B.C.-made material to be used by Max Space, NASA for habitats on moon

A small West Coast company is helping astronauts return to the moon in 2026. ALUULA Composites has signed on to provide its durable, lightweight fabric to build space habitats.

A small West Coast company is helping astronauts return to the moon in 2026. ALUULA Composites has signed on to provide its durable, lightweight fabric to build space habitats.

The Max Space inflatables can be transported in very small packages and then expanded to create a much larger workspace.

“Max Space is doing the design work and they are putting together an expandable habitat to use in space,” ALUULA president and CEO Sage Berryman said.

“They’re doing it under contract with NASA. So they’re doing the fantastic and amazing work. We have the privilege of providing them a textile that they can use in that environment. They’re doing the build and they will launch it with SpaceX, we’ve heard, in 2026.”

The ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) laminate is attractive, Berryman explained, because it has eight times the strength-to-weight ratio of steel and is extremely tough.

“It was actually originated by a bunch of engineers, chemists and wind sport enthusiasts. When you’re on the water, using a kite or a wing, you need something that’s very durable and very light and it was developed in that context.”

The material recipe can be customized, Berryman said, and the company also has a research and development partnership with Michelin.

“We’ve had companies researching, trying to use it in air ships and it’s performing quite well in that use. There’s a number of different uses where the old materials just don’t perform at the right level because they’re not strong enough and they’re not light enough.”