Portable housing for disaster victims would be a much better utilization.

Wonder how many pounds of snow it can with stand before it falls apart. Or 100 penguins poking at it while standing on top of it..

This would be awesome for a snowboarding/skiing trip to a remote mountain.!

@MrGutts: Are you suggesting the tent they take to the moon should be "penguin proof"?

jutman: Portable housing for disaster victims is a great idea but for that use, it could probably stand to be somewhat less resilient [read: cheaper] than stuff going to the Moon.

In a disaster zone, a leak is an inconvenience. On the moon, a leak is a disaster...

@ideaman2020: I would say economics of scale would say that if they create one for all purposes and mass produce them for disaster relief then producing them for use extra-terrestrially would cost less.

Although, I agree it's an inconvenience for a leak on Earth and it's death for a leak in space.

@jutman: Are you commenting on this particular invention or the moon mission in general?

I teach high school science and this week we are covering manned spaceflight. It is amazing how little today's high school students know about the Apollo missions. I think a return to the moon and on towards mars would be a giant leap forward for mankind that won't be measurable in dollars.

Yes, i will live on the moon in that thing-- right after my stroll through the jungle in a pork chop overcoat.

Since they will already have the equipment to inflate this on the moon, they should also bring an inflatable castle - in 1/6th G that would be crazy fun.

What goes around comes around, eh? Just 36 years ago I was looking at NASA photos of a moon shelter prototype almost identical to this.

Now if they would just bring back the early prototype spacesuits with the "accordion" joints. Or that weird "Grumman Moon Suit".

Well at least you wont drown...

If they do find water in the moon.

I don't know, solar radiation will harden & crack the outside!

Oh yes, just like the one Walter Koenig got nekkid in in Moontrap.

You could sex up a cheerleader in that thing as long as you wear your vader mask

That would be a disaster on the moon ... it would take one micro meteor hitting it to kill everyone inside of it. The moon is laden with craters for a reason.

@king_of_fools: I wouldn't argue with that theory, but then again, a micro meteor could do the same to a 'hardened' shelter, assuming that shelter was made much like the apollo landers. Regardless of type of shelter, I wouldn't want to be the first one to test it out on the moon. Of course, the concept of using fabric housing isn't much different than the fabric spacesuits the astronauts wear.