Samantha inside BEAM

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti inside the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) during cargo stowage activities. BEAM is an expandable habitat technology demonstration for the International Space Station. Expandable modules require minimal payload volume, but inflate after being deployed in space to provide extra room for astronauts to live and work. Their designs also provide a varying degree of protection from the hazards of space, such as solar and cosmic radiation, space debris, atomic oxygen, ultraviolet radiation and more.

Expandable modules such as BEAM are lower-mass and lower-volume than traditional metal habitats, and can therefore increase the efficiency of cargo shipments, potentially reducing the number of launches.