What SEArch+ does

SEArch+ (Space Exploration Architecture, legally SEArch+ LLC) is a New York-based private design practice founded in 2006 by Michael Morris and the late Yoshiko Sato, with Christina Ciardullo and Rebeccah Pailes-Friedman as additional founding partners. The firm conceives and produces human-centered space habitat designs, with a portfolio spanning Mars surface habitats (Mars Ice House, Mars Ice Home, Mars X-House V1/V2), lunar surface infrastructure (Lunar Lantern, Lunar Landing Pad under NASA Project Olympus), a Pratt Institute X-Hab transit habitat, and life-support hardware integration (NASA rack front panel geometry for UTAS). Its underlying technology centers on 3D-printed construction using indigenous materials, in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), and radiation shielding via ice-based structural concepts, validated through six NASA Centennial Challenge competition wins (2015–2019) including first place in the Phase 3 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge across virtual design and construction levels.

Revenue is generated through two streams: government research grants from nearly two decades of work with NASA Johnson Space Center Habitability Design Center, Langley Research Center, Kennedy Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, and the Game Changing Technology Development Program, and competition prize winnings from NASA Centennial Challenges (including Deep Space Food Challenge finalist status). SEArch+ does not operate commercial pricing or product distribution; projects are acquired through direct NASA collaboration, academic partnerships, and competition entry. The firm is also a founding member of NASA Marshall's Moon 2 Mars Planetary Automated Construction Technology (MMPACT) Team, embedding it in NASA's long-duration planetary construction roadmap. The customer base is effectively the US federal government with no disclosed commercial revenue.

Name

SEArch+

Legal name

SEArch+ LLC (Space Exploration Architecture)

Website

https://spacexarch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SEArch+ is a New York-based private space architecture firm founded in 2006 that designs human-centered 3D-printed habitats and life-support systems, primarily for NASA programs, with six Centennial Challenge wins and embedded relationships across multiple NASA centers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Space Architecture & Habitat Design Services

NAICS

Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing (336414)

SIC

Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760)

akta.pro primary industry

Space Structures, Mechanisms & Thermal Control (IMABACAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Space Planning & Workplace Design (BPAHAKAI)

Keywords

• Space architecture
• Habitat design
• 3D-printed habitats
• Space exploration
• Radiation shielding

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Government Research Grants: Nearly 2 decades-long association with NASA centers providing research grants and project funding. Worked with Johnson Space Center Habitability Design Center, Langley Research Center, Kennedy Space Center, and Game Changing Technology Development Program.
2. Competition Prize Winnings: Revenue from winning NASA Centennial Challenge competitions including 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge Phase 3 awards and Deep Space Food Challenge finalist status.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SEArch+ conceives, investigates, and produces innovative human-centered design concepts for space habitats and exploration environments beyond Earth. The firm delivers a portfolio of distinct habitat design concepts for lunar and Martian surface missions, leveraging 3D printing, in-situ resource utilization, and radiation shielding innovations developed through nearly two decades of NASA collaboration.

Product overview

SEArch+ (Space Exploration Architecture) develops a portfolio of human-supporting design concepts for living and exploring in space. The company operates as a single unified design practice offering multiple distinct habitat concepts rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Key products include: Mars X-House V1 and V2 (3D-printed Mars habitats developed for NASA's Phase 3 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, with V2 winning top prize in virtual design); Mars Ice House and Mars Ice Home (ice-based habitat designs utilizing in situ water-ice for radiation shielding, with Mars Ice House winning NASA's Phase 1 Centennial Challenge); Lunar Lantern and Lunar Landing Pad (lunar surface infrastructure designs for extended Moon missions); and supporting projects including the Pratt xHab Transit Habitat (academic collaboration with Pratt Institute) and Front Panel Geometry (NASA rack system design for life support hardware). All designs employ evidence-based processes and 3D printing technologies using indigenous materials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lunar Lantern Lunar surface habitat design concept that aims to exceed factors of safety for inhabitants in support of mankind's first extended mission on the Moon's surface.
• Lunar Landing Pad Schematic design concept for a 3D-printed Lunar Settlement with associated infrastructure as part of NASA's led 'Olympus' Lunar Base project.
• Mars X-House V1 Fourth prize winner of the Phase 3 Level 1 NASA 3D-Printed Habitat Competition; a 3D-printed Mars habitat design using autonomous robotics and indigenous materials found natively on Mars.
• Mars X-House V2 Top prize winner in 100% Virtual Design within NASA's Phase 3 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge; designed for a crew of four to live and work on Mars for one Earth year, exceeding radiation standards while connecting crew to natural light and Martian landscape views.
• Mars Ice Home Collaborative feasibility study with NASA Langley Research Center for a Martian ice habitat using in-situ resource utilization derived water-ice for radiation shielding and structural components; incorporates translucent ice allowing natural light into the habitat interior.
• Mars Ice House Winner of NASA's Phase 1 Centennial Challenge for a 3D-Printed Habitat on Mars; first prize winner in Virtual Design competition. Uses a 'follow the water' approach creating a thin vertical ice shell for radiation protection while celebrating life above ground.
• Pratt (xHab) Transit Habitat Academic project developed at Pratt Institute sponsored by NASA's xHab Grant; an interdisciplinary studio class designing a transit habitat module for Mars exploration with full-scale prototype elements.
• Front Panel Geometry Design and development of the front panel geometry of the NASA rack system designed to house ECLSS life support hardware; achieved 17% increase in interior storage capacity and improved airlock translation ability.

