Moonhouse Project: Swedish Artist Crowdfunds Construction of 3D-Printed Little Red House on Moon

Swedish artist Mikael Genberg has launched a crowdfunding project to build a tiny, red house on the surface of the moon by 2015.

Launching the Moonhouse project in 2003, Genberg's plans to build a traditional Swedish cottage in space were delayed due to financial difficulties, but have been now been reignited.

The project, which is aimed to be completed in 2015, has been given backing by the US space technology company and Nasa affiliate Astrobotic.

The mission needs $15 million (£8,900,000) in funding to be completed and an individual can donate up to $100 (£60) via the Moonhouse crowdfunding project site. The website will collect donations until November 2014 and according to the Space Reporter, the project is around 75% complete.

The structure of the house ressembles any contemporary Swedish cottage and will be painted red and white. It will be large enough to accommodate one person, with an area of 6.5 by 10 feet.

It will be created using a 3D printer and Genberg has developed a special cloth that will erect the carbon-made materials using pressurised gas, which will inflate and erect the structure within minutes.

"The Moonhouse will enable people to make history and a mark on the international scene since The Moonhouse will be the first payload funded by private individuals to land on the Moon," said John Thornton, CEO of Astrobotic, as quoted by the Economic Times.

"We look forward to working with The Moonhouse towards the first 'Apollo moment' for people around the world. Only three nations in the world have previously landed on the Moon, but this is about to change," he added.

According to Viral Global News, donors who offer $30 (£17) will receive access to a 3D drawing of the house, while donors of $50 (£30) will have their names stencilled on the inside of the cottage. For $100 (£60), donors will be able to write a personal digital message on a wall.

"We saw this as the perfect example to get people doing something that nobody ever expected," Genberg said in a promotional YouTube video. "To put the first house on the moon should be impossible, but through crowdfunding and through the internet... That means we can do anything."

He added that he was inspired by collective thought and first proposed the idea when he learned the Swedish Space Corporation was planning to construct a satellite to be launched into orbit around the Moon.

In 2000, Genberg built an underwater hotel room in a lake in Sweden.

"Everything is possible - as long as we set our minds to it," he told the Tech Times. "Every time I see the moon, I know it's going to happen."