Humans colonizing the moon or living on Mars might seem like the plot from the next big Sci-Fi movie, but preparations for scenarios like these have been ongoing for decades now.
I'm Ella al Shamahi, and welcome to the conversation, the program that amplifies women's voices.
And so today on the show, we have space architects.
Yes, you heard that right.
Barbara Imhoff from Austria is the co founder of Liquifer, initially an all female company.
And Melody Yashar from the US is the vice president of building design and performance at Icon.
Barbara.
Melody, welcome to the conversation.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me.
Thank you, Ella.
So my first question has to be probably the most obvious one.
What is a space architect?
Barbara, a space architect is a person who designs for extreme environments and for the space environment.
So thinking about building and constructing and planning for the orbit, orbital stations, lunar bases, or martian habitats.
Melody, anything to add there?
Yeah, it's about thinking about how human beings will survive and then thrive in an environment that is fundamentally foreign, hostile and extreme outside of earth.
And did you both start off as architects?
Yeah, I have a background in architecture, actually.
I graduated from an art school, and the space environment where I work in is really dominated by engineers.