Quantifiable outcome

• Mars X-House designed to exceed radiation standards for human health on Mars missions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Apis CorcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 July 2018First company to develop specialized equipment for 3D-printing entire buildings on site. Collaboration on Mars X House won multiple Phase 3 NASA 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge awards including Virtual Design and Construction Levels.
• Pratt InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2016NASA X-Hab Academic Innovation Challenge collaboration with Pratt architecture and industrial design students to develop Mars transit habitat designs and prototypes.
• Carnegie Mellon UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 May 2016Mars Studios collaboration through IDeATe Network, where SEArch+ member Christina Ciardullo taught courses on closed loop systems and students designed inflatable Martian greenhouse prototypes.
• NASA Langley Research CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 May 2016Collaboration on Mars Ice Home feasibility study using in-situ water-ice for radiation shielding. NASA Langley served as lead on this collaborative design effort.
• CloudsAOcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2015Architecture and space research collective collaborated on Mars Ice House, winning NASA's Phase 1 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge. Mars Ice House used 'follow the water' approach with vertical ice shell design for radiation protection.
• NASA Johnson Space Center Habitability Design CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNearly 2 decades-long association with NASA's Johnson Space Center Human Habitability Division for human-centered space habitat design research.
• NASA Kennedy Space CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with NASA Kennedy Space Center as part of multi-center NASA partnership spanning nearly 2 decades.
• NASA Marshall Space Flight CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounding members of NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's Moon 2 Mars Planetary Automated Construction Technology (MMPACT) Team.
• NASA Game Changing Technology Development ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with NASA's Game Changing Technology Development Program as part of multi-center partnership.
• MIT Media Lab Space Exploration InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSEArch+ presented in Space Architecture Workshop at MIT's 'Beyond the Cradle' event organized by MIT Media Lab's Space Exploration Initiative.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group): BIG is a globally prominent architecture practice known for Mars Science City and other speculative space habitat concepts; it overlaps with SEArch+ in human-centered, technically ambitious space architecture but operates at a much larger commercial scale across conventional real estate.
• Skidmore, Owings & Merrill: SOM is a major global architecture and engineering firm that has produced concept designs for space exploration habitats and lunar infrastructure, competing with SEArch+ in the same conceptual space habitat market while serving a vastly broader architecture portfolio.
• Foster + Partners: Foster + Partners is a major international architecture firm whose ESA-commissioned lunar habitat concept and broader space-related work overlap with SEArch+'s human-centered space habitat design focus, though as part of a much larger general practice serving commercial, cultural, and government clients.
• Norman Foster Foundation / Foster + Partners Space Projects: The Norman Foster Foundation and Foster + Partners' space exploration initiative have produced high-profile lunar and Martian habitat concepts and exhibitions, overlapping with SEArch+'s space architecture work as a globally recognized incumbent in speculative space habitat design.

Direct peers

• ICON: ICON is a 3D-printed construction technology company that partnered with NASA on the Project Olympus lunar habitat program and competed in the same NASA 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge that SEArch+ won, making it a direct competitor in additive-manufactured space habitat design and construction.
• Hassell: Hassell is a global architecture firm that partnered with the European Space Agency on a lunar habitat concept and participated in NASA's international space architecture competitions, making it a directly comparable human-centered space habitat design practice serving government space agencies.
• AI SpaceFactory: AI SpaceFactory is a space architecture and 3D-printing firm that placed fifth in NASA's Phase 3 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge with MARSHA, directly competing with SEArch+'s Mars X-House V1/V2 in the same competition and serving the same NASA and commercial deep-space habitat market.

Others

• Apis Cor: Apis Cor is a 3D-printed construction technology company that partnered with SEArch+ on the Mars X-House entries for NASA's Phase 3 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge; it is comparable as an enabling technology partner in additive habitat construction rather than a direct architecture competitor.
• Clouds AO: CloudsAO is an architecture and space research collective that co-developed the Mars Ice House concept with SEArch+ for NASA's Phase 1 Centennial Challenge; it sits in the same design network and ecosystem but operates more as a collaborator than a direct commercial competitor.

Emerging players

• Aurelia Institute: Aurelia Institute is an emerging non-profit space architecture and policy organization focused on designing and advocating for human space exploration habitats, sharing SEArch+'s human-centered space architecture mission while operating at an earlier stage and with a heavier educational/policy emphasis.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/spacexarch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/search---space-exploration-architecture

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SEArch+