ICON

Company - ICON

Founded
Country
2016
USA
Funding
$451M+
Website
https://www.iconbuild.com/
Social
ICON

Product/Service - Olympus, Lunar Lantern

Classification
Surface Habitats & Structures
Category
Space Construction Company
Surface Habitats
Status
Development
First launch
2026

ICON has engaged two award-winning architecture firms as partners for the audacious project: BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, renowned for their iconic international architecture and SEArch+ (Space Exploration Architecture), a company recognized on a global scale for their innovative ‘human-centered’ designs for space exploration.

Lunar Lantern, a base concept developed by ICON as part of a NASA-supported project to build a sustainable outpost on the moon. This proposal is currently being showcased as part of the 17th International Architecture Exhibition at the La Biennale di Venezia museum in Venice, Italy. The Lunar Lantern emerged from Project Olympus, a research and development program made possible thanks to a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract and funding from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Consistent with ICON's commitment to developing advanced construction technologies, the purpose of Olympus was to create a space-based construction system that will support NASA and other future exploration efforts on the moon. To realize this vision, ICON partnered with two architectural firms: the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), and Space Exploration Architecture (SEArch+). Whereas BIG is renowned for its iconic architecture and its work on multiple Lunar and Martian concepts in the past several years, SEArch+ is recognized for its "human-centered" designs for space exploration and its long-standing relationship with NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) and Langley Research Center (LRC).

ICON To Develop Lunar Surface Construction System With $57.2 Million NASA Award. ICON, a leader in advanced construction technologies and large-scale 3D printing, announced in November 2022 that it has received a contract awarded under Phase III of NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

Lunar concept designs, created in collaboration with Bjarke Ingles Group, were released in 2020, and in November 2022 ICON was awarded a $57 million contract by NASA, which will culminate in testing on the moon.

DARPA LunA-10 Program Study, 2023-2024

To this end, DARPA has selected 14 companies for the 10-Year Lunar Architecture (LunA-10) Capability Study, which aims to catalyze the setup of a future civil lunar framework for peaceful U.S. and international use. LunA-10 seeks to study the rapid development of technology concepts for a series of shareable, scalable systems that can operate jointly, creating monetizable services for future lunar users.

News, Research, Projects and Patents

Title Type Date Summary
A 3D-printing company is preparing to build on the lunar surface. But first, a moonshot at home News 2023-04-11
3D Printing on the Moon: The Future of Lunar Construction Podcast 2023-02-01
NASA wants to build a lunar base by 2030. Could 3D printing with moon dust be the answer? News 2020-12-18
Bjarke Ingels Group Helps Pioneer Technology for 3D-Printed Buildings on the Moon News 2020-10-02
NASA Looks to Advance 3D Printing Construction Systems for the Moon and Mars News 2020-10-01 >

Today, NASA is working with ICON, a construction technologies company based in Austin, Texas, on early research and development of a space-based construction system that could support future exploration of the Moon and Mars. 

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