London, June 2 (IANS): How would the first house on the moon look like? It could, if all goes well, be a Swedish cottage painted in red and white.
What is more interesting is that you can get your name printed on this house if you donate for the over $15 million project.
Swedish artist and entrepreneur Mikael Genberg has been planning to place a self-constructing house on the surface of the moon in collaboration with US aerospace company Astrobotic.
The miniature house, just big enough to accommodate a grown human being, is made from specially developed space-cloth stretched over a carbon structure.
It weighs 22 pounds which would translate to 3.75 pounds on the moon.
The house will build itself within minutes after landing on the moon.
"The Moonhouse is more than just an art project. The aim is to inspire people to push through mental barriers and broaden their perception of what we can make possible," a statement on TheMoonHouse website reads.
"The Moonhouse is a democratic art project, where everyone is welcome to participate and create a unique symbol for what people can achieve, together," the statement adds.
Genberg has been working on the project since 2003, according to the website.
The art project lost momentum four years back in the face of economic meltdown, but is complete now up to 75 percent.
Some of Sweden's leading space engineers have invested years of their time and effort to realise the venture.
The US space technology company Astrobotic, whose partners include Nasa, have committed to the challenge of taking the house to the moon.
"The Moonhouse will enable people to make history and a mark on the international scene since it will be the first payload funded by private individuals to land on the moon," John Thornton, CEO of Astrobotic, was quoted as saying.
The launch and lunar landing is scheduled for October 2015. Around $4,000 (Rs.2,36,000) have already been acquired through crowd-funding. The donor's name will be printed on the inside of the house.