TIME

Space Colonization

Speculative Concept

A ring-shaped orbital habitat above a cluster of lit domes on the gray lunar surface, with a small crescent Earth in the black sky.

The FutureSpace Colonization

Homes beyond Earth, imagined.

Permanent settlements on the Moon and in orbital habitats could let communities live beyond Earth.

People have lived aboard orbiting stations, and twelve have walked on the Moon. No community lives permanently beyond Earth. Humans on Mars is a separate concept.

A speculative concept with no date, drawn as a dashed line running forward from now.

Era
The Future
Period
Speculative · Undated
Edition
1/1
Status
Not Released
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Background artwork

An original illustration generated for TIME with an AI image model, 2026. It depicts an imagined scene. It is not a photograph of a real place or event, and it is not a prediction.