The purpose-built first-of-its-kind space habitat, FLEXHab, will help train astronauts and academics on earth ahead of critical missions into outer space
Weybridge, UK, 30 September 2024: Sony Professional Displays & Solutions announced today that its BRAVIA professional displays form a vital part of space architect specialists, SAGA’s habitat that will provide vital training and information for astronauts and scientists ahead of real-world outer space missions. Built by SAGA, the 28-square metre lunar habitat, FLEXHab, will simulate life on the moon’s surface for astronauts training to perform vital scientific research and utilises Sony BRAVIA professional displays to replicate the moon’s exterior environment. It is the first space training habitat that combines both interior and exterior environments for elevated training.
Last month, the European Space Agency (ESA) unveiled the brand-new habitat, FLEXHab, located inside a dedicated facility at the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany. The habitat houses up to four astronauts on training missions anywhere from one week to month-long periods of time, meaning the space had to be both livable and serve its vital scientific purpose. It also needed to be able to be transported easily to various testing and training facilities, and eventually, its exact design replicated for transportation into space for real-world missions. Its multifunctionality includes communal areas, bedrooms, workout equipment and a state-of-the-art laboratory.
65” Sony BRAVIA displays have been integrated to replicate a large artificial window – the ‘viewing dome’ – that will make up one wall to completely immerse inhabitants during training. The displays will be integral to preparing inhabitants to deal with any eventuality when residing in space, including the possibility of real-world outer-space catastrophes. BRAVIA displays will be used to simulate scenarios such as large debris colliding with the window, causing a catastrophic crack or pressure leak. The displays will also add an element of interactivity to the training, enabling astronauts to perform simulated external experiments from inside FLEXHab using specialist tools and BRAVIA displays for real-time visual guidance.
“It’s been over 50 years since humans last landed on the moon, and now, the world is preparing for astronauts to land on the moon again safely and efficiently. For the most part, astronauts are inside the habitat conducting research during their time in outer-space, so testing astronauts in FLEXHab’s environment is critical to the success of future missions,” says Sebastian Aristotelis, CEO at SAGA. “Being able to simulate external events, environments and experiments visually using Sony BRAVIA means that we can make training as accurate as possible and deliver the best possible preparation for astronauts ahead of space travel. The displays aren’t just static to emulate the moon’s surface, they are integral to testing the astronauts. With Sony BRAVIA, any environment can be loaded in minutes, so there’s massive potential for additional uses.
“Existing space habitats for training on earth focus on preparing astronauts to be able to live in small spaces for long periods or sometimes require huge physical facilities to be transformed into a simulated lunar surface using terrestrial rocks. What makes FLEXHab different is that we are now integrating exterior environments and testing how that impacts the interior environment. Partnering with Sony to integrate its BRAVIA displays has allowed us to do this. The displays deliver exceptional picture quality, allowing astronauts to train with near-perfect accuracy, and to see and feel connected to the outside world, which is hugely important for mental well-being.”
Matthias Maurer, ESA astronaut and Project Lead, commented, “I am absolutely thrilled to see and check-out our new FLEXHab LUNA module. It is a centerpiece of our new LUNA Moon analog facility, completing the Moon surface inside the LUNA hall with the intravehicular side of a Moon lander or Moon base. FLEXHab will enable ESA and DLR to run complex and fully end-to-end integrated multi-day missions.”
“Sony BRAVIA’s extra wide-viewing angles and anti-reflective Deep Black Non-Glare technology mean that it maintains its high contrast colours and exceptional picture quality no matter where it’s viewed in the room. This makes it the perfect display to help completely immerse inhabitants within their training environments,” says Petra Norinder, Junior Trade Marketing Manager North Region at Sony Professional Displays and Solutions. “We’re incredibly excited that SAGA has chosen to work with us on a project of this magnitude. We look forward to continuing to provide them with the very best tools in the market, so that they can continue to deliver innovative solutions for vital space and earth exploration.”
The facility has been in construction since June and will continue to undergo a series of rigorous testing environments to ensure it is fit for purpose. The ESA unveiled FLEXHab on Wednesday 25th September and its first official astronaut training mission will begin in March 2025.
To find out more about Sony BRAVIA Professional displays, visit: https://pro.sony/en_GB/products/pro-displays or to find out more about FLEXHab here: https://www.saga.dk/projects/flexhab.