https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/02/ikea-is-helping-to-redesign-simulated-mars-habitats/ > Ikea believes its approach to making small spaces more liveable applies even on other planets: The company has been working with an Earth-based research facility that is meant to mimic what a Mars habitat would be like, according to Fast Company. Originally, Ikea sent a designer to the station to seek out inspiration for creating functional furniture for small apartments – but it quickly became a two-way street, which could mean the Swedish home furnishing company has a say in how future human colonists live on other planets. > As detailed by FastCo, Ikea designer Christina Levenborn spent time living in the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, which is situated in a desert and designed to feel as close as possible to the experience of living and working on the actual red planet. At any given time, there are usually a number of these types of simulated research projects going on, taking crews of volunteers and putting them into a simulated work/life scenario to help us prepare for when astronauts do the real thing. NASA is hoping to begin establishing a more permanent human presence on the Moon by 2024, which means this work could have real-world applications in space sooner rather than later.