It’s time to scale up life in space.
Aurelia Institute is a nonprofit space architecture R&D lab, education and outreach center, and policy hub dedicated to building humanity’s future in space for the benefit of Earth.
Aurelia Prize in Design for Space Urbanism
Space Infrastructure for the Public Good
Space Policy
Human Scale Space Habitat Design
News & Media
Space Architecture R&D
Aurelia Academy & Horizon Zero-G Flight Program
Mission
& Values
Space Architecture Trade Study
From cutting-edge biotech research to off-worlding heavy industry, we are fast approaching a future where space can profoundly benefit life on Earth — but we need better habitats and more trained spacefarers.
At the cusp of humanity’s next metamorphosis into a spacefaring species, Aurelia Institute is creating the architecture for a vibrant ecosystem of professionals, creators, and visitors in space.
The Aurelia Institute team includes engineers and architects, designers, materials science and manufacturing experts, scientists, and policy thought leaders, working together to create the R&D foundation and innovation community for expansive human space exploration.
We have a dual focus of space and Earth, with the goal of empowering life across extreme environments.
Our efforts are focused in three core areas:
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Aurelia Institute is an advanced technology research institute focused on developing next-generation space habitats. Our experts are concerned with the structures, materials, technologies, and in-space manufacturing techniques that will make it possible to build larger-scale habitats and expand the population of people who can participate in life in orbit. We are a fast-moving fabrication and deployment team, with regular spaceflight launches to test and iterate on our engineering concepts. We are also a generator of translational IP for the public benefit, with a highly collaborative model for spinning out new technologies that may contribute to life in space.
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At Aurelia Institute, we want to prepare a new generation of spacefarers to participate in the growing space economy. People of all ages, backgrounds, and skill sets should have access to the opportunities a thriving space infrastructure offers — to conduct research, design and build for and in space, to visit and work in the space domain. Aurelia Institute creates and collaborates on outreach programs to engage participants in direct spaceflight opportunities, educational courses to increase access to insider knowledge training, and community building to grow a global, professional membership network.
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Aurelia Institute’s policy arm considers the real and philosophical challenges of creating a functioning spacefaring society — from the future of AI & space technology, to negotiating resource sharing in the “space commons,” to key governance questions for future human settlements.
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Aurelia Institute is a humanist group that cares about both the cutting-edge technical enablers and the cultural, philosophical under-pinnings for space exploration. Our position is that space exploration is not about escaping Earth. We’re building toward a better vision for humanity wherever we may be—on Earth, in orbit around it, and beyond.