NASA AMA expanding First Human-rated Expandable Structure in Space

For deep space missions, how do you envision your inflatable habitats protecting astronauts from radiation and how, if at all, will the gas(es) used to inflate the structure vary based on application? Are there any plans on eventually incorporating self-healing polymers in your future designs so as to make your structures more robust in the unlikely event of a minor puncture?

Dumb follow-up question: is the pressure inside the structure 1ATA? I'm curious as to whether you could boost the percentage of oxygen but use a lower total pressure so your partial pressure of oxygen remains high enough.For stations fully outside the magnetosphere, couldn't you use an extra membrane on the outside so you have a layer of water surrounding the module?Earth has a thick atmosphere with wind and storms... Mars has a very very thin atmosphere (0.6% of Earth's at sea level, about a half of one percent as thick). Inflatable structures would work well there.

Great input. But expandables will also provide mass benefit in future designs. As we learn more about expandables with these on orbit demonstration on ISS, we will get valuable data and confidence to reduce our factors of safety and that will greatly improve mass efficiency. The strength to weight ratio of an expandable restraint (primary structure) is 4 times lower than a metallic structural membrane.It could potentially go on to ISS. BA 330 is similar in size to Transhab that NASA was developing in the early 90's and Transhab was going to ISS.

There are 8 air tanks inside of BEAM. However, the Space Station crew will initially expand BEAM this Thursday morning by introducing a little bit of air from Space Station into BEAM through a small manual valve on the BEAM bulkhead. It takes very little air, only ~0.4 psi worth, to expand BEAM to its full shape. Once that manual inflation process is done, then the Space Station crew will activate BEAM's internal tank system to automatically pressurize BEAM to full pressure at or near Space Station's pressure of 14.7 psi. Altogether, it takes about 42 lbs of air to fully pressurize BEAM's internal volume of 565 cubic feet (16 cubic meters).