perfect time to be part of a space career. Artemis II has returned, a historical mission, and, truly, all the space economy is growing rapidly. And it’s growing in Chile in particular – last year, we inaugurated the National Space Center. We need Chilean talent to make this industry and this niche grow.”
Both participated in the event “Building the Chilean Space Path Together”, which took place on April 10th at the Lo Contador Campus, organized by the UC Chile School of Architecture, the U.S. Embassy, and Axiom Space. The goal is to promote innovation in Chile’s space development agenda, based on the collaboration between public and private sectors, with an international focus.
Also present at the event were U.S. Astronaut Michael López-Alegría; U.S. Ambassador Brandon Judd; Axiom Space representative for Latin America, Scott Flukinger; along with Director of the UC Chile School of Architecture, Osvaldo Moreno; President of the Chilean Space Association (ACHILE, as per its acronym in Spanish), Loreto Moraga; President of Astro Chile, Klaus von Storch; and Executive Director of Data Observatory, Rodrigo Roa; along with representatives from Luksic Foundation, and UC Chile Anacleto Angelini Innovation Center.
