Imagine a sprawling megastructure floating endlessly through space.
One day, humans may occupy an orbital settlement several hundred kilometers from Earth.
Perhaps, humans will settle closer to the moon, or in the main asteroid belt beyond Mars.
If humans ever migrate into space, what would our settlement look like, and how would we navigate life in the final frontier?
A space colony must withstand the harsh conditions of space, but it must also create a safe and comfortable environment for generations of human colonists.
Any habitat must have replenishable sources of food, water, breathable air, and medical supplies; and it must spin to produce artificial gravity, though scientists are unsure how much gravity we need.
Space colonists also require protection from solar radiation.
The Sun releases a continuous stream of charged particles, called solar wind, and intermittently strikes in deadly bursts known as solar particle events.
Further radiation from galactic cosmic rays and charged particles trapped in the Van Allen Belts may endanger the occupants of any space colony.
Scientists have overcome some of these hurdles while constructing the International Space Station or ISS.In 1998, the first modular piece of the ISS launched into Earth's orbit.
