What's the next step in space exploration? A semi-permanent moon base, of course. It's about time we get a settlement up there for astronauts to stay at for months at a time, don't you think? Experimental architecture firm Architecture and Vision does, and they've designed what they've dubbed Moon Base Two, a base that can accommodate astronauts for months at a time.

The base would be delivered by the Ares V rocket, due to be deployed in the next decade, and would automatically deploy when it lands. It could house up to four people for a period of up to six months. So technically it wouldn't be a permanent base, but it could act as a home for long enough to do a serious amount of research or to go nice and space crazy, as we all know is inevitable. Looks pretty cool to us. [Archietecture and Vision via io9]

Send an email to Adam Frucci, the author of this post, at adam@gizmodo.com.