A Reliability-Based Design Concept for Lunar Habitats

The key objective of every structural design on the Moon is to develop a structural system which is able to fulfill its functional requirements in a highly economical way due to initial transportation issues. Many known conceptual lunar designs use global or partial safety factors to ensure the reliability of the structural members. However, a suitable approach for traditional design on Earth is not necessarily considered appropriate for novel and unique structures such as lunar habitats. Uncertainties exist in lunar base design that can be addressed only on the basis of a structural reliability analysis in order to assess safety in a quantitative manner. As a result, an optimized structure can be designed from a holistic point of view, which is beyond that comparable to other designs also in terms of safety. Based on an existing structural design of a lunar habitat, this paper describes not only the fundamental requirements and benefits if a reliability-based design approach is chosen, but it also highlights the difficulties that are inevitably encountered.